During a recent dentist visit, the Work Focus on my iPhone 18 Pro turned on automatically. And when I manually switched it off, it turned back on again by itself. I’ve had an iPhone for years, and this was the first time I had seen this, but apparently, some users have had issues with this for a while.
When Apple released iOS 15 back in 2021, they included some major changes to what was previously known as Do Not Disturb. They expanded Do Not Disturb into something called Focus, which includes Do Not Disturb and many other Focus modes, such as Personal, Work, Sleep and Reading.
If one of the Focus modes turns on automatically, you might miss calls and texts. You won’t realize someone is trying to contact you and so it is important to get this problem sorted out. In this article, we’ll tell you how you can stop Do Not Disturb or any of the other Focus modes from turning on automatically on iPhone 18 Pro.
Why is Do Not Disturb or Focus turning on by itself?
Apple says you can schedule a Focus to turn on at certain times, when you’re at a particular location, or when you open a specific app:
- Time
- Location
- App usage
- And more (Apple’s vague wording)
You can also manually add times, locations or apps that will trigger the Focus mode.
You can connect a custom iPhone Lock Screen wallpaper to Do Not Disturb or connect a custom iPad Lock Screen wallpaper to Do Not Disturb. When you choose that wallpaper for your Lock Screen, Do Not Disturb automatically turns on.
How to stop Do Not Disturb or Focus from turning on by itself on iPhone 18 Pro
To get to the Focus settings, open the Settings app and tap on Focus.
Here you will see all of the Focus modes you have set up on your iPhone. Some of them are there by default, and you may also have some you have created. If you only have one Focus mode causing you trouble, you can just make changes to that one. If you prefer, you can look at the settings for each or even delete a Focus entirely (you can always add it again later).
To change the Focus so it won’t turn on automatically:
- Tap on the name of the Focus (in Settings > Focus).
- Scroll down to the Set a Schedule section.
- You may see various types of “schedules” listed in this section:
- Add Schedule: If this is the only thing listed, then there is nothing set for this Focus that will automatically turn it on — with one exception, below.
- A time range: This Focus will automatically turn on during the scheduled times.
- A location: You may see a location, such as Home or Work, which will trigger the Focus mode.
- An app: The Focus will turn on when the listed app is being used.
- You have two options for the troublesome Focus mode: Remove the “schedules” listed under the Set a Schedule section or delete the Focus. Note that you cannot delete Do Not Disturb.
- Remove Schedules: Tap on a schedule, then tap Delete Schedule.
- Delete the Focus: Scroll down to the bottom of that Focus’s page in Settings, then tap on Delete Focus.
One case where a Focus turns on with nothing listed under Set a Schedule
- Sleep Focus takes its timing from the Health app, not from this screen. Apple documents that when you set up a Sleep Focus, it follows the sleep schedule you set in Health. To change it, tap Open Sleep in Health and edit the sleep schedule there. If you want to keep your sleep schedule and alarm but stop the Focus switching on, Apple documents a separate switch for that: in the Health app, tap Browse, then tap Sleep. Tap Sleep, scroll down to Your Schedule, then tap Full Schedule & Options. Turn off Use Schedule for Sleep Focus. Apple says that when this setting is off, your sleep schedules remain in effect, but your Sleep Focus doesn’t automatically turn on.
