Android Push Notification DND Configuration
This guide explains how to configure your push notification preferences for Android devices.
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.
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.
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.
Android 17 and newer
Alerts play at your alarm volume. There is no volume slider in the app, and ilert never changes your phone's settings.
Android 16 and older
ilert turns your notification volume up itself, and you set how far in the app.
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
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.
The volume to turn up, and whether ilert needs a permission from you, depend on your Android version. Pick your version below.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Allowing starred contacts through Do Not Disturb does not make calls ring while your phone is on silent. Those are two separate Android settings.
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.
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.
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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