How to Turn on Emergency Bypass on iPhone to Allow Specific Notifications in DND

Your iPhone has a feature called Focus Modes, which keeps notifications away from you and helps you stay free from distractions. But what if you want to allow a phone call or a text message from an important person despite using your phone in the do not disturb mode? There’s where the Emergency Bypass on iPhone comes into the picture.

Apple has added a slew of features on your iPhone to help you in an emergency. In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know about the Emergency Bypass feature on your iPhone. Let’s start with the basics.

What is Emergency Bypass on iPhone

While the iPhone has a lot of features and tools that keep us glued to it, there are also a lot of features that help us improve our digital well-being and minimize screen time. We love using the Focus Modes, and it does a great job of keeping us away from notifications.

However, we sure have a few people at work or family and friends whose notifications we do not want to miss under any circumstances. Hence, when you enable Emergency Bypass for these contacts, they will get through no matter what.

Contacts with Emergency Bypass can:

  • Contact you even in the Do Not Disturb Mode.
  • Contact you irrespective of any focus mode.
  • Notify you with sounds even when your phone is on silent.

Now that we know what Emergency Bypass on iPhone does, let us look into how we can set up the feature.

Tip: Know the difference between Do Not Disturb Mode, Airplane Mode, and Silent Mode on your iPhone.

How to Set Emergency Bypass on iPhone for Phone Calls and FaceTime

Emergency Bypass can be set to either or both for text messages and calls on cellular and FaceTime.

Here’s how you can turn on Emergency Bypass for calls and FaceTime. When you enable it for a certain contact, you will be able to hear the ringtone when they call you irrespective of DND or any Focus Mode.

Step 1: Open the Contacts app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on the contact you want to enable Emergency Bypass for.

Step 3: Now, tap on Edit.

Step 4: Tap on Ringtone.

Step 5: Now, turn on the toggle for Emergency Bypass.

How to Put Someone on Emergency Bypass on iPhone for Text Messages

Here’s how you can set Emergency Bypass for text messages on iPhone so that the selected contacts can notify you with a sound even when you are on do not disturb.

Step 1: Open the Contacts app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on the contact you want to Emergency Bypass for.

Step 3: Now, tap on Edit.

Step 4: Tap on Text Tone.

Step 5: Now, turn on the toggle for Emergency Bypass.

And that is how you set up Emergency Bypass on your iPhone to bypass the DND mode. Such a feature will definitely come in handy when your family and friends want to contact you during an emergency.

Many times when we put our phones in DND, we’ve often faced the conflict of ‘oh, what if someone important is trying to call me’, and thankfully this feature puts an end to that. If you still have any further questions, take a look at our FAQ section below.

FAQs on Emergency Bypass on iPhone

1. How many Emergency Bypass contacts can you set up on iPhone?

There is no limit for setting Emergency Bypass contacts on iPhone.

2. How to disable Emergency Bypass for a contact?

You need to disable the toggle in the ringtone or the text tone section for the contact.

3. Does iPhone reject calls when you are on Do Not Disturb?

Yes. Unless you allow contacts to call you, calls are generally rejected when your iPhone is in the Do Not Disturb mode.

Always Be in Reach for your Loved Ones

We hope this guide helped you understand everything about the Emergency Bypass feature, and how you can use it to let contacts bypass Do Not Disturb on your iPhone. So use this feature, and ensure you are always available for your loved ones.

Last updated on 28 March, 2023

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