How to Use Bedtime Mode on Android

If your phone keeps you up at night — one more video, one more scroll, one more notification — Bedtime Mode on Android is the tool that draws the line for you. Built into Android’s Digital Wellbeing settings, Bedtime Mode helps you wind down at a set time every night by muting notifications, dimming the screen, and turning the whole display grayscale so your phone stops being fun to look at. It is free, it is already on most Android phones, and it takes about five minutes to set up.

Bedtime Mode is different from simply turning on Do Not Disturb. Do Not Disturb only silences sounds and notifications. Bedtime Mode goes further: it dims the wallpaper, switches the screen to black and white, and can even remove the color from icons and apps so the phone feels boring on purpose. The idea is simple — a less stimulating screen is easier to put down. Once your wake-up time arrives, the phone returns to normal automatically.

This guide covers everything: turning Bedtime Mode on manually, setting an automatic nightly schedule, customizing what it does to your screen and notifications, where to find it on Samsung phones (where it lives under a different name), the extra sleep-tracking features some phones offer, and what to do if your screen suddenly turns grayscale at the wrong time.

Step 1: Turn on Bedtime Mode Manually from Quick Settings

The fastest way to try Bedtime Mode is from the Quick Settings panel — no digging through menus.

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen once to open the notification shade, then swipe down again to reveal the full Quick Settings panel.
2. Look for a tile labeled Bedtime mode. If you do not see it, tap the pencil icon (Edit) at the bottom of the panel and drag the Bedtime mode tile into your active tiles.
3. Tap the Bedtime mode tile once to turn it on. Your screen will dim and switch to grayscale immediately.

That is all it takes. Bedtime Mode stays on until you turn it off again or until the end of a scheduled sleep window (more on schedules below). To switch it off, tap the same tile again.

If the tile is missing even from the edit screen, your phone’s manufacturer may have named it differently. On some Samsung phones it appears under Modes or inside the Modes and Routines settings instead — see Step 4 below for the Samsung path.

Step 2: Set an Automatic Bedtime Schedule

Manual mode is fine for a nap, but the real power of Bedtime Mode is the schedule: your phone winds down at your bedtime and wakes back up with you, every day, without you touching anything.

1. Open Settings, then tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
2. Tap Bedtime mode.
3. Tap Set a schedule (on some phones this is labeled Schedule or Custom).
4. Choose Bedtime and set the time you usually go to sleep, then choose Wake up and set the time you want your phone to return to normal.
5. Select the days the schedule should repeat — most people tick every day of the week, but you can pick different days (for example, a later bedtime on weekends).
6. Go back and make sure the schedule toggle is switched on.

From now on, when your bedtime arrives, Bedtime Mode activates automatically: the screen dims and goes grayscale, and Do Not Disturb-style muting kicks in. When your wake-up time comes, everything returns to normal on its own.

Charging reminder: some phones offer an optional “Charging reminder” inside Bedtime mode settings that nudges you to plug in your phone before bed. It is worth turning on if you use your phone as an alarm clock.

Step 3: Customize What Happens in Bedtime Mode

Bedtime Mode is not all-or-nothing. You can control exactly which effects it applies, so it helps you sleep without getting in the way. Open Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Bedtime mode and look for the customization options (labeled Customize on most phones).

• Grayscale: turns the screen black and white. This is the single most effective part of Bedtime Mode — a colorless screen is genuinely less tempting to keep scrolling. You can switch it off if you find it too aggressive, but try living with it for a few nights first.
• Keep the screen dark (screen dimming): lowers the brightness beyond the normal minimum. Helpful if your phone’s lowest brightness still feels blinding in a dark room.
• Do Not Disturb for Bedtime mode: silences calls, messages, and app notifications while Bedtime Mode is active. You can allow exceptions — for example, starred contacts or repeat callers — by tapping Do Not Disturb → People/Apps allowed inside the Do Not Disturb settings.
• Turn off Always-on Display: on phones with an always-on display, Bedtime Mode can switch it off so your lock screen stays dark all night.

On Google Pixel phones you will also see Bedtime routine options and a link to your Clock app’s bedtime settings, where you can pair a gentle wake-up alarm with a sunrise-style screen brightening. These extras vary by phone, so do not worry if your model shows fewer options — grayscale plus Do Not Disturb is the core of it.

