How to use Android 5.0 Priority Mode (aka the new Silent Mode)
There is a lot of odd coverage of Android 5.0 Lollipop and the supposed removal of Silent mode, right now. Some are even wondering if it is a bug in the system, but really it is just a change in how Android deals with notifications; and, in the usual spirit of Android, it is giving users more control over how and when those notifications come through. Now, admittedly, Google hasn't done a good job of explaining this change. This has been a historic fault with Google to not explain changes properly unless there is a big enough fuss made. Luckily, we're here to sort it out for you.
So, it used to be that when you held down the volume rocker on your Android device, the volume would drop, then go to vibrate only, and finally to silent. With Android 5.0, that is no longer the case; but, that doesn't mean that Silent Mode has disappeared. As you will notice when you start lowering the volume on your device, there are new options on that volume settings pop-up for Priority and None. Frankly, this new way seems a bit better, because rather than having to go through lowering your phone volume, then hitting vibrate, then getting to Silent mode; now, you just tap once on Priority Mode, and you're good to go. The way it works now is that Priority is the new Silent Mode, and None is an absolute silence.
Let's run through what you can do with the new options.
That is Android 5.0 Priority Mode in a nutshell. It's a more powerful version of the standard Silent Mode in our opinion. It's certainly doesn't seem to be a "bug" that Silent Mode doesn't exist on Android phones, because Priority Mode can do the same things and more. We understand that some might find the new interaction methods odd at first, but things are bound to change when you jump from Android 4.x to 5.0, and that's why we're here to help you in learning the new system as fast as possible.
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