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

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.

do not disturb feature removed
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.

Related Forum: iOS 15

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

CPx Avatar
50 months ago
Yikes, I basically left my iPad in this state permanently. This sucks..
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
50 months ago
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?..
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rigby Avatar
50 months ago

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!
Tell me about it. For years I have used DnD on a time schedule to silence the phone at night. Today it woke me up in the middle of the night when some emails arrived, because iOS 15 did't carry over the DnD schedule. Then I had trouble finding where in the settings the feature now is, all at 2am and barely awake. :rolleyes: I also find the "focus" settings overloaded and pretty confusing.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ANDJOE Avatar
50 months ago

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.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
50 months ago

Many Reddit users are unhappy
Should've ended the sentence there.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alexandr Avatar
50 months ago

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.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)