4 Ways to Fix Do Not Disturb Turning on Automatically on iPhone

Quick Tips

• Check if you’ve set up an automation for Do Not Disturb. If so, disable it to avoid automatic activation.
• Go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb > Select the schedule to disable or delete it.
• If you have multiple Apple Devices, disable Share Across Devices.

Fix 1. Disable the Do Not Disturb Schedule

iOS lets you turn on Do Not Disturb mode based on time, location, or when you open a specific app. For example, you can enable Do Not Disturb when you reach the office or open work apps like Microsoft Teams and Slack.

If you have set a schedule for Do Not Disturb, turn it off to avoid DND turning off automatically.

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone > select Focus.

Step 2: Open Do Not Disturb.

Step 3: Select a schedule and turn it off from the following menu. If you no longer need the schedule, delete it.

Fix 2. Disable Share Across Devices

It’s one of the major factors enabling Do Not Disturb automatically on iPhone. When using DND on iPad or Mac, iCloud can sync the status across all devices using the same Apple account.

So maybe, the DND setting on your iPad or Mac is enabling DND on your iPhone. To resolve the issue, you must disable the Share Across Devices setting.

On Mac

Step 1: Click the Control Center icon at the top-right corner of the menu bar. Expand the Focus menu.

Step 2: Select Focus Settings.

Step 3: Disable the Share across devices toggle.

On iPad

Step 1: Open the Settings app on the iPad.

Step 2: Select Focus. Turn off the toggle for Share Across Devices.

After that, iCloud won’t share your Focus status with other connected devices.

Fix 3. Unlink Focus From a Lock Screen

You can create several lock screens, add app widgets, and even assign a Focus to a specific lock screen. Let’s say you assign Do Not Disturb to a specific lock screen.

Whenever you pick such a linked lock screen on your iPhone, the system automatically turns on Do Not Disturb. You have two options here: unlink focus or delete the lock screen.

Unlink Focus

Step 1: Press the power/side button to turn on the Lock Screen. Next, to open the customization menu, long-press on an empty area on the Lock screen.

Step 2: Select Focus from the bottom of the screen. Tap on the selected Focus to unlink Do Not Disturb.

Delete the Lock Screen

Step 1: Open the Lock Screen customization menu (refer to the steps above).

Step 2: Swipe up on the Lock Screen and tap the Delete icon.

4. Disable or Delete Do Not Disturb While Driving

iOS lets you activate Driving Focus when you connect the iPhone to an Apple CarPlay system. Driving Focus acts like Do Not Disturb, turning off notifications and calls on your iPhone. Here’s how to disable it.

Step 1: Open Settings on your iPhone > go to Focus > open Driving.

Step 2: Tap While Driving. Disable the Activate With CarPlay toggle.

If you want to delete the focus entirely, select Delete Focus and confirm your decision. Once done, DND will not accidentally or automatically turn on while driving.