How to Turn off All Sounds on an iPhone Except Call Ringer

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By Victor Ashiedu

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I had this annoying experience where my iPhone was sounding every second an email dropped in Outlook. To stop it from distracting me, I decided to turn off all sounds, except when I received a phone call.

Turn Off Notifications for All Apps

If you’re having a similar experience and want to stop your iPhone from driving you crazy, here are the steps I used to silence it for good:

The steps below turn off notifications for all apps except the phone app.
  1. Open the Settings app. and tap Focus.
How to Turn off All Sounds on an iPhone Except Call Ringer - open settings app
  1. Then, on the Focus settings screens, tap “Do Not Disturb.”
How to Turn off All Sounds on an iPhone Except Call Ringer - open Do not Disturb
  1. Tap People on the “Do Not Disturb” screen.
  1. When the Notifications screen loads, ensure that the “All Notifications From” option is selected (default). Then, tap Allow Calls From and select “Allowed People Only.”
  1. Once you’re done with configuring notifications settings, go back to the “Do Not Disturb” page, scroll down to “SET A SCHEDULE” and tap the Every day schedule.
  1. Finally, flip the switch from off to on to turn it on.

Allow Notification for Specific Apps

If you want to allow some apps to send notifications, including sound, follow these steps to allow those apps:

  1. Open the Settings -> Focus -> Do Not Disturb.
  2. Then, on the Do Not Disturb settings screen, under “ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS”, tap Apps.
Allow Notification for Specific Apps on iPhone's do not disturb
  1. Next, on the Notifications screen, tap the “Add” icon.
Next, on the Notifications screen, tap the Add icon
  1. Finally, select (tap to select) the apps you want to allow and click Done. The allowed apps will now be displayed in the list.
Finally, select (tap to select) the apps you want to allow and click Done

Conclusion

Once I finished these configurations, my Outlook sound distractions stopped. However, when I get a phone call, it rings – mission achieved!

I hope it worked for you too! Let me know by responding to the “Was this page helpful?” question below.

Thanks for stopping by but before you run, you may want to look around our Apple & iOS how-to guides for more articles that will help you optimize your iPhone.

About the Author

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Victor Ashiedu

Victor is the founder of InfoPress Media, publishers of Ilifeguides and Itechguides. With 20+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, his expertise spans Windows, Linux, and DevOps. Explore his contributions on Itechguides.com for insightful how-to guides and product reviews.

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