Driving Mode is a Windows Phone feature that resides under Settings tab. If you have seen it in the past but did not give it a try, then you should consider using Driving Mode if you drive a lot. Driving Mode is a feature that automatically turn off all notifications except texts and phone calls when you are driving. In this post, I will show you how to setup Driving Mode in Windows Phone 8.1 to turn off calls and texts automatically while driving. It also allows you to turn off calls and text completely if you want to concentrate on driving only and don’t want any distraction in between. What more you can do here is set Driving Mode to text an automatic reply when you receive any text or call. Driving Mode automatically activates when your phone get connected to a Bluetooth device such as your car’s Bluetooth device. Setup Driving Mode in Windows 10 Mobile Note: Driving Mode will only work if you have a Bluetooth device which gets connected to your phone whenever you are driving. If your vehicle has Bluetooth connectivity, then you can pair your phone to it and start using Driving Mode. In this short guide, I will show you how to setup Driving Mode in Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile with your Bluetooth enabled vehicle. Step 1: Pair Bluetooth Devices For the Driving Mode to work, you should pair your Windows 10 Mobile with your car’s Bluetooth device such as hands-free, etc. So the first thing you should do is pair your Phone with your vehicle’s Bluetooth device. To do this, go to Settings >> Devices >> Bluetooth and pair a device to your phone. Step 2: Setup Driving Mode If you are doing this for the first time, then you need to setup Driving Mode before you can use it. To do this, do the following. Go to Settings >> System >> Driving Mode. Tap Next to continue. If you want to ignore incoming calls by sending them to voice mail, then turn on Ignore Calls. If you want to ignore text message notifications, then turn On Ignore Texts. Tap Next to continue. If you want to send automatic text reply to Calls, then turn on Text Replies to Calls. If you want to send automatic text reply to Texts, then turn on Text Replies to Texts. You can also customize the text in the text reply if you want. Tap Next to continue. Now select the Bluetooth device in the name list for setting up for the Driving Mode. Once you have setup the Bluetooth device, Driving Mode will be automatically turned on next time your phone connects to the device. Tap Next, and tap Finish. That’s it! You have successfully setup Driving Mode in Windows 10 Mobile. Setup Driving Mode in Windows Phone 8.1 Step 1: Access Driving Mode The first thing we will be doing is accessing Driving Mode in Windows Phone. So, swipe left and tap Settings. Scroll down and find Driving Mode. Tap on Driving Mode to begin the Setup. You will be shown a welcome screen with some information on it. Tap Next to continue. Step 2: Setup Calls Text If you want to turn off Calls as well as Texts, then you can change the settings in this section. Under Calls Text section toggle switch to On to ignore calls. Do the same if you want to turn off Text. Tap Next to continue. Step 3: Add a Bluetooth Device The next step requires you to add a Bluetooth device after connecting/disconnecting to which the Driving Mode feature will be turned On/Off Automatically. If your vehicle such as your Car has Bluetooth connectivity, then tap on Add a device button on your Windows Phone. Turn On Bluetooth of your Phone and it will start looking for your Cars Bluetooth device. Make sure you have turned On Bluetooth of your vehicle. Once the search is completed, tap on your Vehicle’s Bluetooth device name and pair it. Once paired, press back button and select your Vehicle’s Bluetooth device for Driving Mode. Tap Next to continue. Finished! You will see this as soon as you have enabled Drive Mode in Windows Phone 8.1 or Windows Mobile 10. Next time when you are in the car, your car’s Bluetooth will automatically connect to your Phone’s Bluetooth and the Driving Mode will be activated. Tap on Finish to close the tabs. Now if you go back to Settings >> Driving Mode. Do not tap on Driving Mode. Just scroll down to Driving Mode and you will see Automatic notification displayed under it. It means the Driving Mode will turn on Automatically the next time your Phone comes into contact with your Car and of course you allow it to do it. If you open Driving Mode, you will see the status as Off and a message saying ” Driving Mode will turn on Automatically when you’re are driving.”. You can also view the options such as Calls Texts, which allows you to Turn Off/ On calls text while on Driving Mode. You can also add more than one Bluetooth devices with Driving Mode.