Step 4: Bedtime Mode on Samsung Phones (Modes and Routines)

Samsung phones (Galaxy S, Z, and A series) handle sleep features through Modes and Routines rather than the stock Digital Wellbeing screen. The feature is the same idea, but the path is different.

1. Open Settings, then tap Modes and Routines.
2. Tap the Modes tab at the bottom, then select Sleep.
3. Tap Turn on automatically and set your sleep and wake times along with the days of the week.
4. Customize what Sleep mode does: tap the options under the Sleep mode screen to enable Grayscale, Dark mode, Do Not Disturb, Dim wallpaper, and power-saving or eye-comfort settings.
5. Toggle the Sleep mode on manually anytime from the Modes and Routines screen or the Quick Settings panel (look for the Modes tile).

On newer Samsung phones running One UI, Sleep mode is quite flexible: you can even have it change your lock screen, mute specific apps, or lower the screen timeout so the display shuts off faster at night. If you cannot find Sleep mode, make sure your phone’s software is up to date — Modes and Routines replaced the older Bixby Routines, and the Sleep preset arrived with One UI 5.

Step 5: Sleep Extras — Cough & Snore Detection and Sleep Sensing

Some phones (mainly Google Pixel) add optional sleep-tracking extras inside the Bedtime mode / Clock app experience. These are separate from the core dimming-and-muting features, and they are entirely opt-in.

• Cough & snore detection: using the phone’s microphone, your phone can log how much you cough or snore during the night and show you a summary in the morning inside the Clock app’s Bedtime tab. It processes audio on-device and is off by default — you have to grant microphone permission and explicitly enable it.
• Sleep sensing (Pixel with Nest Hub): older Pixel features could pair with a Nest Hub to track movement and breathing, but this has largely been replaced by on-phone summaries and Fitbit integration.

To find these on a Pixel, open the Clock app, tap the Bedtime tab, and look for sleep data options after a night with Bedtime Mode active. If you care about privacy, note that cough and snore detection only runs while Bedtime Mode is on and scheduled, and you can delete the recorded data from the Clock app’s settings at any time.

Most non-Pixel Android phones do not have these extras — and that is fine. The grayscale + Do Not Disturb combination is what actually improves your sleep; the tracking is a nice bonus, not the point.

Step 6: Turn Bedtime Mode Off (Including When the Screen Goes Grayscale at the Wrong Time)

The most common Bedtime Mode surprise: you pick up your phone in the evening and the whole screen is black and white. Nine times out of ten, a schedule kicked in earlier than you expected — for example, you set a 10 PM bedtime but glanced at your phone at 9:55 and the wind-down started early.

To turn it off right now:

1. Swipe down twice to open Quick Settings.
2. Tap the Bedtime mode tile to switch it off. Color returns instantly.

On Samsung, tap the Modes Quick Settings tile and switch Sleep off, or open Settings → Modes and Routines → Sleep and toggle it off.

To stop it happening again, open Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Bedtime mode and either move the bedtime later, change which days the schedule runs, or switch the schedule off entirely and use Bedtime Mode manually from Quick Settings instead.

Troubleshooting: Bedtime Mode Problems and Fixes

• “My screen turned grayscale and I never set this up.” Check for an active schedule: Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Bedtime mode. If a schedule is on, that is the cause. Either adjust it or turn the schedule off. On Samsung, check Modes and Routines → Sleep.
• “Bedtime Mode doesn’t turn on at my bedtime.” Make sure the schedule toggle is on and that the correct days are selected. Also check that Digital Wellbeing has the permissions it needs — go to Settings → Apps → Digital Wellbeing and confirm it is not restricted by battery optimization.
• “I can’t find Bedtime mode anywhere.” On stock Android and Pixels it is under Digital Wellbeing. On Samsung it is under Modes and Routines → Sleep. On some Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo phones it may be called Sleep mode, Wind down, or live under a “Focus” or “Zen” section — search your Settings app for “bedtime” or “sleep” to find your manufacturer’s version.
• “My alarm didn’t go off.” Alarms set in the stock Clock app always ring through Bedtime Mode and Do Not Disturb — this is by design. If an alarm was silent, it was almost certainly a third-party alarm app that got silenced, or the alarm volume was turned down. Check the Clock app’s alarm volume and, if you use a third-party alarm, add it as an allowed app in Do Not Disturb.
• “Notifications are still coming through.” Bedtime Mode’s Do Not Disturb follows your Do Not Disturb exception rules. Open Settings → Sound & vibration → Do Not Disturb and review which people and apps are allowed through — anything on the exception list will still buzz at night.
• “The screen is too dim / I can’t see anything.” “Keep the screen dark” dims aggressively. If it is too much, turn off that option in the Bedtime mode customization screen while leaving grayscale on.
• “Bedtime Mode turns off too early in the morning.” Your wake-up time in the schedule controls when it ends. Move the wake-up time later if you are a late riser on weekends — or set different schedules per day if your phone supports it.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Bedtime Mode

