Back to Blog
Guide

Webex Do Not Disturb: Turn It On, Schedule It, Turn It Off

Click your profile picture in the Webex App, choose Availability, then Do not disturb, and pick how long. What DND silences, how quiet hours schedule it, how to set it on a phone, and why Webex can stay in DND after you clear it.

Slack Green Team
September 26, 2026
September 26, 2026
5 min read
Share:
webex
do not disturb
status
notifications

To turn on Do not disturb in Webex, click your profile picture in the Webex App, choose Availability, then Do not disturb, and pick how long it lasts, or click Set a time for a custom end. Your icon turns red, and you stop getting message and call notifications until the time ends or you choose Availability > Clear. For a DND that starts by itself every evening, turn on quiet hours in the app's notification settings; that shows a moon instead of the red icon.

Webex DND stays inside Webex. If your team also uses Slack, Slack has its own do-not-disturb and its own away timer, which marks you away after 10 minutes without input in the Slack window. Slack Green keeps your Slack status green from a server during the hours you set.

Webex do not disturb: profile picture, Availability, Do not disturb, pick a duration, Clear to end it

Turn on Do not disturb in the Webex App

On Windows and Mac:

  • Click your profile picture at the top left.
  • Choose Availability.
  • Choose Do not disturb.
  • Pick a duration from the list, or click Set a time and pick when it ends.
  • On iPhone, iPad and Android, tap your profile picture, tap Availability, then Do not disturb, and pick the duration the same way. The status syncs across your devices, so DND set on the phone also shows on the desktop app.

    Add a status message if you want people to know when you are back: profile picture, then Set a status, and type something like "Writing until 3pm, call if urgent". The message shows next to your name when people open a chat with you.

    What Webex DND silences, and what it does not

    What Webex do not disturb does: messages, calls, mentions, meetings, desk phone, other people's view
    ThingWith Do not disturb on
    Message notificationsSilenced. You still see unread markers in the app
    @mentionsSilenced like other messages
    Calls to the Webex AppDo not ring your app
    Your status for othersA red icon next to your name
    Joining meetingsWorks as usual; DND does not block you
    A Cisco desk phoneHas its own DND key, set separately on the phone
    Your phone's own Focus or DNDSeparate. A Webex DND does not turn it on

    When two states apply at once, Webex shows the higher one. DND ranks above In a meeting, so a coworker sees the red icon, not the camera, while you are in a meeting with DND on. An Outlook out-of-office reply ranks above DND and shows an airplane. The full order is in Webex status icons meaning.

    Busy, the orange icon, is the softer option. It tells people you are focused but still delivers notifications. Use Busy when you want to be reachable for urgent messages and DND when you do not.

    Schedule Do not disturb with quiet hours

Never appear "away" on Slack again

Cloud-based. No downloads. Works 24/7 even when your laptop is off.

Webex has no recurring DND switch. Its scheduled version is quiet hours: you pick days and times, and Webex silences notifications inside that window every week.

  • Open the Webex App settings (on Windows, profile picture > Settings; on Mac, Webex > Preferences).
  • Open Notifications.
  • Turn on Quiet hours and set the start time, end time and days.
  • During quiet hours your icon shows a moon, and people see that you are outside your working hours. Unlike DND, quiet hours come back on their own the next day, so they fit evenings and weekends. For a one-off block such as a two-hour focus session, a timed DND is the better fit.

    Webex also holds back message and call notifications by itself while you share your screen in a call or meeting, so you do not need DND only to stop pop-ups during a presentation.

    Turn off Do not disturb in Webex

    Click your profile picture, choose Availability, then Clear. Your status goes back to the automatic one: green while you use your computer, the clock and "Active X minutes ago" when you stop.

    Why Webex still shows do not disturb after you clear it: quiet hours, desk phone DND, another device, Outlook out of office, cached status

    If Webex still shows DND after you clear it, check these in order:

  • Quiet hours. If you are inside your quiet hours window, the moon and the silenced notifications stay. Shorten or turn off the schedule.
  • Another device. A DND set on your phone with a long duration can re-sync. Clear it on the phone too.
  • Your desk phone. A Cisco desk phone's DND is set on the phone. Press its DND key again, or ask your admin if calls still do not ring.
  • Outlook out of office. An automatic reply shows the airplane and can look like you are unavailable. Turn off automatic replies in Outlook.
  • A stale status. Sign out of the Webex App and sign in again. Other people may see the old icon for a minute or two.
  • Webex DND compared with Teams, Zoom and Slack

    AppWhere to turn it onScheduled versionIcon
    WebexProfile picture > Availability > Do not disturbQuiet hoursRed icon, moon for quiet hours
    Microsoft TeamsProfile picture > status > Do not disturbQuiet hours on mobileRed circle with a bar
    ZoomProfile picture > Do not disturbRecurring DND scheduleRed circle with a bar
    SlackProfile picture > Pause notificationsNotification scheduleSmall z on your dot

    The step-by-step guides for the others are in Teams do not disturb, Zoom do not disturb and Slack do not disturb.

    Do not disturb and looking active

    Never appear "away" on Slack again

    Cloud-based. No downloads. Works 24/7 even when your laptop is off.

    DND tells people you are busy. It does not make you look active. Webex still tracks whether you use your computer, and after DND ends you drop to the clock if you have been idle. To stay green for longer, how to keep Webex status active lists what works, and how to hide your online status on Webex covers the opposite case.

    FAQ

    Does Webex DND send calls to voicemail? Calls do not ring your Webex App. With a Webex Calling phone number, where the call goes next depends on your call settings and your organization's setup, usually voicemail.

    Can people see that I am on Do not disturb in Webex? Yes. People in your organization see the red icon next to your name wherever your picture appears.

    How long does Webex DND last? As long as the duration you picked, or until the time you set. It does not stay on indefinitely unless you keep extending it.

    Always Active

    Stop Jiggling Your Mouse.

    Join hundreds of remote workers who never worry about their Slack status. Set it up once, stay green forever.

    Related Articles

    Guide

    KeepingYouAwake vs Amphetamine: Which Mac Keep-Awake App to Use

    KeepingYouAwake is a free, open-source menu bar switch that runs Apple's caffeinate for you. Amphetamine is a free App Store app with triggers, schedules and a closed-lid mode. Pick KeepingYouAwake for one click and Homebrew, Amphetamine for automation. Neither keeps Slack or Teams active.

    Slack Green Team•5 min read
    Guide

    Computer Locks After 15 Minutes? How to Tell If Group Policy Set It

    A work laptop that locks after exactly 15 minutes, with screen settings greyed out, is almost always following a policy from IT: the Windows machine inactivity limit, a forced screen saver, or an Intune device lock. Security baselines and PCI DSS ask for 15 minutes. How to see which policy it is, and what you can and cannot change.

    Slack Green Team•5 min read
    Guide

    How to Keep a Citrix Session Active: Find Which Timeout Logs You Out

    A Citrix session can end from four different timers: Windows locking inside the virtual desktop, the Citrix session idle timer, the Citrix Gateway session time-out, and the StoreFront web page timeout. Only input from your own device into the Citrix window resets them. How to tell which one hit you and what keeps each one quiet.

    Slack Green Team•5 min read