How do I get rid of Focus and "Do not disturb"?

I have 15.6 on my laptop and 18.6 on iPhones. I do not ned this ap, how do I get rid of it?


MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Aug 24, 2025 4:32 PM

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Posted on Aug 24, 2025 5:08 PM

You don't. You certainly do not need to use it and should never see a Focus State turning on as long as you have not set a schedule for it. If you are experiencing any trouble with it, then describe what you are seeing and what has not worked that you tried. Screen shots are helpful as long as they do not contain any personal information.


You will find many things that cannot be deleted as they are part of the OS, on both the Mac and iPhone.

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Aug 24, 2025 5:08 PM in response to bob.c

You don't. You certainly do not need to use it and should never see a Focus State turning on as long as you have not set a schedule for it. If you are experiencing any trouble with it, then describe what you are seeing and what has not worked that you tried. Screen shots are helpful as long as they do not contain any personal information.


You will find many things that cannot be deleted as they are part of the OS, on both the Mac and iPhone.

Aug 24, 2025 7:30 PM in response to bob.c

Ok, so on your laptop:

  • Go to  > System Settings > Focus, and make sure Share Across Devices is turned off. If you have this on, then anytime focus is turned on your iPhone, it will turn on your Laptop.
  • Make sure you do not have any Schedule set up at  > System Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb, and if there is a schedule under Set a Schedule, then tap on it and the remove button.


You are now set to manually control focus and if it is currently showing the moon icon, then click the Control Center in the menubar (slider icon) and click the Focus button (Do Not Disturb will be showing with the moon icon), then Do Not Disturb to turn it off. The moon icon will appear grey for about 5 seconds then will disappear. It can also be done by clicking the moon icon that you see in the menu bar. It should no longer turn back on automatically. The process is similar on the iPhone, and if you need assistance, I can help there as well.

Aug 24, 2025 6:43 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Hi Mac Jim: OK, I understand that I can't remove it, but I can't turn it off. I have several devices on my Group but we don't have an office that needs quiet time- I don't want to possibly miss a text or news item because some obscure button was clicked by accident. Right now I have a moon showing up on my laptop's top bar-does that mean that something is shut off? I go to Focus in Settings and there on the first line is "Focus ON >" so I look at that choice and there is no OFF., just various choices to turn it on. So I set up one schedule for one minute at 1:00 am but now the little moon is telling me that Focus is on UNTIL 1:0 am. So I delete the one minute schedule competely but the moon is still there, telling me that there is a schedule set up somewhere. This app is obnoxious! bob.c

Aug 26, 2025 2:25 PM in response to Mac Jim ID

Mac Jim tnx for your help clearing out the errors I think I introduced to our family group! Got the Moons shut off on all devices, and my wife is not missing phone calls anymore! I can see the value of the app to those who use Mac's in business and such, but I don't need it. The moral for me: leave stuff alone until you read Apple's instructions first!! Bravo Zulu! 73 de k1qed, qrp 4-evr

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How do I get rid of Focus and "Do not disturb"?

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