Turn off notifications in Settings

The fastest way to silence all notifications on your iPad is through the Settings app. Open Settings, tap Notifications, then scroll down and tap Do Not Disturb. Toggle the switch to On. Your iPad will now silence all sounds, vibrations, and visual alerts from apps — but the notifications will still arrive and show in your notification center when you look for them later.

If you want Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically at certain times, stay in that same screen and tap Scheduled. Toggle it on, then set your start and end times. For example, you can have Do Not Disturb set up every night at 10 p.m. and turn off at 7 a.m. This is useful if you want silence during sleep but don't want to remember to toggle it manually each day.

Do Not Disturb silences everything at once. If you want to silence only certain apps while letting others through, you will need to adjust individual app settings instead — see the next section.

Key Takeaways

  • Do Not Disturb in Settings silences all notifications when ready, but they still arrive and wait for you in the notification center.
  • You can schedule Do Not Disturb to turn on and off automatically at the same time each day, so you do not have to toggle it manually.
  • To silence only specific apps while letting others notify you, go to Settings, tap Notifications, find the app name, and turn off its sound and badge settings.
  • Focus modes let you create custom notification rules for different situations — work, sleep, driving — and switch between them with one tap.
  • Turning off notification sounds does not delete the notifications; they still appear on your lock screen and in the notification center until you dismiss them.

Silence notifications from individual apps

If you want some apps to notify you but others to stay silent, you can control each one separately. Open Settings, tap Notifications, then scroll through the list and tap the app you want to adjust. You will see several toggles: Allow Notifications, Sounds, and Badges.

To silence an app completely, toggle off Allow Notifications. That app will never send you a notification again. To let notifications arrive but without sound, keep Allow Notifications on and toggle off Sounds. The notification will still appear on your lock screen and in your notification center, but your iPad will not make a noise or vibrate.

The Badges toggle controls the red number that appears on the app icon (like "5" on the Mail icon). Turning this off removes that visual reminder, which can help reduce distraction even if you keep notifications on.

Use Focus modes for different situations

Focus modes let you create custom notification rules for specific situations — work, sleep, driving, or personal time. Instead of manually adjusting settings each time, you set up a Focus once and then switch to it with a single tap whenever you need it.

To create a Focus, open Settings, tap Focus, then tap the + button in the top right. Choose a preset like Work, Sleep, or Driving, or tap Custom to name your own. Next, you will choose which people and apps are allowed to notify you while that Focus is active. For example, your Work Focus might allow notifications from Mail and Slack but silence everything else. Your Sleep Focus might allow only calls from family members and silence all other notifications.

Once you have set up a Focus, you can turn it on from Control Center. Swipe down from the top right corner of your screen, find the Focus icon, and tap it to see your list of saved Focuses. Tap the one you want, and your iPad will when ready explore those notification rules.

Adjust lock screen and banner settings

Even when notifications are silenced, they still appear visually on your lock screen or as banners at the top of your screen. If you want to reduce how much they show up, you can change where and how they appear.

Go to Settings, tap Notifications, find the app, and look for Notification Style. You can choose Banners (a temporary alert at the top), Alerts (a pop-up that requires you to dismiss it), or None (no visual alert, but the notification still waits in your notification center). Choosing None means the notification arrives silently and you only see it if you open your notification center manually.

You can also toggle Show on Lock Screen off for specific apps. This prevents that app's notifications from appearing when your iPad is locked, though they will still show when you unlock it.

Manage notifications from the lock screen

You do not have to go into Settings to silence notifications. When a notification appears on your lock screen, you can swipe left on it and tap the X to dismiss it. If you see the same app notifying you repeatedly, you can swipe left and tap Manage to quickly adjust that app's notification settings without opening Settings.

You can also long-press a notification to see options like Deliver Quietly, which turns off the sound for that notification only, or Turn Off, which disables notifications from that app going forward.

Turn off notification previews on your lock screen

By default, notifications show their full content on your lock screen — for example, the sender's name and the first line of a message. If you want privacy or less visual clutter, you can hide that preview text.

Go to Settings, tap Notifications, find the app, and look for Show Preview. Change it from Always to When Unlocked (preview only shows after you unlock) or Never (no preview at all, just the app name). This is especially useful for email and messaging apps if you share your iPad or want to keep notifications private.

Silence notifications while keeping your iPad active

Sometimes you want to use your iPad without notifications interrupting you, but you do not want to miss urgent calls or messages. In that case, use Do Not Disturb but allow calls from your Favorites or specific contacts to come through.

Open Settings, tap Focus, tap Do Not Disturb, then look for Allowed Notifications. Tap People and choose Favorites or Specific Contacts. Now only calls and messages from those people will notify you, while everything else stays silent. This is useful during work, meetings, or when you need to concentrate but want family or close colleagues to reach you in an emergency.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I turn off notifications, will I miss important messages?

No. Turning off notification sounds or banners does not delete the messages. They will still arrive and wait for you in the app or notification center. You just will not hear a sound or see a pop-up alert. You can check them whenever you open the app or swipe down to view your notification center.

Can I silence notifications from one app but not others?

Yes. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, find the specific app, and toggle off Sounds or Allow Notifications. Other apps will continue to notify you normally. You can also use Focus modes to create a custom set of allowed apps for different situations.

What is the difference between Do Not Disturb and a Focus mode?

Do Not Disturb silences all notifications at once. Focus modes let you customize which people and apps can notify you in specific situations. For example, your Work Focus might allow email but silence social media, while your Sleep Focus allows only calls from family. Focus modes are more flexible if you need different rules for different times.

Will my iPad still show notifications if I turn off sounds?

Yes. Turning off sounds means notifications will still appear on your lock screen and in your notification center, but without any audio or vibration. If you want to hide them completely, toggle off Allow Notifications for that app instead.

Can I schedule Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically?

Yes. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, tap Do Not Disturb, toggle on Scheduled, and set your start and end times. Your iPad will automatically silence notifications during those hours every day without you having to toggle it manually.