How to put your phone in landline mode (iPhone and Android)

There is a small trick going around for parents who want to be on their phones a little less. It is called landline mode, and the idea is simple. You set your phone so it mostly just makes calls and sends texts, the way a phone did twenty years ago. Everything else goes quiet. The phone stops asking for your attention every few minutes, so you stop reaching for it without thinking.

For parents, the payoff is not really about you. It is about what your little one sees. In the early years, a child learns from what they watch you do again and again. When the phone is quiet and out of the way, they simply see less of it. That is the whole point, and landline mode is one of the easiest ways to get there.

Here is how to set it up on any phone, plus a few other small changes that help.

What landline mode actually does

Landline mode is not a single button. It is a setting you build once, using tools your phone already has. You decide who can still reach you, usually calls and texts from real people, and you switch off the rest. Then you can turn it on whenever you want a quieter phone, and off again when you need everything back.

Calls and messages still come through. So if the school needs you, or a partner is running late, you will know. You are not cutting yourself off. You are just turning down the noise.

How to set up landline mode on iPhone

1. Open Settings, then tap Focus.
2. Tap the plus in the top corner, then choose Custom.
3. Name it Landline, and pick an icon and colour if you like.
4. Set who can reach you. Allow calls and messages from the people you choose, and silence notifications from everything else.
5. For the strongest version, set a custom Home Screen for this Focus that holds only Phone and Messages. Your other apps are still there, just one tap further away.
6. Turn it on from the Control Center whenever you want the quiet, the same way you turn on Do Not Disturb.

If a full setup feels like a lot, do the lighter version first. Go to Settings, then Notifications, and switch off everything except phone calls and your calendar. Most phone checks are reactions to a buzz or a banner, so switching those off takes away most of the habit.

How to set up landline mode on Android (Samsung and Pixel)

Android calls this Focus mode, and the steps differ a little by brand.

On a Google Pixel:

1. Open Settings, then Digital Wellbeing and parental controls.
2. Tap Focus mode.
3. Choose the apps you want to pause while it is on.
4. Turn it on now, or tap Set a schedule so it runs at the same times each day.

On a Samsung Galaxy:

1. Open Settings, then Modes and Routines (older phones call this Focus mode under Digital Wellbeing).
2. Create a new mode and give it a name and icon.
3. Turn on Restrict app usage, then choose the apps you want to keep, usually Phone and Messages. Everything else is blocked while the mode is on.
4. Turn it on when you want the quiet, or set it to run on a schedule.

You can also turn your Android screen to greyscale in Digital Wellbeing or under a Bedtime setting. A grey screen is boring to look at, so the phone pulls less.

A few other small changes that help

Landline mode does most of the work, but these stack nicely with it:

• Charge your phone in another room overnight, so it is not the first or last thing you reach for. A cheap alarm clock makes this easy.
• Pick a few set times to check your phone instead of all day. Your total time might be similar, but your child sees it far less.
• Switch your screen to greyscale, which removes the colour that makes apps feel rewarding.

The physical version: give your phone a home

There is one more idea that works even when you forget to turn a setting on, because it is a real object instead of a toggle. You give your phone a home on the shelf, inside a book.

That is what we make. The Hideaway Book is a real book with a hidden space inside, sized for a phone. The phone lives in the book on the shelf instead of in your pocket. You start to forget it is there, so the urge to check fades on its own. And when you do go to get it, your little one sees a book coming off a shelf, not a phone coming out of a pocket.

It comes in the Drift Hideaway Book Set, paired with a children's storybook called Drift: Journey to Mount Chilly. One book keeps your phone out of sight. The other gives your child a story to reach for instead.

One last thing

None of this makes you a perfect, phone-free parent, and that is not the goal. The goal is smaller and more doable. It is your child seeing a book come off the shelf a little more often than a phone come out of a pocket. Landline mode is a simple place to start, and you can set it up in the next five minutes.

Common questions

Does landline mode block calls?

No. Calls still come through from the people you choose. You are turning off the extra noise, not cutting yourself off.

Can I still get text messages?

Yes. You pick who can reach you, and their texts arrive as normal. Everything else stays silent until you switch landline mode off.

Is landline mode a real setting on my phone?

There is no button called landline mode. You build it once from tools your phone already has: Focus on iPhone, and Focus mode or Modes and Routines on Android.

How do I turn landline mode on and off?

On iPhone, flip it from the Control Center, the same way you turn on Do Not Disturb. On Android, toggle Focus mode, or set it to run at the same times each day.

Does landline mode help with screen time around kids?

It helps with one part of it. When your phone stops buzzing, you reach for it less, so your child sees you pick it up less often.