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Apple Watch Focus modes broken, settings constantly reset

I have an Apple Watch Series 5 and am currently having a very frustrating experience with Focus modes. The main issues are:


Fitness focus won't turn on automatically:

I have a Fitness focus that should automatically turn on whenever I start a workout on my Apple Watch. However, the setting to start the Fitness focus automatically is toggled off every day. I have to manually check the settings and confirm that it's toggled back on, otherwise it will not engage the Fitness focus on my devices at all. This has been happening for weeks, and it seems to reset every day after I take the watch off the charger. Why would this go back to the previous setting regularly?


Do Not Disturb stays on indefinitely:

Furthermore, every day when I wake up, my Apple Watch is still set to the Do Not Disturb focus. The DND focus should have ended an hour or more before I wake up, and even my iPhone and iPad are already on Personal focus. But for whatever reason, the Apple Watch does not switch over as it should. This is quite annoying as I may not always notice and can miss many notifications as they are all coming through my watch instead of my phone.


I have already tried:

  • Deleting and re-adding the Focus modes
  • Completely resetting my Apple Watch to factory settings (no backup restored, configured as a new watch)


Short of getting an entirely new Apple Watch, I'm out of ideas for what else I can try here. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Apple Watch Series 5

Posted on Jan 9, 2023 9:57 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 10, 2023 5:41 AM

The first issue also happens to me and I already have the newest watch. That won’t solve the problem for you. It was working fine before the last few iOS updates. Everything toggled on and off correctly and the setting stayed as I set them. Now, the auto on when starting a workout keeps turning off.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 10, 2023 5:41 AM in response to electric_buffalo

The first issue also happens to me and I already have the newest watch. That won’t solve the problem for you. It was working fine before the last few iOS updates. Everything toggled on and off correctly and the setting stayed as I set them. Now, the auto on when starting a workout keeps turning off.

Feb 20, 2023 10:02 AM in response to electric_buffalo

My Do Not Disturb will NOT indicate as “off” EVER. There is nothing set up in it nor in focus. There is no longer a toggle switch in the phone app to use. My notification sounds—which we’re random and unreliable prior to the last iOS update stopped completely with the prior iOS update (iPhone 11 and Watch Ser. 7); they now don’t work at ALL so my Watch is…just a watch. Never buying another Apple Watch—for the price, I can get a self-winding that does the job and looks a LOT better.

Apple Watch Focus modes broken, settings constantly reset

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