No phone zone with emergency calls

December 30, 2019 7:11 PM

I want to give my phone a bedtime in pursuit of better sleep hygiene, but I also don’t want to miss true emergency calls in the middle of the night. I don’t have a landline, I do have an iPhone, and I am willing to spend up to $100 to solve this. Hope me.
posted by hollyholly to Technology (11 answers total)

Response by poster: By “bedtime”, I mean I want to charge it in a room I don’t sleep in and not touch it after a certain time of night or before a certain time of morning.
posted by hollyholly at 7:12 PM on December 30, 2019

So the standard Do Not Disturb settings won't do the trick?
posted by zamboni at 7:14 PM on December 30, 2019 [2 favorites]

It would be helpful to understand what your definition of “true emergency calls” is. Is it that you want all calls to go through but you don’t want to be able to be otherwise distracted by your phone? If so, a standard Bluetooth speaker (one with a microphone and a call answer button) in the bedroom should give you that.
posted by mosst at 7:19 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

If you have emergency contacts set to ring at high volume, would you be able to hear it from the next room? I probably wouldn't hear a text but I'd hear prolonged ringing.
posted by nakedmolerats at 7:21 PM on December 30, 2019

do not disturb plus a stand and extension cord outside your bedroom. table approx $30 at ikea. cord approx $10 at hardware store.
posted by zippy at 7:26 PM on December 30, 2019

If you add your family/work/emergency contacts to Favorites, you can select an option that the calls will ring through even when you are on Do Not Disturb mode. You can set Do Not Disturb to turn on and off on a schedule. Here is the info on setting for favorites.
posted by sol at 7:29 PM on December 30, 2019 [8 favorites]

If any true emergency calls will come from a known number, you can override DND just for them.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:35 PM on December 30, 2019

I think you can also set Do Not Disturb to allow calls through on the second attempt. Just let your closest contacts know to try you twice in an emergency and you should be good.
posted by Rhaomi at 7:35 PM on December 30, 2019 [7 favorites]

What kind of emergency are you expecting in the middle of the night? Would keeping your phone on vibrate help? It lets thru a little noise so having it ring multiple times (like if someone were trying to reach you over and over) would probably wake you.
posted by katypickle at 7:39 PM on December 30, 2019

Best answer: I had the same goal a few months ago so I purchased bluetooth handsets like this, similar to a cordless phone for a landline, that connect to my smartphone. You should be able to set your iphone to do not disturb and then you would only get the calls from your pre-identified starred contacts. Works well enough that I can leave my smartphone out of the bedroom.
posted by RetrieverReader at 8:28 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I think RetrieverReader has it! I do use Do Not Disturb, but I want to avoid playing with my phone in bed, which I don't seem to be able to do when the phone is in the bedroom. This solution additionally means I can actually *answer* the call, too, which is even better.
posted by hollyholly at 8:42 PM on December 30, 2019 [3 favorites]