Do Not Disturb on Samsung Galaxy: How-To

Do Not Disturb (DND) on a Samsung Galaxy phone silences calls, alerts, and notifications while you’re busy, sleeping, or in a meeting. You can schedule it, allow certain contacts through, and even hide visual notifications. This guide walks you through turning it on, customizing it, and fixing common issues. You’ll need your Galaxy phone (running One UI 5 or newer, though most steps are similar on older versions) and about five minutes.

What You’ll Need

A Samsung Galaxy phone (any model from the last few years)
Access to the Settings app (the gear icon in your app drawer or notification shade)
Optional: A Samsung account to sync your DND settings across devices

Step-by-Step

Open Settings. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the notification panel, then tap the gear icon in the top-right corner. Alternatively, find the Settings app in your app drawer.
Navigate to Do Not Disturb. Scroll down and tap Notifications (or Sounds and vibration on older One UI versions). Then tap Do Not Disturb. On some models, it’s under Advanced features or directly in the main Settings list.
Turn it on immediately. Tap the toggle at the top of the Do Not Disturb screen. It will turn blue, and your phone will instantly silence most alerts. You’ll see a moon icon in your status bar.
Set a schedule (optional but recommended). Tap Turn on as scheduled. Choose Time to set a daily or custom schedule (e.g., 11 PM to 7 AM). You can also pick Event to sync with your calendar events marked as busy.
Choose what to allow. Tap Allow exceptions. Here you can toggle Calls from, Messages from, and Notifications from. For calls and messages, select Starred contacts only or All contacts to let important people through. For notifications, you can allow alerts from specific apps (like your messaging app or calendar).
Customize visual options. Tap Hide notifications to prevent notifications from appearing on your lock screen or as pop-ups while DND is active. You can choose Hide all or Hide only on lock screen. Also, toggle Show hidden notifications if you want to see them when you unlock your phone.
Set a duration (if not scheduled). If you turned DND on manually, you can tap Duration (or Until turned off) to set it for 1 hour, 2 hours, or until you manually turn it off. This is handy for meetings or naps.
Add DND to Quick Settings. Swipe down twice from the top to see the full Quick Settings panel. Tap the pencil icon, find Do Not Disturb (or the moon icon), and drag it to your active tiles. This lets you toggle DND with one tap in the future.
Use Bixby Routines (advanced). In the Settings app, go to Advanced features > Bixby Routines. Create a routine like “When I’m at work” or “When I open this app” to automatically enable DND. This is a powerful way to automate it beyond simple time schedules.

Common Mistakes

Not setting exceptions. If you enable DND without allowing any contacts, you’ll miss urgent calls from family or your boss. Always set at least Starred contacts for calls.
Forgetting to set a schedule. Manually turning on DND every night is easy to forget. Use the schedule feature so it’s automatic.
Leaving DND on after the event. If you use a manual duration, you might set it to “Until turned off” and then forget it’s on. Use a timed duration for one-off situations.
Assuming DND blocks all notifications. DND only silences what you tell it to. If you haven’t allowed exceptions, most notifications are hidden, but alarms (from the Clock app) and media playback still work. Also, some system alerts (like low battery) may still appear.

Tips

Use the moon icon in the status bar. Tap it to quickly see how long DND has been active and to turn it off.
Allow repeated calls. In Allow exceptions, toggle on Repeat callers to let a second call from the same number within 15 minutes come through. This is great for emergencies.
Sync with your calendar. If you have a busy work calendar, set DND to turn on during Events with Busy availability. Your phone will automatically silence during meetings.
Use DND while driving. Samsung phones have a driving mode that can auto-reply to texts. You can find it under Modes and Routines (or Advanced features > Motions and gestures). It’s not the same as DND but complements it.

Troubleshooting

DND not turning on automatically. Check your schedule: make sure the days are selected correctly and the time is right (AM/PM). Also, ensure your phone’s date and time are set to automatic (Settings > General management > Date and time).
Alarms not going off. DND does not silence alarms by default, but if you’ve changed the Alarms can interrupt setting, they might be muted. Go to Allow exceptions > Alarms and make sure it’s toggled on.
Calls from allowed contacts still silenced. If you set Calls from to Starred contacts, make sure the contact is actually starred (has a star icon in the Contacts app). Also, check if the contact is saved with a different number than the one calling.
DND icon missing from Quick Settings. Swipe down twice, tap the pencil icon, then scroll to find Do Not Disturb. Drag it up to your tiles. If you can’t find it, tap Reset at the top of the edit panel to restore default tiles, then add it.
Notifications still popping up. You may have Hide notifications set to Hide only on lock screen. Change it to Hide all to prevent pop-ups. Also, check if the app has its own notification settings that override DND (some apps like WhatsApp have their own “priority” settings).

Frequently Asked Questions

Will DND block alarms?

No, by default alarms from the Clock app will still sound. You can change this in Allow exceptions > Alarms if you want to silence them too.

Can I let certain contacts call me during DND?

Yes. Go to Allow exceptions > Calls from and choose Starred contacts or All contacts. You can also enable Repeat callers to allow a second call from the same number within 15 minutes.

Does DND block text messages?

It silences notifications for messages, but you’ll still receive them. You can set Messages from to Starred contacts to only get notified for important people.

Can I schedule DND for specific days of the week?

Yes. When setting a time schedule, tap the days at the top to select which days it applies to. You can create multiple schedules (e.g., weekdays vs. weekends).

How do I turn off DND quickly?

Swipe down twice to open Quick Settings and tap the Do Not Disturb tile (or the moon icon) to toggle it off. You can also say “Hey Google, turn off Do Not Disturb” if you have Google Assistant enabled.

Why is DND not blocking notifications from a specific app?

Some apps have their own notification categories that can bypass DND. Check the app’s notification settings (long-press the app icon > App info > Notifications) and ensure it’s not set to “Priority” or “Alert” with override DND. Also, in DND settings, make sure you haven’t accidentally added that app to Notifications from.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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