• Pair it with a real bedtime: Bedtime Mode works best when the schedule matches the time you actually want to sleep. Set it 15–30 minutes before your target sleep time so the grayscale wind-down starts while you are still deciding whether to keep scrolling.
• Charge by the bed, scroll from the couch: plug the phone in away from your bed and let Bedtime Mode do its work. The dim, colorless screen is far less tempting when the charger is across the room.
• Allow only true emergencies through: in Do Not Disturb settings, allow calls from starred contacts and enable “repeat callers” so a second call within 15 minutes rings through. Everything else can wait until morning.
• Use it for naps too: no need for a schedule change — just tap the Quick Settings tile when you lie down for a nap and tap it again when you wake up.
• Combine with Night Light: Night Light (the warm-color screen filter) and Bedtime Mode stack nicely. Turn on Night Light on its own sunset-to-sunrise schedule under Settings → Display → Night Light, and let Bedtime Mode add grayscale and muting on top.
• Try a week before judging: the grayscale screen feels strange on night one. Most people stop noticing it by night three — and notice how much less they reach for the phone by night five.

FAQs

Does Bedtime Mode block alarms?

No. Alarms set in your phone’s built-in Clock app always ring through Bedtime Mode and Do Not Disturb — Google designed it that way so you can safely use your phone as an alarm clock. If an alarm ever stays silent, check that it is a stock Clock alarm and that the alarm volume is turned up; third-party alarm apps may be silenced unless you add them to your Do Not Disturb exceptions.

What’s the difference between Bedtime Mode and Do Not Disturb?

Do Not Disturb only silences calls, messages, and notifications. Bedtime Mode includes that muting but adds visual changes on top: it dims the screen, switches it to grayscale, and can darken the wallpaper and turn off the always-on display. Think of Do Not Disturb as “quiet my phone” and Bedtime Mode as “make my phone boring so I put it down.”

Can I schedule Bedtime Mode for different days?

Yes. When you set a schedule under Bedtime mode settings, you can choose exactly which days it repeats. That means you can keep a 10:30 PM bedtime on weeknights and push it to midnight on weekends, for example. On Samsung phones, the same day picker lives under Modes and Routines → Sleep → Turn on automatically.

Why did my screen turn black and white?

Your screen went grayscale because Bedtime Mode activated — almost always because a bedtime schedule kicked in. Open Quick Settings and tap the Bedtime mode tile to turn it off instantly, then check your schedule under Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Bedtime mode to adjust the time or days. On Samsung, look under Settings → Modes and Routines → Sleep.

Does Bedtime Mode work with third-party alarm apps?

Only the built-in Clock app’s alarms are guaranteed to ring through. A third-party alarm app may be muted by Do Not Disturb while Bedtime Mode is active. If you rely on one, open Settings → Sound & vibration → Do Not Disturb, find the apps exception list, and add your alarm app as an allowed app — or switch your wake-up alarm to the stock Clock app to be safe.

Will Bedtime Mode save battery?

Slightly, as a side effect. The dimmed screen and darkened display use less power, especially on OLED screens, and Do Not Disturb prevents the screen from lighting up for every notification. But battery saving is not its purpose — it is a sleep feature first.

Can I use Bedtime Mode without a schedule?

Absolutely. Just add the Bedtime mode tile to your Quick Settings panel and tap it whenever you want to wind down — for naps, reading sessions, or nights when your schedule does not apply. Everything (grayscale, dimming, muting) works the same in manual mode; you simply turn it off yourself when you are done.

Bedtime Mode will not fix your sleep on its own, but it removes the biggest obstacle sitting between you and it: a bright, colorful, buzzing phone begging for “just five more minutes.” Set the schedule once, let the grayscale do the nagging for you, and enjoy the quiet. Your mornings will thank you.