> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ilert.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ilert.com/mobile-app/mobile-app-notification-settings/critical-push-notifications-and-dnd-overrides/android-push-notification-dnd-configuration.md).

# Android Push Notification DND Configuration

This guide explains how to configure your push notification preferences for Android devices.

{% hint style="info" %}
Note: this guide is meant for Android users only. For iOS, please refer to [this page](/mobile-app/mobile-app-notification-settings/critical-push-notifications-and-dnd-overrides/ios-critical-alerts-configuration.md).
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}
[Download ilert app for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.ilert.client.iphone\&hl=en_US\&pli=1).
{% endhint %}

Critical alerts are how ilert reaches you for a high priority alert when your phone is silenced. Once they are switched on, ilert asks Android to play the alert as an **alarm** rather than as a normal notification, so it can still be heard on a muted phone.

This page has five steps: set up the app, make sure the alert can be heard, stop Android from delaying alerts, set up calls and SMS, then check that it works.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Only **high priority** alerts are delivered as critical alerts, and only while **Critical alerts for high priority** is enabled in the app. Low priority alerts always use your low priority notification settings.
{% endhint %}

## Before you start: check your Android version

Android 17 stopped letting apps turn the volume up in the background, so ilert now plays critical alerts as an alarm instead. **Step 2 of this guide is different depending on your version**, so check yours first under **Settings -> About phone -> Android version**.

<table><thead><tr><th width="220">Your version</th><th>What this means</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Android 17 and newer</strong></td><td>Alerts play at your <strong>alarm volume</strong>. There is no volume slider in the app, and ilert never changes your phone's settings.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Android 16 and older</strong></td><td>ilert turns your <strong>notification volume</strong> up itself, and you set how far in the app.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Everything else on this page is the same either way.

## Prerequisite

Install the ilert mobile app and sign in. This registers your device with your ilert account so it can receive push notifications.

Then open your **profile** settings, in either the web app or the mobile app, go to **Notification settings**, and use **Push** for the notification options you want. There is no separate Android notification method to pick — a push goes to every device you are signed in to the ilert app on.

## Step 1: Set up the app

* Open the **Navigation** in your app (top left icon)
* Tap the cog icon (top right in navigation) to open the **Settings** menu
* Tap on **Push notification settings**
* Make sure **Push notifications** at the top of the screen is on. While it is off, everything below it is greyed out and cannot be changed
* Pick a sound for **High** and **Low priority** notifications if you want one. Tap the row to select it — the selected sound is highlighted and shows a check mark on the right. The play icon only previews the sound and does not change your setting
* Turn on **Critical alerts for high priority**

<div><figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-34bc7ee0ee6209a6d6d0c451994be483b52cc26f%2Fandroid-critical-alerts-push-settings.png?alt=media" alt="ilert app: push notification settings on Android 17, showing the critical alerts toggle and the alarm volume hint" width="188"><figcaption><p>Push notification settings on Android 17 and newer</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4ac3aeeee435e965a21494ad3e29e15462f6ba0d%2Fandroid-high-priority-sound-list.png?alt=media" alt="ilert app: the high priority sound list, with the selected sound highlighted and check marked" width="188"><figcaption><p>The selected sound is check marked. The play icon only previews it</p></figcaption></figure></div>

## Step 2: Make sure the alert can be heard

These settings live in Android, not in ilert. Without them, Android can silence an alert no matter how ilert is set up.

Two separate things decide whether you hear an alert. **Volume** decides how loud it is. **Do Not Disturb** decides whether it is allowed to make a sound at all. You need both.

**Allow alarms in Do Not Disturb.** This is usually on already — check under **Alarms & other interruptions**. If you use modes such as Sleep or Work, check each one, because every mode has its own rules. You can also add **ilert** to the apps allowed to interrupt in your Do Not Disturb settings.

<figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ca08d0065722ae00e3ed355ef25cb52b71df3fa2%2Fandroid-dnd-allow-alarms.png?alt=media" alt="Android Do Not Disturb settings, showing alarms allowed to interrupt and ilert in the allowed apps" width="188"><figcaption><p>Alarms must stay allowed in every mode you use</p></figcaption></figure>

The volume to turn up, and whether ilert needs a permission from you, depend on your Android version. Pick your version below.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Android 17 and newer" %}
**Turn your alarm volume up.** Critical alerts play as an alarm, so your alarm volume is what decides how loud they are.

**You normally do not need to grant anything.** Do Not Disturb lets alarms through by default, so there is no permission prompt when you turn critical alerts on. Only if you have switched alarms off in your Do Not Disturb settings do you need the override. Grant it from the **Allow Do Not Disturb override** link on the **Push notification settings** screen, or from the **Never miss a critical alert** step when you first set up the app.

<figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-98b25fab60e2bd716c1e56ee3d05336cdac00970%2Fandroid-critical-alerts-dnd-override-hint.png?alt=media" alt="ilert app: push notification settings showing the Do Not Disturb hint and the Allow Do Not Disturb override link" width="188"><figcaption><p>The <strong>Allow Do Not Disturb override</strong> link appears only while the override is missing</p></figcaption></figure>

You can also grant it yourself at any time in **Android Settings -> Apps -> Special app access -> Modes access**, then pick **ilert** and turn on **Allow Modes access**.

<div><figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f7a9bd7d9467b33893a8e1776f5de30581df0a8f%2Fandroid-modes-access-list.png?alt=media" alt="Android Modes access settings, listing every app and whether it is allowed" width="188"><figcaption><p>Modes access lists every app, so find ilert in it</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ffd3e9fb8bbe5ffaf091d18907b74cdea9a93937%2Fandroid-modes-access-ilert.png?alt=media" alt="Android Modes access detail screen for ilert with Allow Modes access turned on" width="188"><figcaption><p>Turn on <strong>Allow Modes access</strong> for ilert</p></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
The **Push notification settings** screen also checks your device and warns you when something would keep a critical alert silent — notifications turned off for ilert, the critical alerts notification category turned off or silenced, or your alarm volume all the way down. Each warning has a **Fix** link that takes you straight to the right setting. The check only runs while **Critical alerts for high priority** is on.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Android 16 and older" %}
**Turn your notification volume up.** ilert turns it up for you when an alert arrives, but only as far as you allow: set **Critical alerts volume** in **Push notification settings** to how loud you want alerts to be.

**Grant the Do Not Disturb override when asked.** Turning on **Critical alerts for high priority** prompts you for it. Tap **Go to settings**, search for **ilert**, and grant the permission.

{% hint style="warning" %}
On these versions, the first critical alert that arrives switches **Do Not Disturb off** and sets your sound mode to **Sound**. Your previous setting is not restored afterwards.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**One permission, three names.** Android 16 and newer call it **Modes access**, older versions call it **Do Not Disturb access**, and ilert calls it a **Do Not Disturb override**. They are the same permission.
{% endhint %}

## Step 3: Stop Android from delaying alerts

These two settings do not silence an alert, but they can make it arrive late.

**Turn off "Pause app activity if unused".** Android pauses apps you do not open often, which is easy to trigger with an on-call app. Open **Android Settings -> Apps -> ilert** and switch it off.

**Set battery usage to Unrestricted.** Android uses "Optimized" by default, which can delay alerts. Open **Android Settings -> Apps -> ilert -> App battery usage** and pick **Unrestricted**.

## Step 4: Set up calls and SMS

If your escalation policy also reaches you by phone call or SMS, whether those ring is decided by your phone's call settings rather than by ilert.

* Save the ilert contact card to your contacts. The app can do this for you: open **ilert Settings** and tap the **ilert vCard sync** tile
* Tap the star icon to mark the contact as a favorite
* In your Do Not Disturb settings, allow calls and messages from **favorite** or **starred** contacts

{% hint style="warning" %}
Allowing starred contacts through Do Not Disturb does not make calls ring while your phone is on **silent**. Those are two separate Android settings.
{% endhint %}

## Step 5: Check that it works

Send yourself a test notification to confirm your device is registered and receiving pushes. You can do this from either app.

**From the web app:** open **Notification settings**, find your device under **Contact information**, and click **Send test notification**.

**From the mobile app:** open **ilert Settings -> Contact information**, find your device, and tap **Send test notification**.

{% hint style="info" %}
A test notification confirms that pushes reach your device. It does not prove the critical alert sound is working, because only **high priority** alerts are delivered as critical alerts — so to check the alarm behaviour itself, you need a high priority alert.
{% endhint %}

## FAQ

**Where did the "Critical alerts volume" slider go?**

It is only hidden on **Android 17 and newer**. There, alerts play at your alarm volume, so the slider no longer had any effect. Turn your alarm volume up instead. On **Android 16 and older** the slider is still there and still works. It also stays on iOS, where Apple allows a volume per alert.

**Does ilert still turn off my Do Not Disturb?**

On **Android 17 and newer**, no. ilert no longer changes your phone's settings.

On **Android 16 and older**, yes. Those versions still switch Do Not Disturb off and set your sound mode to Sound when a critical alert arrives, and cannot put them back.

**Alerts arrive but make no sound. What should I check?**

On **Android 17 and newer**, open **Push notification settings** in the app first — it tells you if your notifications, the critical alerts category, or your alarm volume are the problem, and links straight to the fix.

<figure><img src="https://3394882078-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-M76ygPnS4HUcFSX8ulm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-3af9ff8d5cdcde56567aa9c45f7c38e2458dba64%2Fandroid-critical-alerts-check-warning.png?alt=media" alt="ilert app: push notification settings warning that critical alerts may stay silent because the alarm volume is turned down" width="188"><figcaption><p>The app warns you when something would keep a critical alert silent</p></figcaption></figure>

Otherwise, check your volume — alarm volume on Android 17 and newer, notification volume on Android 16 and older. Then check that alarms are allowed in the Do Not Disturb mode you are actually in.


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