Glucose alerts can be critical to health and safety. By default, both iOS and Android suppress notification sounds when the phone is in Silent, Do Not Disturb, or Focus mode. To make sure alerts can still sound in these situations, please complete the setup below.

Please read: Even after completing all of the steps below, smartphone alerts cannot be guaranteed to be 100% reliable. Please read the “Important Limitations” section at the end. This app should not be your only means of glucose monitoring and alerting.

iOS (iPhone) Setup

1. Allow Critical Alerts

Critical Alerts are a special notification type provided by Apple that can play a sound even when your phone is muted or a Focus mode is on.

  1. When you first use the app, it will request “Critical Alerts” permission. Please choose Allow.
  2. To check manually: open Settings → BUZUD → Notifications.
  3. Confirm that Critical Alerts is turned on (green).
  4. Also confirm that Allow Notifications is on, and that Lock Screen, Notification Centre, and Banners are all selected.

2. Turn On “Always Play Alert Sounds” in the App

  1. Go to the relevant member’s detail page in the app.
  2. Turn on the Always Play Alert Sounds toggle.
  3. This setting helps alerts attempt to sound even in Silent or Focus mode.

3. About Silent and Do Not Disturb

  • Critical Alerts are designed to override the silent switch and Do Not Disturb.
  • However, we still recommend not relying on Silent mode for extended periods. Where possible, keep your phone off Silent and at a sufficient volume during critical periods such as sleep.

4. About Focus Mode

  • Even if you add this app to a Focus mode’s “Allowed Notifications” list, the system may still block or delay alerts in some situations.
  • We recommend: avoid enabling Focus mode during periods when you need to receive alerts; if you must enable it, add this app to that Focus mode’s allowed list, but please be aware this is not an absolute guarantee.

5. Other Recommendations

  • Keep Background App Refresh on: Settings → BUZUD → Background App Refresh.
  • Do not enable Low Power Mode, as it delays background notifications.
  • Keep your phone volume at a level you can hear.
  • Do not place this app in iOS 18’s “Hidden Apps” or under “Reduced Interruptions” blocking.

Android Setup

1. Allow Notifications and Set Highest Priority

  1. Open Settings → Apps → BUZUD → Notifications.
  2. Confirm the main notification toggle is on.
  3. Find the “Critical / Urgent Alerts” notification category and confirm its importance is set to Highest (Urgent).

2. Grant “Do Not Disturb Access”

To allow alerts to override Do Not Disturb, a separate permission is required:

  1. Open Settings → Notifications → Do Not Disturb → App exceptions (the exact path varies by device).
  2. Or follow the in-app prompt to grant “Do Not Disturb access”.
  3. Without this permission, alerts will not sound while Do Not Disturb is on.

3. Allow Full-Screen and Lock Screen Alerts

  1. In BUZUD’s notification settings, allow Lock Screen display and banners / pop-ups.
  2. If the system asks whether to allow “Full screen notifications / Full screen intent”, choose Allow.

4. Disable Battery Optimization

Android restricts background apps, which can cause alerts to be delayed or silent:

  1. Open Settings → Battery → Battery optimization / App power management.
  2. Find BUZUD and set it to Don’t optimize / No restrictions / Allow background activity.

5. About Silent and Do Not Disturb

  • After correct setup, alerts should be able to sound during Do Not Disturb, but we still recommend not relying on Do Not Disturb for extended periods during critical times.
  • Keep your media / alarm volume at a level you can hear.

⚠️ Important Limitations (Please Read)

Please understand the following points — they relate to your safety:

  1. Smartphone alerts are not 100% reliable. Even after completing all steps in this guide, alerts may still be delayed, silent, or undelivered due to operating system limitations, system updates, background mechanisms, network conditions, and other factors. This is a common limitation of all smartphone-based alerting apps, not unique to this app.
  2. Critical Alerts are not guaranteed to always play a sound. Under certain phone system versions or device states, a Critical Alert may not play a sound (the notification may still appear without any sound).
  3. Adding the app to a Focus mode allow list is not an absolute guarantee. Adding this app to a Focus / Do Not Disturb allow list improves the chance of receiving alerts, but the system may still block or delay them in some situations.
  4. Remote following (family / observers) relies on network push and is less reliable. Alerts received by observers depend on network and push services and may be missed due to network issues, push delays, or non-delivery. Remote following by family members cannot replace alerts on the wearer’s own device.
  5. Do not rely on this app as your only safeguard. Please combine it with routine glucose monitoring and other reminder methods, and perform a fingerstick glucose confirmation and any necessary medical action when an abnormality is suspected. If in doubt, consult your healthcare professional.

If you still cannot receive alerts properly after completing this setup, please contact our support team and provide your phone model and system version so we can help investigate.