How do you wake up someone whose phone is on silent?

Many Silence Their Phones Overnight

It’s common for people to put their phones on silent or vibrate mode when going to bed at night. According to recent research, as many as 42% of iPhone users report having their phones on vibrate overnight, while another 8% mute their phones entirely (Source). This helps avoid disruptive notifications and ringtones that can interfere with sleep. However, it also makes it difficult to contact someone in an emergency if their phone is unreachable.

When faced with the situation of needing to urgently wake up someone whose phone is silenced, various strategies may be required. The goal is to find a way to alert them despite their device being muted.

Knock or ring doorbell

One of the most direct methods to wake someone up whose phone is on silent is to knock on their bedroom or apartment door. This alerts them to your presence even if their phone doesn’t. According to research, knocking can be an effective way to wake someone up: “Sometimes tension is unavoidable in doorknocking. The truth is people maybe bothered or suspicious about you coming to your door. You might even wake a couple…” (Source).

If you don’t have direct access to knock on their bedroom door, consider ringing the doorbell to their home or apartment. The sound of the doorbell can often be heard even with a phone silenced. Just be sure not to ring repeatedly and annoy them or their neighbors.

Send text/call anyway

Even if someone’s phone is on silent or do not disturb mode, sending them multiple texts or calls could still potentially wake them up through phone vibration. Most smartphones nowadays have strong vibration motors that provide tactile feedback for notifications. While the person may not hear an audible ringtone, the vibration from repetitive texts or calls could be enough to stir them from sleep.

If you urgently need to wake someone up whose phone is silenced, try repeatedly contacting them via text or phone call. Send a few messages in a row or call multiple times back-to-back. The constant buzzing from the vibration could end up rousing them. While not guaranteed to work, it’s still worth attempting just in case the phone vibrations manage to wake the person up. Be persistent and don’t give up after just one attempt.

According to a Reddit thread, some users report that the Apple Watch’s vibrating alarm is strong and loud enough to wake them up reliably. So vibration alerts may be surprisingly effective at waking silent sleepers, even without a loud audible alarm. It’s therefore worth sending a barrage of texts or calls on the chance the vibrations are sufficient to get the job done.

Use alternative numbers

One strategy is to try calling the person on an alternative number that they may not have silenced, such as a work phone or spouse’s phone. According to a 2022 survey by Statista, the average American has 2.1 mobile phones. This indicates most people have access to more than one phone number. So if you can’t reach someone on their primary personal cell phone, it’s worth trying a work, home, or secondary cell number that they may have forgotten to silence (Statista, 2022).

Many people now have their work emails and phone numbers synced to their personal cell phones. But sometimes a dedicated work phone will remain unsilenced overnight or on weekends when the person is not actively working. Calling the work phone could potentially go through and wake up the recipient.

Trying the phone number of a spouse or family member is another alternative. For example, if you urgently need to reach your sibling but their cell phone is silenced, you could attempt calling your brother-in-law or sister-in-law’s phone. Even if that person doesn’t pick up, the ringing may be audible enough in your sibling’s home to wake them.

Relying on alternative phone numbers requires some knowledge of the recipient’s personal circumstances and access to those other numbers. But when available, it provides additional options for trying to making contact and wake someone up whose primary phone is silenced.

Request wellness check

For emergencies, you should call emergency services directly to request a wellness check on someone you are worried about (The Law Dictionary). A wellness check involves police stopping by someone’s home to ensure they are okay if they cannot be reached and there is reason for concern.

Requesting a wellness check should be a last resort if you are unable to reach someone and are seriously worried about their wellbeing. Police will visit the person’s home to check if they are safe andtry to make contact. A wellness check is an important welfare service, but should be used judiciously in true emergencies rather than routinely. Be prepared to explain your relationship to the person and reasons for your concern (WikiHow).

Overall, a wellness check can provide reassurance or prompt assistance for a loved one if you are unable to reach them and fear there may be danger to their health or safety.

Leave voicemail

One of the most direct ways to get in touch with someone whose phone is on silent is to leave them a voicemail. According to Voicemail Statistics: How Many People Leave Voicemails in 2023?, 80% of calls to mobile phones go to voicemail, though only 20% of callers end up leaving a message ^[1]. While it may feel fruitless, a voicemail can be an effective alert when the recipient wakes up and checks their phone.

When leaving a voicemail to alert someone, briefly explain the urgency or importance of your message. For example, “Hi, this is an emergency, please call me back as soon as you get this.” This highlights that your message requires timely action. Keep the voicemail short and to the point. The recipient can then hear the urgency in your voice when they listen to the message. This method relies on the recipient checking their voicemail promptly, but creates a record of your attempts to reach them.

Send Email

One option is to send an email to the person, even if their phone is on silent. The notification noise from a new email arriving on a laptop or tablet may be enough to wake them up, depending on how heavy of a sleeper they are. You can include an urgent subject line like “WAKE UP!” or “Please Respond ASAP” to attempt to get their attention.

According to Email Marketing Statistics and Benchmarks by Industry, the average email open rate in 2023 across all industries is around 20-30%. While an email may not always be opened or noticed right away, repeatedly sending emails increases the chances that one will be seen sooner than later.

The email can briefly explain the reason you urgently need to get in touch and ask them to call or text you back as soon as they see the message. Make it clear there is an urgent matter so they prioritize responding.

Stop by in person

If the situation is urgent enough, you may need to stop by the person’s home and wake them up in person. This should only be done for extreme emergencies when you absolutely need to reach the person right away. According to research from the US Census Bureau, the average one-way commute time in the US is around 27 minutes. So be prepared to spend at least that long driving to the person’s home.

When you arrive, knock loudly on the door and/or ring the doorbell repeatedly to try and wake the person up. You may need to do this for several minutes before they hear you. Shout their name through the door to let them know you are there. If they still don’t respond, you may need to enlist the help of a neighbor or building manager to gain entry to the home and check on the person’s wellbeing.

Obviously this is an extreme measure and you don’t want to scare or upset the person. But for true emergencies where you need to reach someone urgently, stopping by in person may be your only option if they aren’t responding to calls, texts, or other digital attempts to contact them.

Notify contacts

Reaching out to the sleeping person’s other contacts is another option to help wake them up. You can call their workplace, family members, roommates, or close friends to get their assistance in waking the person.

When calling contacts, briefly explain that you urgently need to reach the sleeping person but their phone is on silent. Ask if they can help by calling, texting, stopping by in person, or requesting a wellness check if you are seriously concerned. You may need to try contacting multiple people, as some contacts may also be unreachable or unaware of the situation.

Coordinating with a wider network of the sleeping person’s contacts expands your reach and likelihood of successfully waking them. Leveraging their contacts’ closer proximity, different contact methods, or familiarity can provide additional ways to wake the unreachable person. With help from their contacts, you are more likely to either directly or indirectly wake the sleeping individual.

Remain patient

The person may simply be in a deep sleep and unable to hear their phone. According to the Mayo Clinic, adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per night for good health. Therefore, it’s important not to overreact if you can’t reach someone right away, as they may just be getting their necessary rest.

Unless it’s a true emergency, take a deep breath and avoid panicking. Give the person adequate time to wake up and see your messages before escalating to more drastic measures. Sleep is essential for health, cognition and wellbeing, so remain calm and patient.