Driving focus automatically switches OFF while still driving

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jwd2017 Author

Level 1

4 points

Driving focus automatically switches OFF while still driving

Similar to: Driving Focus keep turning itself OFF aft… - Apple Community

I’ve experienced the same issue as the post above. When starting my car, I’ll manually activate the driving focus either using my Apple Watch control centre or iPhone control centre. I switch on driving mode so that my Apple Watch isn’t pinging me with notifications and I’ll routinely find it starts notifications within 15 minutes of driving which is both annoying and dangerous.

It’s hard for me to test this but I’m not sure if Driving focus is switching itself back off when I’m sat in traffic and assumes I’m not driving anymore? It happens in a t-shirt so it’s not clothing somehow triggering the focus modes or something like that.

Some details which will hopefully help:

iPhone 13 Pro (iOS 15.5)

Apple Watch series 6 (watchOS 8.6)

Driving focus is set to activate “Manually” only - no automatic detection. Activate with CarPlay is enabled but this issue occurs when iPhone is NOT connected via CarPlay.

Driving focus can be enabled either on the Apple Watch or iPhone and this issue occurs. Initially, the driving focus is displaying on the other device so it is syncing properly at first.

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on Jun 9, 2022 10:42 AM

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Answer 1

Eric_G1

Community Specialist

Jun 11, 2022 7:11 AM in response to jwd2017

jwd2017,

Do you happen to have any automations set up via Shortcuts? This page can help to go over that feature to double-check: Create a new personal automation in Shortcuts on iPhone or iPad – Apple Support

As the devices are fully updated, restarting both may also be able to help with odd issues that come up.

To help isolate it down, try enabling the option for the Driving Focus to automatically activate, or the 'When Connected to Car Bluetooth' option, if you connect your iPhone in this manner.

Cheers.

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Answer 2

chuckbl

Community Specialist

Jun 12, 2022 7:05 AM in response to jwd2017

jwd2017,

Since your devices are all up to date and that behavior still persists, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support so they can look into this further: Contact - Official Apple Support

Take care.

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Answer 3

lexOS1

Community Specialist

Jun 10, 2022 3:39 PM in response to jwd2017

Hi jwd2017,

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities. If the Driving Focus feature is turning on by itself, try the steps listed below to see if it helps resolve the issue after restarting your device:

Confirm that all requirements are met: Use the Driving Focus on your iPhone to concentrate on the road - Apple Support
Go to Settings > Focus and tap Driving.
Turn Driving on or off. When doing this, hold Focus and then tap Driving.
Confirm the Driving icon appears.

Hope this helps!

Have a great day.

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Answer 4

jwd2017 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 11, 2022 12:31 AM in response to lexOS1

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I can confirm that all the requirements are met and that when I initially set driving mode on, it is activated properly and the driving icon appears on both my phone and my Apple Watch.

The issue is that at some point, driving mode switches itself OFF unexpectedly though, not that it switches itself on. Let me know if you need more info or screenshots to confirm anything.

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Answer 5

jwd2017 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 12, 2022 1:32 AM in response to Eric_G1

I have two shortcuts set up and neither are related to anything focus mode - one is to turn off all my lights at night and the other is an automation for switching a greenhouse heater on or off.

I’ve tried the “automatic” setting before and found that it switched itself off if I was sat in traffic a while (not sure if this is the same issue or expected functionality when I’m not moving quickly). The car Bluetooth is an option but me and my partner both connect that way sometimes so I can’t rely on being connected that way without faffing every time I get in the car.

I do think it’s a bug in how Focus mode works rather than a user error (although I could be wrong I guess) but I was curious if anyone else was able to replicate it.

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Driving focus automatically switches OFF while still driving

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