DND Focus and Sleep not stopping calls and text

I have always loved the sleep and DND focus modes for years, since inception. I’m assuming an update caused it since I have not made any changes. The last two weeks I have been awaken by texts and calls. This morning, I received a text at 12:43am, took a while to get back to sleep then another text at 2:32am offering me a Valentine Spa Special from a spa.

The only app allowed is my alarm system and the only people allowed are my kids and husband. My schedule is 8:30pm to 8:00am, it is shared across devices, and back to back calls are off. Please help, I really need sleep.




iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Feb 13, 2025 2:22 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 13, 2025 2:48 PM

Focus and Do Not Disturb setup has been made much more flexible to meet user demands for additional features, but this has come at the cost of much more complication. To get it working again, do these steps ONCE:


  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Focus
  • Tap on any Focus settings that you will never use and remove them (you can add them back later if you change your mind, and even create new, custom ones)
  • Tap Do Not Disturb
  • Turn off Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing (unless you want it after reading the description)
  • Tap People
  • Tap Allow Notifications From
  • If anyone is listed who should not call you when DND is on delete them; if you don’t want any calls from anyone, any time, delete all people
  • Tap the dropdown next to Allow Calls From and choose Allowed People Only
  • Optionally, tap on Apps, then Allow Notifications From and don’t add any apps.
  • Turn off Repeat Calls


All of the above is a one-time setup. After that, turn DND on or off with a quick tap on the Control Center DND button. You can optionally set one or more schedules by going to:

Settings/Focus/Do Not Disturb/Set a Schedule.


There are many other features, but these instructions put it back to the way it worked in simpler days. Over the years Apple has had a steady stream of requests for DND enhancements, and they seem to have incorporated all of them.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 13, 2025 2:48 PM in response to Lilbit1847

Focus and Do Not Disturb setup has been made much more flexible to meet user demands for additional features, but this has come at the cost of much more complication. To get it working again, do these steps ONCE:


  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Focus
  • Tap on any Focus settings that you will never use and remove them (you can add them back later if you change your mind, and even create new, custom ones)
  • Tap Do Not Disturb
  • Turn off Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing (unless you want it after reading the description)
  • Tap People
  • Tap Allow Notifications From
  • If anyone is listed who should not call you when DND is on delete them; if you don’t want any calls from anyone, any time, delete all people
  • Tap the dropdown next to Allow Calls From and choose Allowed People Only
  • Optionally, tap on Apps, then Allow Notifications From and don’t add any apps.
  • Turn off Repeat Calls


All of the above is a one-time setup. After that, turn DND on or off with a quick tap on the Control Center DND button. You can optionally set one or more schedules by going to:

Settings/Focus/Do Not Disturb/Set a Schedule.


There are many other features, but these instructions put it back to the way it worked in simpler days. Over the years Apple has had a steady stream of requests for DND enhancements, and they seem to have incorporated all of them.

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DND Focus and Sleep not stopping calls and text

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