Like any conscientious digital citizen you politely set your phone to vibrate while at work, in movie theaters, and at important business dinners. But while sparing everyone your Clock Radio Alarm ringtone is great, that buzzing in your pocket tells you nothing about how important the call might be. Should you check it? Is it a friend? A loved one? A telemarketer? Should you let it go to voicemail?
First-world problem? Absolutely. Thankfully, there's an easy way to take the guesswork out of such scenarios. Customized vibrating ringtones to the rescue.
Setting these up in iOS is super simple. Go into your Contacts and pick someone potentially important. Click 'Edit,' and next to 'Vibration,' tap 'Default.' There, you can choose from a series of preset vibration alerts like 'Heartbeat' or 'Symphony,' or you can create your own custom vibration. To do that, just tap on the screen in the pattern you want. Hit save, name it, and whenever that contact calls you, it'll vibrate in that pattern.
On Android, you'll need a third party app to do this (but the process is pretty similar). Vybe is one popular option, and Contact Vibrate is another.
Now, when your phone is on vibrate and you get a call, you can at least tell if it's someone you want to talk to...or just your editor.
