How do I turn off sound when I send a text message?
Most smartphones today play a sound effect or notification when a text message is sent or received. This is the default setting on many devices. While some users find the sound helpful to alert them of new messages, others may find it distracting or annoying in certain situations.
There are many reasons why someone may want to turn off the sound that plays when they send a text message. For example, the sound could be disruptive in quiet environments like libraries, meetings or classrooms. People may want to text discreetly without making noise. The sound effects can also be distracting if you are trying to concentrate. Additionally, some simply find the default text tones unpleasant.
Luckily, every major smartphone platform offers ways to silence text message sounds. With the right settings adjusted, you can send texts quietly and discreetly. This article outlines different methods for muting text tones on iOS and Android devices.
Check Your Phone’s Settings
Both Android and iPhones allow you to control text message sounds through your phone’s settings menu. On Android phones, you can access the settings for your text message app and turn off all sounds and vibrations from incoming messages. Alternatively, you can adjust the notification settings for your Messages app specifically to disable sounds <1>. On iPhones, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics to find options for customizing text tones or turning off text sounds altogether. Under Text Tone, you can select the “None” option to mute incoming text notifications <2>.
<1>https://support.google.com/messages/answer/9079661?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
<2>https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notifications-iph62faab6a4/ios
Use Silent or Vibrate Mode
Most smartphones have a silent or vibrate only mode that can be enabled to mute sounds for notifications and calls. Enabling one of these modes is an easy way to turn off notification sounds specifically for text messages.
On Android phones, silent mode typically shows an icon with a crossed out bell, while vibrate mode shows an icon with vertical vibration lines. Despite their icons, both modes prevent any audible notifications or ringtones, the only difference being that vibrate mode will still buzz when a notification comes in (source: Reddit).
To toggle between sound, vibrate only, and muted modes on Android, press the volume rocker buttons on the side of the phone and tap the corresponding icon at the top of the screen. The sound mode can also be changed in Sound & Vibration settings under Settings (source: Google Android Help).
On an iPhone, silent mode is called Do Not Disturb and has additional customizable options, but enabling it will mute sounds and notifications. The mute switch on the side of the iPhone will quickly toggle between vibrate and silent modes.
Using the built-in silent or vibrate settings is an easy and effective way to mute notification sounds specifically for text messages on most phones.
Use Do Not Disturb Mode
Do Not Disturb mode blocks all sounds and notifications on your iPhone during set times (Source). This can be useful for blocking text message sounds when you don’t want to be disturbed, like during meetings, at night when sleeping, or any other time you want to avoid interruptions.
To enable Do Not Disturb on your iPhone, open the Settings app and tap “Focus”. Choose the “Do Not Disturb” focus mode. Here, you can customize when Do Not Disturb turns on automatically, who is allowed to notify you, and more. For example, you can set it to turn on every night from 10pm to 7am to mute overnight text message sounds.
With Do Not Disturb enabled, you won’t hear any sounds or feel any vibrations from new text messages. The texts will still come through normally, but your phone will stay silent. Just remember to turn Do Not Disturb off when you want to receive text sounds again.
Install a Silent Texting App
Apps like Silent Text can automatically silence text notifications. They work by muting or intercepting texts before the sound plays. Silent texting apps run in the background and prevent your phone from making noise when you receive a new text message. Popular options include Silent Text for iOS and Silent Messages or SMS Silent for Android.
These apps allow you to selectively mute text conversations or contacts. You can set up schedules and rules, like muting texts at night or during work hours. The apps do not affect your normal text messaging functionality, they simply suppress notifications and sounds. Your texts will still come through as usual, just without any disruptive noises. This gives you more control over managing distractions.
The advantage of using a specialized silent texting app, rather than just your phone’s built-in settings, is that you can customize the muting capabilities. For example, you could set your phone to mute all texts by default, but then allow VIP contacts or emergency contacts to ring through. Overall, installing one of these apps is an easy way to take control of noisy text alerts.
Use Accessibility Settings
Some accessibility settings on smartphones can block sounds from incoming text messages. This can be useful for people who need to limit auditory input for medical or sensory reasons. On Android devices, Google’s Sound Notifications feature allows you to receive visual alerts for texts without any sound.
To enable this, open your device’s Settings app, tap Accessibility, then tap Sound Notifications. Accept the permissions, then toggle on visual alerts for texts. You can customize vibration patterns and LED light colors for different contacts. Sound Notifications requires Android 5.0 or later [1].
On iPhones, go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices. Turn off “Play Ringtone” and “Play System Sounds” to prevent text tones from playing through hearing aids or Bluetooth accessories. This routes text alerts to the iPhone’s mute channel instead [2].
Third-Party Texting Apps
Many popular chat and messaging apps like WhatsApp give you more control over text tones and notifications compared to the default text messaging app on your phone. For example, you can set a custom alert tone for individual contacts or groups in WhatsApp by tapping on the contact name, going to Wallpaper & Sound, and selecting a custom tone under Alert Tone, according to this guide.
You can also manage conversation tones in WhatsApp by going to Settings > Notifications and customizing the Notification Tone under Messages or Groups, as explained in WhatsApp’s support site. This allows you to turn off sound or set different tones for different conversations.
Other chat apps like Telegram and Facebook Messenger have similar capabilities to customize notifications for contacts, groups, and channels. So if the default texting app on your phone doesn’t allow enough control, using a third-party app can enable more granular management of text tones.
Airplane Mode
Turning on Airplane Mode is an easy way to mute all notifications and sounds from incoming messages on your phone. When Airplane Mode is enabled, it disables all wireless connections including cellular data, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and more (source).
Because Airplane Mode blocks your cellular and internet connectivity, you will not receive any new text messages or notifications while it’s turned on. Any messages sent to you during this time will be queued and delivered to your phone once you turn Airplane Mode back off and reconnect to the cellular network (source).
So if you need to mute notifications for a period of time, flipping on Airplane Mode is an effective solution. Just keep in mind that you won’t get any texts or alerts until you turn it off again.
Turn Off Message Previews
One way to turn off sound when receiving a text message on an iPhone is to disable message previews. When message previews are turned off, the content of incoming texts will not appear on your lock screen or in notifications. According to this source, you can turn off message previews by going to Settings > Notifications > Messages and selecting “Never” or “Off” for Show Previews.
Disabling previews stops text content from appearing when you receive a new message. This means that even if your phone makes a sound when you get a text, you won’t see the message itself pop up. So by turning off previews, you can prevent texts from making noise if you don’t see the content.
It’s important to note that while this stops message content from being shown, it doesn’t fully silence your phone. Your device may still make its default new notification sound when a text comes in. But since you won’t see the message itself appear, it cuts down on distractions.
Conclusion
There are several different ways to turn off sound when sending a text message on your smartphone. The main methods covered in this guide include adjusting your phone’s general notification settings, enabling silent or vibrate mode, using Do Not Disturb mode, installing third-party silent texting apps, modifying accessibility settings, using alternative texting apps, putting your phone in airplane mode, and turning off message previews.
Controlling notifications is important for minimizing distractions and staying focused. Research shows that constant smartphone notifications can decrease concentration, increase distraction, and negatively impact cognition (https://neurosciencenews.com/smartphone-notifications-cognition-22048/, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/health/phone-notifications-interruptions-wellness-partner/index.html). For people with sensory processing issues or attention deficit disorders, muting text tones can also help reduce sensory overload.
By customizing your notification settings and utilizing silent modes, you can take control over the disruptions coming from your smartphone. This allows you to text message without sounds interrupting your focus, conversations, or other activities.