In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple expanded the concept of Do Not Disturb to what it calls Focus. You can create a Focus for different types of activities, so only specific people and apps can break through your cone of silence at appropriate times. Focus subsumes the old Do Not Disturb functionality, and your settings may not transfer when you upgrade, leaving you open to being woken at night by a previously silenced notification. To check and reset things to your liking, visit Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. If necessary, tap Add Schedule or Automation to set a schedule or try the new Smart Activation option. Then decide who, potentially beyond those in your Favorites, should be able to get through, along with any apps that might be essential. Note that you shouldn’t enable the Do Not Disturb switch at the top—that turns on the Do Not Disturb Focus immediately.
(Featured image by iStock.com/klebercordeiro)
The iOS update to focus defaulted my Do not disturb setting that allowed calls from my Favorites to allowing calls from no one. A very important call was silenced. It cost me thousands of dollars.
Apple. When you do something like this YOU MUST HONOR THE USER’S EXISTING SETTINGS.