The iPhone can deliver all sorts of messages, some of which may confuse users seeing them for the first time. One such notification in the Messages app is, ‘User has notifications silenced.’ So what exactly does this mean for you, the person trying to reach someone?
If you see ‘Notifications Silenced’ in Messages, it usually means the other person has Focus Mode (or Do Not Disturb) on, and their notifications are silenced. If you see it in your control center, you have Do Not Disturb on, and your app notifications are muted.
Let’s take a closer look at ‘Notifications Silenced,’ as well as what it means and how to stop this from happening.
What Does ‘Notifications Silenced’ Mean on iPhone?
If you see ‘Notifications Silenced’ on your Control Center or the main menu on the iPhone, you have your notifications turned off. This is usually due to having Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb on. You can check this in one of two ways:
- By looking at the top right of your screen next to the battery—if there is a half-moon symbol, it’s on
- By swiping down on the screen to access your Control Center and checking if the half-moon is highlighted
However, sometimes you might notice that this appears in your Messages app rather than on the main screen and points to someone else.
This indicates that they’re the ones with this turned on, and they will not receive your message notification until they turn it off (or manually open the Messages app).
There are a variety of reasons someone might use Focus Mode, whether they want to actually focus or just sleep! Some people also have it timed to come on, as you can set a schedule on your iPhone. So if you see this message for them at the same time every day, that’s likely what’s happening.
How to Turn Focus Mode Off
If users aren’t familiar with Focus Mode, they might realize they aren’t getting notifications or alerts and wonder what’s happened. The first step to troubleshooting this is ensuring that Focus Mode is turned off.
The first way to do this is to pull down the Control Center and check if the half-moon is highlighted, just as you would to check if it was turned on. If it is highlighted, tap it once to turn it off.
The other way is:
- Access Settings.
- Choose Focus.
- Make sure it’s turned off and set up the rest of your settings.
How to Stop Sharing Your Focus Status
If you don’t want others to see if your Focus Mode is turned on or off, there’s a way to do that too. Head into the same menu as above and this time, look for ‘Focus Status.’ There’ll be a toggle that you can move to green (on) or grey (off). This allows you to decide if you want to share your focus status.
If you turn it off, no one who messages you will see that you aren’t receiving notifications at the moment. So if you want them to see this, ensure it’s turned on.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to customize it for specific contacts just yet, so the setting you choose will apply to everyone with an iPhone. Those with other phones (like an Android) won’t be able to see this message regardless of your status, as your messages are sent as regular SMS texts and not iMessage.
How to Tell if Someone has Do Not Disturb Turned on
It’s hard to tell if someone has Do Not Disturb on, especially if they don’t want you to know that they have it on. However, there are a few tricks you can choose to find out—other than seeing the Notifications Silenced message.
The first is to call them. Do Not Disturb tends to ring once and then go to voicemail as if the person has rejected the call. On the other side, their phone never actually rang at all, and they missed it.
This can also happen if you’re blocked. If you’re looking for the difference between being blocked and their phone being on Do Not Disturb, the only real way you can tell is to call them from another phone.
Messages will look the same if you’re blocked vs. if they have Focus Mode on. The iMessage will show as ‘Delivered’ but will never change to ‘Read.’ This also may mean they don’t have read receipts turned on.
All in all, the best way to find out if someone has Do Not Disturb on is to ask if you’re unsure. They may have a schedule they can inform you about in advance, so you aren’t left wondering.