iOS 15 Removes Do Not Disturb Option That Silenced Notifications Only When iPhone Was Locked

[MacRumors]

With iOS 15, Apple expanded the Do Not Disturb feature from iOS 14 into a full Focus Mode option that's designed to allow users to set up different scenarios to manage their incoming notifications.

Focus Mode is handy because it lets you decide exactly what alerts and apps you want to see at home, while at work, when sleeping, when exercising, and in other situations, but as Reddit users have pointed out, Apple has dropped a key Do Not Disturb feature.

Do Not Disturb in iOS 14 had a setting that allowed incoming calls and notifications to be silenced at all times, or only when the iPhone was locked. With this setting, you could turn on Do Not Disturb but still get all of your calls and notifications if you unlocked your phone and were actively using it.

Some people used this setting to have Do Not Disturb active at all times during the day so the iPhone was silenced when it was locked, but they weren't missing alerts when the iPhone was in use. From Reddit:

Really surprised they've done this, but it appears there is no longer an option in iOS 15 to still show notifications when in Do Not Disturb but unlocked.

My phone basically lived on Do Not Disturb mode up until now but I'll have to stop using it now which is really annoying.

Like, I don't want notifications when my phone is locked, but while I'm actively using it I still need them to pop up.

There is no equivalent setting in Focus Mode, so there's no longer an option to receive notifications when the iPhone is unlocked and silence them when it's not in use. With Focus Mode, it's an all or nothing experience - notifications are being received, or they're silenced in all situations.

Many Reddit users are unhappy with the change and are hoping that Apple will reintroduce a similar feature in a future iOS 15 update.

Article Link: iOS 15 Removes Do Not Disturb Option That Silenced Notifications Only When iPhone Was Locked

 

[alexandr]

hm, i didn't use this much, but i could see this being super annoying for those who did. why would they even remove this?..

 

[Motionblurrr]

This one hurts because I used Do Not Disturb as an extra silence mode to not hear that vibration or anything at all.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just use the silent switch like the old days

 

[LeadingHeat]

Oh dang that is super frustrating. I use that all the time. It worked flawlessly on the iPhone, but the iPad it was weirdly hit or miss. Some would still come through. I hope they bring it back! Call it “Active Focus Mode” or something

 

[hansenc]

Ah now it explains why I didn't see my MFA push notification this morning.

 

[Beelzbub]

I wish they would fix Do Not Disturb While Driving and eliminate the part that says "If this is Urgent, reply "urgent" to send a notification through". The whole point of me driving with it on in the first place is to not get any text messages and allow for phone calls only.

 

[The Banker]

can't this be solved by a Siri shortcut automation?

 

[ProfessionalFan]

This seems like an odd change

 

[CPx]

Yikes, I basically left my iPad in this state permanently. This sucks..

 

[Eric Wiesner]

They did carry over what was already setup for DND, either. I had to go through and select those notifications I had defined previously after the update. Didn't know this until notifications began coming through after I had gone to bed. Very frustrating!

 

[themoose]

Yikes, I basically left my iPad in this state permanently. This sucks..

That was exactly my use of DND as well.

Overall, the implementation of Focus in my 1 day of use is that it’s a downgrade. In ios14 i could turn Sleep/DND on and off from control center on either my phone or watch with 1 click. Now it’s 2 clicks and as trivial as that sounds, it‘s super annoying lol. Not to mention the loss of functionality for notifications when unlocked on DND.

 

[Patriks7]

iOS and iPadOS 15 is the first time I am severely disappointed I updated my devices the first day possible. So far haven't found one thing I like about it, but my list of dislikes is quite long.

 

[Zaino]

Create a custom focus and disable all features. No notifications on the screen while iphone is locked/unlocked.

 

[4743913]

this has the appearance of apple devs trying to show work while sitting at home avoiding it.

 

[subi257]

hm, i didn't use this much, but i could see this being super annoying for those who did. why would they even remove this?..

I never used, but I could see some people most likely do. I do use the bedtime function, so it mutes everything at night. No buzzing devices.

 

[macplay]

I'll think i whait.. ios 14.8 is finally stable..

 

[I7guy]

This one hurts because I used Do Not Disturb as an extra silence mode to not hear that vibration or anything at all.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just use the silent switch like the old days

Same here. I used DND whilst relaxing. Back to the silent switch I guess.

 

[I7guy]

iOS and iPadOS 15 is the first time I am severely disappointed I updated my devices the first day possible. So far haven't found one thing I like about it, but my list of dislikes is quite long.

This is the first thing to me that comes across as user unfriendly, where functionality was removed and not replaced. Hopefully this will be improved with future updates. I like the rest and think Apple did a great job on ios 15.

 

[nwcs]

While useful for some I was always annoyed at being in DND and using the device and still getting notifications. I wanted it all to be in the background.

 

[alexandr]

I never used, but I could see some people most likely do. I do use the bedtime function, so it mutes everything at night. No buzzing devices.

i used to use the night mode, but it's a bit of a hassle when i do want to look at my notifications, so i went back to using the good 'ol 'do not disturb'.

 

[nvmls]

Oof.. we use DND a lot Apple what the heck! Who decided this, Tim's couple? Geez.. it's like they don't even use their own devices.

 

[_Spinn_]

I have a slightly different problem now with the Focus Modes.

When I'm on call I have to let work calls and texts through in the middle of the night so I setup an OnCall focus (it only allows those few work numbers through) that automatically turns on when I plug my phone in when I go to bed when I'm actually on call. The problem is that sleep tracking doesn't seem to work since Sleep is another Focus. I could add my work contacts to the list of allowed people in the Sleep focus but when I'm not on call they shouldn't get through and I don't want to remember to add and remove those contacts from the Sleep focus every time my on-call starts and stops.

In iOS 14 I had a shortcut that would turn on Do Not Disturb for 1 minute and then turn on Sleep. After 1 minute Do Not Disturb would turn off and Sleep would be left on. This was definitely exploiting a bug since turning on just Sleep would turn on Do Not Disturb and then I couldn't turn off one without turning off both.

It seems like I have to just add and remove the contacts every time I go on/off call. So much for being able to automate this

 

[Prof.]

They also got rid of “deliver quietly” option after you’d long press a notification in the Notification Center. Very annoying.

 

[ANDJOE]

Create a custom focus and disable all features. No notifications on the screen while iphone is locked/unlocked.

I'm not sure you are clear on what the article is stating. Many users don't want to be disturbed when the phone is locked but DO want notifications on screen with then phone is unlocked.

 

[alexandr]

While useful for some I was always annoyed at being in DND and using the device and still getting notifications. I wanted it all to be in the background.

and you had the option to do that.