MELANCHOLY404 TECHNOLOGY

When you’ve owned smartphones from two different platforms, you see the positive and negative sides of both. Sometimes, you wish you could bring the plus points of each together. We have already seen how we can get iOS-like notifications on our Android. The feature makes it easy for us to access and read notifications without unlocking the phone and indeed saves time. Today I am going to show you how you can bring iPhone’s another amazing feature – the Do Not Disturb mode – to Android.

Do Not Disturb is a setting for iPhone that completely silences your phone for specific hours of the day so that you are not disturbed with any calls and notifications unless it’s an emergency. We have done a detailed article on the feature examining every aspect; go have a look. The feature is really amazing for getting a sound night’s sleep and I don’t know why we have yet to see the feature on Android even after so many updates.

Thanks to amazing developers and the open source nature of the platform, we always find a workaround, and this time it’s a simple app called Nights Keeper. So let’s see how we can use the app and bring the DND (Do Not Disturb) feature to our droids.

After you install and launch the app, you’ll see some predetermined DND time sets for weekdays and weekends and an infinity sign for an indefinite do not disturb mode. Now if you want to activate the feature during the predefined times, tap the option to select it.

To add a new calendar time, tap the + button on the app and configure the start and stop periods. When you edit a pre-existing module or create a new one, you get many additional configuration settings. The app features a whole list of contacts that can be used to filter calls when DND is activated. This way, callers of your choice will come through no matter what.

Another interesting feature of the app is the panic mode that you can set to be triggered after a certain number of missed calls. If the same person calls you too many times, the app will then allow the call from that person to ring. So if anyone is trying to reach you in case of an emergency, the app will let him through.

You can also select the ringtone volume in these calls or specify a soothing ringtone, just while the DND profile lasts.

Those were the features that were limited to free version of the app. In the pro version (available through in-app purchase for $2.99), you can reply to a blocked call with an SMS so that they are notified that you are in a DND mode. The app also features a power saver mode that optimizes your battery performance while you are in the DND mode. You can choose to turn off the mobile radios like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth once the DND profile has completed a cycle.

Apart from that, you can create a backup of your settings in the SD card from the settings menu and configure some advanced settings, notification priority, and SMS.

So that was how you can get the iOS-like Do Not Disturb feature on your Android. There are many apps available on the Play Store for the task, but the reason I picked Nights Keeper over others was because, among the other apps that really worked, it had the least restrictions in the free version. Also, the app interface is very clean and it can be easily configured to suit one’s needs. Don’t forget to download and install the app and let us know how you would rate it.