Ask HN: Do you turn your phone off ever?
Do you turn off your phone or do you just occasionally set it to silent?
41 comments
Always set to silent. Never turn it off but I tend to not even take it with me most of the time. Important stuff never happens via mobile phone or social media anyway.
That's strange. Do you effectively just use your mobile as a landline then? I don't see the point in owning one if you don't take it with you.
Well, I used it for a few years until experience showed that having a phone on you all the time does not actually provide any benefits, so it's mostly landline replacement indeed.
I recently went on a trip to Europe where I had to swap out my regular SIM card for a European SIM card, then swap back when I returned. Changing the SIM card on my phone requires removing the battery, so, yes, I powered my phone off to do this.
Otherwise, I almost never power off my phone. I do switch it to airplane mode when I fly, and set it to silent when appropriate.
Otherwise, I almost never power off my phone. I do switch it to airplane mode when I fly, and set it to silent when appropriate.
On silent by default. I have an iPhone and Watch. When the phone rings, it displays on the watch. I can answer if it's important enough.
I turn it off in flight, sometimes. Airplane mode otherwise.
Very rarely off completely.
I turn it off in flight, sometimes. Airplane mode otherwise.
Very rarely off completely.
I rarely turn it entirely off, since it takes an annoyingly long time to start back up again, but it stays in silent mode most of the time. I don't use email sync, either, and I leave location services disabled unless I'm about to launch an app for which I think location services would be useful. Basically I want the phone to sit there and do nothing until I decide I want something from it.
Airplane mode when I'm at work and at night when no one should be calling. So pretty much, my phone is only ever "on" for a few hours a day.
Mine's on silent 24/7, no vibration, but never off. Also, being a millennial woman with small pockets that don't fit my phone, I almost always have it in my hand so I can see anything I've missed every 15-20 minutes at least. I have all of my notifications for social media turned off.
In theaters, when I need to conserve battery and before passing airport security.
Also, an incidental reboot happens because the battery runs out.
Also, an incidental reboot happens because the battery runs out.
I turn mine off. I have an android smartphone.
It's not very important to me. I live in a rural area with bad coverage, but more importantly--I own a computer, and I spend most of my day on it. I can't see the use for my phone when I'm sitting at my computer.
It's not very important to me. I live in a rural area with bad coverage, but more importantly--I own a computer, and I spend most of my day on it. I can't see the use for my phone when I'm sitting at my computer.
Always to fully silent, vibration off too. Watch is set to silent and vibrate, and I take it off between 6-8PM for family time. Do Not Disturb on the Watch is switched on when I go to sleep, so I can still track my sleep.
I probably restart it every couple of weeks, and I switch it off at the movies, because the alarm can turn sound back on.
When I was on-call, and then got a weekend off, I turned it off. Someone always tried to call. But I'm not in that 24/6 space anymore.
When I was on-call, and then got a weekend off, I turned it off. Someone always tried to call. But I'm not in that 24/6 space anymore.
It mostly stays in my pocket, and is often set on silent. It is never in a room where I'm sleeping unless I am using its alarm function. I rarely think to turn it off, unless for some reason I've let the battery run low.
If I have low battery while travelling and really need it when arriving I might do it.
I don't turn it off, but I put it on airplane mode regularly when I'm going to be in a low signal area where it will rapidly drain the battery trying to connect to towers, e.g. while backpacking.
At the movies, while at work, international travel if going long periods w/o easy access to an outlet, and in some countries where I'm particularly worried about security concerns.
Nope. It's a Nokia 130 or something with no internet stuff, and the only people who know the number are close friends who only call when it's really necessary.
My phone is almost always on silent (no vibration or anything) but it is almost always on. I reboot it every couple of weeks though.
In theaters. Partly because phones cannot be trusted to make zero noise otherwise (terrible OS design, in my opinion).
Mute them and put them in "Do not disturb" so they don't vibrate either? What other noise does your phone make?
My previous phone used to reboot at inconvenient times, playing an unmutable startup sound.
As far as I've found, I can't make my iPhone not make the low-battery sound.
The iPhone does not play a low-battery sound when the mute switch is on.
The only sound that plays is sound that you specifically asked for, like music or sound from a video, the alarm and sound from badly behaving apps.
The only sound that plays is sound that you specifically asked for, like music or sound from a video, the alarm and sound from badly behaving apps.
The problem I described happened many times these last 6 days. I made extra sure it was on silent each time (it was). I was pretty sure anyhow since I pretty much perpetually leave it on silent.
Maybe it's a quirk of this particular model (iPhone 5), or some sort of bug, but it's definitely making the low battery sound while physical switch is set to mute.
Maybe it's a quirk of this particular model (iPhone 5), or some sort of bug, but it's definitely making the low battery sound while physical switch is set to mute.
>The only sound that plays is sound that you specifically asked for, like [...] sound from badly behaving apps.
This got downvoted, so let me rephrase:
"Unfortunately, where you listed the example of 'badly behaving apps' as one of the sounds it does play, this shows that in many cases the only way to be sure that it will not play sounds is to turn the power off. That is the only way to know this will not happen."
"Unfortunately, where you listed the example of 'badly behaving apps' as one of the sounds it does play, this shows that in many cases the only way to be sure that it will not play sounds is to turn the power off. That is the only way to know this will not happen."
The low battery sound has always been silent for me when the silent rocker is switched. Do not disturb then means nothing on the screen at all.
I don't but i keep my phone in another room while i'm at home / airplane mode when necessary.
These responses seem completely alien to me.
Do those of you who turn your phones off or leave them places not have spouses/children to be responsible for, aging parents/grandparents to help out with, or in generally want to be available for friends when they need anything or just want to grab a beer and catch up?
Do those of you who turn your phones off or leave them places not have spouses/children to be responsible for, aging parents/grandparents to help out with, or in generally want to be available for friends when they need anything or just want to grab a beer and catch up?
We somehow survived w/o back in the day, and that feeling of constantly being contactable, or feeling you need to be, is debilitating imo.
'Constantly being contactable' is something of an old person's gripe, because they grew up with being unreachable by default. I walked 30 mins to school when I was 8, and took day-long biking trips with my younger brother at 14 yo without having a phone.
Almost unheard of these days (depending on where you live).
Personally I never switch off my iphone or even set it silent, but after years of living an event-driven life I learned to ignore those interruptions.
Almost unheard of these days (depending on where you live).
Personally I never switch off my iphone or even set it silent, but after years of living an event-driven life I learned to ignore those interruptions.
ah survivorship bias, thats an old standby.
I very much want my child and anyone who may be charged with keeping them safe to be able to contact me 24/7. Too much can go wrong too fast to not be able to be there for those that I care about.
I very much want my child and anyone who may be charged with keeping them safe to be able to contact me 24/7. Too much can go wrong too fast to not be able to be there for those that I care about.
That's why I like having a landline. Switch the mobile off at night but for life or death emergency important people have my home number.
Good point about children: I dare not be incommunicado during the day.
Good point about children: I dare not be incommunicado during the day.
Always on silent, DnD at work, and usually have it turned off the entire weekend.
Never off. Sometimes silent mode or airplane mode where necessary.
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I never turn it off, but in the night it is silent.
Never.