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Jason Cipriani/CNET
“Do not disturb” (DND) is quickly becoming a feature found on all flagship smartphones. When enabled, the feature prevents your phone from alerting you of incoming messages or calls, avoiding any interruptions during a meeting. Or more importantly, you can schedule DND mode to turn at night while you sleep.
During the setup process for the Galaxy S5, I started looking for a DND section in the settings menu. I was quickly disappointed, as one was nowhere to be found. Then I realized it was staring right at me the entire time — it just goes by a different name.
For whatever reason, Samsung has decided to rename “Do not disturb” as “Blocking Mode.”
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Once you find Blocking Mode, you can set a schedule, manually enable it, customize the types of alerts to be blocked (including alarms), and define what contacts’ calls will still come through.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
One thing you will notice when setting Blocking Mode to work on a set schedule, is that the you first have to turn Blocking Mode on. In turn, an icon is placed in the menu bar at the top of your screen; even if Blocking Mode isn’t currently “active” (it’s not currently the scheduled time), the icon serves as a reminder you have it scheduled to turn on. Confusing.
To temporarily enable Blocking Mode, you have to set the time to “Always” and then revert back to the schedule or disable Blocking Mode altogether to turn it off. Again, confusing.
Blocking Mode may not be the best named or implemented feature, but it works well once you learn its nuances.
