iPhone (iOS) · Display & Sound

Set Up Focus Modes on iPhone

Focus lets you silence distracting notifications based on what you're doing — like Work, Sleep, or Personal time — while still allowing calls and alerts from specific people or apps you choose to come through.

How to open Focus

  1. Open Settings → Focus.
  2. Select an existing Focus (like Sleep or Work) or tap the '+' to create a custom one.
  3. Add People and Apps allowed to notify you during that Focus.
  4. Set a schedule or automation so the Focus turns on and off automatically.

What you should know

  • Built-in Focus options include Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, Sleep, and Driving, plus fully custom Focus modes.
  • Allowed People and Apps let specific contacts or apps bypass a Focus so their notifications still arrive.
  • Focus Filters can limit what's shown in supported apps, like hiding non-work calendar events or muting certain Mail accounts.
  • Share Across Devices syncs your active Focus to other Apple devices signed into the same Apple Account.

A Focus can be scheduled to turn on automatically by time, location, or a specific app opening, which can silence notifications without you realizing it's active — check the status bar icon if alerts seem to be missing.

Why it matters

Focus is what makes it possible to actually disconnect during sleep or deep work without missing something genuinely urgent, since it separates 'important enough to interrupt me' from 'can wait until later' on a per-person and per-app basis rather than an all-or-nothing silence toggle. Because different Focus modes can carry entirely different allow lists, it also means your phone can behave differently depending on context — quiet during a meeting, but still letting a family member's call through during Sleep. Automations tied to time, location, or app also mean this protection can happen consistently without you remembering to turn it on manually every time.

Best practices

  • Set up separate allow lists for Work and Personal Focus modes rather than reusing the same list, since who's urgent during work hours often isn't the same as after.
  • Schedule Sleep Focus to start automatically before your usual bedtime instead of relying on remembering to turn it on manually.
  • Use Focus Filters to hide work calendar events and Mail accounts during Personal time, reducing the temptation to check work messages off the clock.
  • Enable 'Share Across Devices' so your Mac and iPad also respect your active iPhone Focus instead of continuing to ring or notify separately.
  • Add close family members to your Sleep Focus allow list so a genuine emergency call can still reach you overnight.

Common problems and fixes

Notifications you expect aren't arriving and you're not sure why
Check the status bar or Settings → Focus for an active Focus mode, since scheduled or location-based automations can turn one on without an obvious prompt.
An important contact's calls are being silenced during Sleep or Work Focus
Add that person to the specific Focus's 'People' allow list, or enable 'Allow Calls From' repeat callers so a second call within three minutes always breaks through.
A Focus schedule doesn't turn off automatically at the expected time
Check for a second overlapping automation (like a location-based trigger) that may be keeping the Focus active past its scheduled end time.
Someone messages you and doesn't realize your notifications are silenced
This is expected unless they're using Messages and you've allowed status sharing — iOS can show a 'Notifications are silenced' indicator to senders when Focus is on and shared.

Tips and tricks

  • Long-press the Focus icon in Control Center for a quick menu to turn any Focus on for a set duration, like 'For 1 hour' or 'Until I leave this location'.
  • Use a custom Home Screen page tied to a Focus so only relevant apps are visible while that Focus is active, reducing visual temptation to check unrelated apps.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between Do Not Disturb and other Focus modes?

Do Not Disturb is one specific built-in Focus, while iOS also supports multiple named Focus modes (like Work, Personal, or Sleep) that each have their own independent allow lists and can be automated separately.

Will people know I have Focus turned on?

Only if they message you through Messages and you've enabled status sharing — supported apps can then show that your notifications are silenced, though calls and other apps don't disclose this by default.

Can I let a specific app always notify me no matter which Focus is active?

Yes, adding an app to a Focus's allow list lets its notifications come through during that Focus, and you can repeat this across every Focus mode where you want that app to stay unrestricted.

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