It's annoying to be distracted by your phone's alerts and incoming calls. You can turn on iPhone Silent mode if you need some peace and quiet, but don't want to enable a Focus mode like Do Not Disturb. Here's how to put your iPhone's ringer on silent while the baby is napping, you're watching a show, or if you just find the sound of a phone ringing unpleasant.

Why You'll Love This Tip

Use iPhone Silent mode to silence calls and other notifications without activating a Focus.
Learn how to turn off sound to notification sounds if they bother you with iPhone Silent mode.

How to Turn On Silent Mode on iPhone

System Requirements

This tip works on iPhones running iOS 16 or later, and was tested on an iPhone 17 Pro running iOS 26. Find out how to update to the latest version of iOS.

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max or later, youn can put your phone on Silent mode via the Action Button. The Action Button's default setting is to turn the ringer on and off, but it can be customized to perform other functions.

iPhone action button

Image Credit: Apple.com

Silencing your iPhone 14 or earlier is super simple. The iPhone has a convenient switch to quickly turn the ringer on and off. You can find the Ring/Silent Switch right above the volume up button on the side of your device:

iPhone ring/silent switch

Image Credit: Apple.com

Note

According to Apple, "clock alarms, audio apps such as Music, and many games play sounds through the built-in speaker, even when Silent mode is on. In some countries or regions, the sound effects for Camera, Voice Memos, and Emergency Alerts are played, even when the Ring/Silent switch or Action button is set to silent."

Now, here's how to put your iPhone on silent:

Press and hold the Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and later, or, on iPhone 14 and earlier, flip the Ring/Silent switch into the down position (an organe strip will be visible if you look closely). You'll see a notification on your iPhone that Silent mode has been activated. This means calls and alerts will be muted. Alarms set in the Clock app will not be muted.
If you're wondering how to turn off Silent mode on iPhone, simply push the switch forward so the orange no longer shows (or press and hold the Action Button again on iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and later). You'll see a notification that your iPhone has been set to Ring.
You can still be alerted to calls and notifications if you have haptics set to play in Silent mode. But if you don't want your device to make even that much noise, you can also shut off the vibration feature by going into Settings and tapping Sounds & Haptics.
Tap Haptics.
Choose between Always Play, Play in Silent Mode, Don't Play in Silent Mode, or Never Play.
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max or later, you will see some extra options at the top of the Sounds & Haptics menu. You can toggle Silent Mode on and off here.

That's how to silence your iPhone, and how to turn Silent mode off on iPhone. Next, check out our free Tip of the Day for more great iPhone notification tutorials.