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Other If I'm holding my iPhone with my right hand in total darkness, how can I tell if the silent ringer mode is on or off?

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BlueMoose

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Sep 23, 2019
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If I'm holding my phone with my right hand in total darkness, how can I tell if the silent ringer mode is on or off?

"Change with buttons" is also turned off in settings, so I also can't tell by pushing volume up/down.(since the volume buttons only control media volume, not ringer volume)

I've had iPhones for years and this situation never came up until last night. I was with my new girlfriend in a movie theater with 7 other friends. We took advantage of their $110 deal that allowed us to have the entire place to ourselves.(normally seats about 125 people)

Just then, I thought "is my phone on silent or not?" I reached into the seat on my right where my jacket was. Took the phone out gently but I couldn't tell if the silent switch is on or off because the phone was in a case. The movie was playing and there was no light for me to tell which way the switch was pointing. I quickly tapped the screen to look at it.. also tried sliding down the control center.. no indication... I ended up powering it off, just to be safe.

So... how does one tell if the silent switch is on or off in the that situation?

Thanks!
 
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BlueMoose said:
but the problem was that the iPhone was in a case, so I need my left hand fingernail to reach in there to make the switch. using just my right hand, I couldn't reach in there. :(

kind of like this one: https://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Twelve-South-RelaxedLeather-Volume.png
Click to expand...

That doesn't look too different from the Apple leather case on my iphone...

Your silent switch won't explode if you use your right hand.

Put your phone down somewhere. Give the front camera a "high five". Bend your index finger and note how close you are to the ringer.
 
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nicho said:
That doesn't look too different from the Apple leather case on my iphone...

Your silent switch won't explode if you use your right hand.

Put your phone down somewhere. Give the front camera a "high five". Bend your index finger and note how close you are to the ringer.
Click to expand...

ummm.... that was what my left hand was doing.

like I said, I was making a rookie mistake... the last time I went on a date, I was still using a big 1990s Motorola flip phone.(like the one below)

Moto.jpg
 
This thread sure is a breath of fresh air. I can't give any recommendations on the silent switch situation but good on you for ditching the hoor and getting back out there.
 
BlueMoose said:
ummm.... that was what my left hand was doing.

like I said, I was making a rookie mistake... the last time I went on a date, I was still using a big 1990s Motorola flip phone.(like the one below)

View attachment 970386
Click to expand...


But in all seriousness, what you're doing with your left hand doesn't in any way interfere with what you were doing with your right or your ability to hold the phone the "wrong" way around (covering the screen with your hand) so that you can reach the ringer with a finger on your right hand.
 
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Knowlege Bomb said:
This thread sure is a breath of fresh air. I can't give any recommendations on the silent switch situation but good on you for ditching the hoor and getting back out there.
Click to expand...

maybe I'm just really old now... but I don't think I can keep up with her in a few years. PSA: you young folks out there, enjoy life as much as you can and have you-know-what as much as possible while you're young. :)

back to the iPhone silent switch situation. I just realized what the problem was. I keep my right hand fingernails trimmed as short as possible for work, which is why I don't have nails long enough to reach into the opening in the phone case to feel the switch. Not a problem with my left hand, which has enough fingernail length to reach. So next time I'll just sit on her left. Problem solved. I'm not Larry David, so I can do leftie or rightie. (or just turn the phone off before these delicate situations start) :)
 
Moose, you sir, have made my day complete. Thank you for this thread. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to step away and ask the better half if she’s up for seeing a movie 😏
 
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Steering the conversation back to the iPhone silent switch... I use iPhones and Android phones.(one for personal and one for business) On Android, there's always a little icon on the very top that tells me the phone's ringer is off. (a little bell with a line across it) There's gotta be a way to do that on an iPhone, no? :)
 
In the Settings, I thing under accesibility somewhere, you can see a triple tap on the back of the phone to toggle silent mode on and off
 
Me: Hey Siri, is silent mode turned on?
Siri: <mutes the volume> The current volume is 0%.
Me: 😭

Well it was worth a try.
 
BlueMoose said:
Steering the conversation back to the iPhone silent switch... I use iPhones and Android phones.(one for personal and one for business) On Android, there's always a little icon on the very top that tells me the phone's ringer is off. (a little bell with a line across it) There's gotta be a way to do that on an iPhone, no? :)
Click to expand...
There's something like that for Do Not Disturb which you can also use for similar purposes. Other than that you'd need to position your phone (whether it's with both hands or one hand using something else a prop of some sort) in a way where you could reach the silent switch to check/change it.
 
Give it the reach around and flick the mute switch with your index finger.
 
Is this real? If you really can’t tell if the switch is positioned to off or can’t maneuver it for whatever silly reason, just click the volume button down.......;)
 
JBGoode said:
Is this real? If you really can’t tell if the switch is positioned to off or can’t maneuver it for whatever silly reason, just click the volume button down.......;)
Click to expand...

I turned that off in setting previously... so when I press volume up/down, it doesn't change the ringer. (since the movie theater incident, I have changed it back to normal) :)
 
Why are you bothering with the mute switch when DND solves all your problems?
 
Paco II said:
Why are you bothering with the mute switch when DND solves all your problems?
Click to expand...
DND doesn't solve the problems. I like the idea that DND allows my partner or Mum/Dad to call me in the night in the case of emergencies.

But in a cinema, just vibrating is fine.

With DND enabled, if my Mum calls, it'll ring.
 
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