[HOW TO] Use Android 5.0 Priority Mode aka the new Silent Mode

wicked

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Android 5.0 brings lots of new features. One of them is Priority Mode which has some people including myself wondering if it is a bug in the system, but really it is just a change in how Android deals with notifications. Android is giving users more control over how and when those notifications come through. Google hasn't done a good job of explaining this change and historically, the tech giant does not explain changes properly unless there's a big enough fuss made.

So, it used to be that when you held down the volume rocker on your Android device, the volume would drop, then go to vibrate only, and finally to silent. With Lollipop, that is no longer the case but, that doesn't mean that Silent Mode has disappeared. As you will notice when you start lowering the volume on your device, there are new options on that volume settings pop-up for Priority and None. The way it works now is that Priority is the new Silent Mode, and None is an absolute silence.

Let's have a look at the new options:

1. Normal Mode - The standard is to let through all notifications at whatever volume you set.

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2. None mode - The other end of that spectrum is None, which will silence everythingincluding alarms, so be careful when using this.

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3. Priority Mode - The real power is in Priority Mode, which is essentially the new Silent Mode. By default, it will silence almost all notifications indefinitely, along with silencing your ringtone. You can also set a timer to automatically turn off Priority Mode. The timer can be set anywhere from 15 minutes up to 8 hours. Of course, that's not all you can do...

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4. Priority Mode settings
Because this is Android, you get much deeper control over how Priority Mode works. Standard Priority Mode only notifies you on Events and Reminders, which are likely the most important notifications, because you need to be somewhere or doing something. The assumption by Google is that you don't have events or reminders set to trigger while you're sleeping, so this shouldn't cause a problem during those times.

If you want, you can turn this off, or you can also add exceptions for calls and messages.

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5. Priority Mode call exception
In terms of letting through calls, you can add exceptions for: Anyone, just your Starred contacts, or anyone in your Contacts list.

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6. Priority Mode schedule
Beyond that, you can also schedule times when Priority Mode should be turned on. The intent here is to silence notifications when you're sleeping, so Google allows you to choose what time Priority Mode starts and what time it ends, as well as what days it will be invoked.

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Thanks to our friends over at PhoneArena!
 

Jonny Kansas

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After hashing it out in the other thread & reading this one, I get it now. Not that it truly matters because I only have lollipop on my tablet right now & it's almost always in silent mode, but good to know.

Sent from my Note 4
 

Beardface

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Interesting... Priority Mode is essentially the same thing as Blocking Mode on the Note 4, so if this functionality carries over when the Samsung devices upgrade, it shouldn't be that big a deal to anyone who uses that.
 

Jonny Kansas

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Interesting... Priority Mode is essentially the same thing as Blocking Mode on the Note 4, so if this functionality carries over when the Samsung devices upgrade, it shouldn't be that big a deal to anyone who uses that.
Might take a little get in used to if I need to go into silent mode. I don't really have many occasions where I can't at least have my phone on vibrate these days, but I'll have to think about it if/when I do if it's carried over like this.

Sent from my Note 4
 

Beardface

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Might take a little get in used to if I need to go into silent mode. I don't really have many occasions where I can't at least have my phone on vibrate these days, but I'll have to think about it if/when I do if it's carried over like this.

Sent from my Note 4
If you absolutely need it silenced, then just throw it into 'None' and nothing will come through, including alarms (which I actually applaud cause there's been more than once when I silenced my phone but forgot there was an alarm set and bam... loud alarm in a quiet theater). I'm curious on how many steps it'll take to go from off to priority to none. Wonder if it'll be a 3-part toggle on the settings pulldown. From what I can see, it should be a pretty quick and easy thing, and even better, it looks like you are able to schedule Priority Mode times, so you can still set it up to silence overnight.
 

nupur1

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As you will notice when you start lowering the volume on your device, there are new options on that volume settings pop-up for Priority and None. Frankly, this new way seems a bit better, because rather than having to go through lowering your phone volume, then hitting vibrate, then getting to Silent mode; now, you just tap once on Priority Mode, and you're good to go.
 

Thomas Hagewood

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Interesting! More detailed and easily to understand about this topic..Great info. Now, we just need to get 5.0 on our phones Great job @wicked Thank you!
 
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wicked

wicked

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You're welcome and yeah, I'm waiting to get it on my phone too. @Thomas Hagewood
 

chakfu

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Since the 5.1 upgrade on my Droid Turbo, I am receiving a beep after a missed call when the caller hangs up, similar to the tone when a phone call ends.

This occurs regardless of whether I have interruptions set to "All", "Priority", or "None" and has already awakened me twice. The same low volume tone also occurs regardless of the volume setting or whether I am set to vibrate. The actual ringtones are silenced properly by the interruptions settings; the persistent beep just occurs after the rings stop.

Has anyone else experienced these sorts of tones not being silenced properly? I saw an outside post regarding low battery warnings remaining audible; discussion on the Turbo forum hasn't borne any solution or insight yet.
 
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