Learn how to clean up the status bar on your iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 by removing the persistent silent mode bell symbol that appears when your device is muted.
Why is the bell icon shown in the first place?
The iconic Ring & Silent slider switch found on iPhone 15, 15 Plus, and all previous models, was replaced by the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and the entire iPhone 16 lineup.
You can customize the Action button and have it perform other tasks. For instance, you can use it to enable Do Not Disturb, quickly launch the Camera, trigger an accessibility setting, connect your AirPods, run a shortcut, translate speech when in a different country, or even deactivate it entirely. However, out of the box, it comes with the Silent Mode function that lets you activate mute and ring modes by pressing & holding it.
Structurally, the Action button is like the Side and Volume buttons, making it easy to press & hold accidentally. Therefore, to ensure you’re always aware if your iPhone is in silent mode and don’t miss calls, the top status bar shows a tiny crossed-out bell icon the entire time your iPhone is in vibrate-only mode.
But if you’d rather not see that icon, here’s how to remove it.
Hide the silent mode bell icon from the top of your iPhone screen
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics.
- Turn off Show in Status Bar from under the Silent Mode heading.
This will prevent the silent bell symbol from showing in the top left corner of your iPhone screen, even if the device ringtone is muted!
So now, how do you know if your iPhone is in silent mode?
The traditional Ring/Silent switch would show the orange band when your iPhone is in silent mode, but the Action button offers no such visual confirmation.
Therefore, after you hide the crossed-out bell icon from the top status bar, you can easily check whether your iPhone is in silent mode by using one of these two simple methods.
1. Check Control Center
Go to your iPhone’s Control Center, and if the silent mode button is white with a red crossed-out bell icon, that means your phone is in silent mode. You can tap it to return to ring mode.
2. Check Settings
Go to the Settings app > Sounds & Haptics, and if the Silent Mode switch is turned on, that means your iPhone is in vibrate-only mode.
On a related note: