Calls stop ringing, texts arrive without a sound, and a small moon sits at the top of the screen. That moon means Do Not Disturb is on. To turn it off, open Control Center and tap the Focus button (the moon) so it is no longer highlighted, or manage it in Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. If it keeps turning back on, check its schedules, Smart Activation and Share Across Devices. These steps are for current versions of iOS.
Emergency and AMBER alerts have their own switches, explained in how to change government alert settings on iPhone.
When a single app is the problem rather than every alert, you can silence Reddit notifications without turning on a Focus.
How to tell Do Not Disturb is on
Since iOS 15, Do Not Disturb is one of several Focus options. A Focus is a mode that silences calls, alerts and notifications except for the people and apps you allow. Apple’s other built-in options include Personal, Work, Sleep, Reduce Interruptions and Driving, and each has its own icon.
- Moon icon in the status bar or on the Lock Screen: Do Not Disturb is on.
- A different icon (a bed, a car, a person or a briefcase, for example): another Focus is on. It silences your phone in much the same way, so the fix below still applies, but you tap that Focus instead.
- A crossed-out bell or no moon at all, yet the phone is still quiet: the cause is probably silent mode or a notification setting. Skip to the section on alerts that stay quiet.
If you only want to know what the moon means and how it differs from the other status icons, see what the moon icon on an iPhone means.
Turn it off from Control Center
Control Center is the fastest switch, and it works the same way for every Focus.
- Open Control Center. On an iPhone with Face ID, swipe down from the top-right corner. On an iPhone with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom edge.
- Find the Focus button. When Do Not Disturb is on, the button is highlighted and shows the moon with the words Do Not Disturb.
- Tap the moon icon on the button. Apple’s Do Not Disturb support page notes that when the Focus turns off, the icon dims and the button’s label changes back to Focus.
- If a different Focus is active, the button shows that Focus’s name instead. Tap it the same way to turn it off.
To turn Do Not Disturb on later, touch and hold the Focus button, then tap Do Not Disturb in the list.
From the Lock Screen
When a Focus is on, its icon appears on the Lock Screen. Touching and holding that icon brings up the Focus controls on many versions, and tapping the active Focus turns it off. This route is handy at night, since you do not need to open the phone first. Treat it as a shortcut and use Control Center if your Lock Screen does not respond that way.
With Siri
Say “Turn off Do Not Disturb” or “Turn off Focus.” Siri confirms the change, and the moon disappears from the status bar.
From Settings
Open Settings > Focus and tap Do Not Disturb. This screen is mainly where you customize the Focus: who can reach you, which apps can notify you, schedules, and linked screens. If the Focus is active, you can also switch it off from Control Center, which is Apple’s documented on and off control. For a wider tour of every Focus mode and its settings, see how to turn off Focus on an iPhone.
Why Do Not Disturb keeps turning itself on
A Focus that returns by itself is almost always following a rule you or another device set. Work through the causes below in order, because the first two account for most cases.
| If it turns on… | Likely cause | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| At the same time every day | A schedule | Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb > Set a Schedule |
| At random times or places | Smart Activation | Inside the Do Not Disturb schedule list, if shown |
| Right after you turn it on elsewhere | Share Across Devices | Settings > Focus |
| When you switch wallpapers | A Lock Screen linked to the Focus | Touch and hold the Lock Screen |
| At bedtime, with a bed icon | Sleep Focus | Settings > Focus > Sleep |
| In the car, with a car icon | Driving Focus | Settings > Focus > Driving |
| On a trigger such as arriving at work | A Shortcuts automation | Shortcuts app > Automation |
1. A schedule
- Open Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.
- Scroll to Set a Schedule and tap each schedule listed there.
- Turn the schedule off, or delete it at the bottom of its screen if you never want it again.
Turning a schedule off keeps its times saved, which is useful if you only want a break from it. Deleting it removes it for good.
2. Smart Activation
Some versions of iOS offer Smart Activation, which turns a Focus on at times or places the iPhone predicts you would want it. If it appears in the Do Not Disturb schedule list, tap it and turn it off. If you do not see it, this cause does not apply to you.
3. Share Across Devices
With Share Across Devices on, starting Do Not Disturb on your iPad, Mac or Apple Watch also starts it on your iPhone, and Apple says the other devices receive a notification when that happens. Open Settings > Focus and turn off Share Across Devices if you want each device to keep its own setting. A common case: someone enables Do Not Disturb on a Mac for a meeting and the phone goes quiet with it.
4. A Lock Screen linked to Do Not Disturb
On iOS 16 and later, a Lock Screen wallpaper can be tied to a Focus, so switching to that wallpaper turns Do Not Disturb on. Touch and hold the Lock Screen and swipe through your wallpapers. One that shows Do Not Disturb at the bottom is linked. Pick a different wallpaper, or remove the link from the Focus screen under Customize Screens.
5. Sleep or Driving Focus
Sleep and Driving are separate Focus modes, so they show a bed or a car rather than a moon, but they silence the phone just as well. Open Settings > Focus > Sleep to change or turn off the bedtime schedule. For Driving, open Settings > Focus > Driving and look for the option that controls when it starts; choosing a manual start stops it from turning on when the phone detects driving or connects to the car. The Driving Focus details are covered in turning off automatic driving mode.
6. A Shortcuts automation
Open the Shortcuts app and tap Automation. Look for anything that sets a Focus, such as an automation that runs at 10:00 PM or when you arrive somewhere. Turn it off or delete it. While you are in Settings > Focus, also open Work, Personal and any custom Focus you made, since each one can carry its own schedule.
Let important people and apps through
If you like Do Not Disturb but missed a call that mattered, you do not have to turn it off. Change who gets through instead.
- Open Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.
- Under Allow Notifications, tap People and add the contacts who should always reach you, such as family or a child’s school.
- Tap Apps and add any app whose alerts you never want held back, for example a security camera or a work pager app.
Two related options appear on many versions, though their exact placement varies. Repeated calls lets a second call from the same person ring through soon after the first, which helps in an emergency. Time Sensitive notifications let apps mark urgent alerts (a delivery at the door, for instance) so they break through. Look for them on the People and Apps screens.
On iOS 18.2 and later, Apple also lists Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing in the Do Not Disturb settings. It is limited to iPhone models that support Apple Intelligence (iPhone 16 or later and iPhone 15 Pro models), with Apple Intelligence turned on, and it lets the iPhone decide which notifications seem important enough to show.
App alerts that stay silent after all this may be off at the app level. Instagram is a frequent example, and fixing Instagram notifications on iPhone walks through that app’s own switches.
Alerts are still quiet after Do Not Disturb is off
When the moon is gone but the phone still does not ring, check these in order:
If the quiet alerts are mostly phone calls, check the Phone settings that show missed calls on the iPhone Lock Screen.
- Silent mode. The Ring/Silent switch on the side, or the Action button on models that have one, can put the phone in silent mode. Calls and alerts then vibrate or show without sound. See turning silent mode on or off, and if silent mode also stops vibration, why an iPhone won’t vibrate on silent.
- Screen Unknown Callers. In Settings > Apps > Phone, the Screen Unknown Callers setting decides what happens to calls from numbers not in your contacts. Silence sends them straight to voicemail without ringing, and Ask Reason for Calling makes the caller say why before the phone rings. Choose Never if you want every call to ring (see Apple’s page on managing unknown callers).
- App notifications. Open Settings > Notifications, tap the app and make sure Allow Notifications is on with sounds enabled.
- Muted conversations. A crossed-out bell beside a Messages thread means alerts for that conversation are hidden. Swipe left on the thread to turn alerts back on.
- Scheduled Summary. If it is on in Settings > Notifications, some alerts are held and delivered in batches.
- Software. Apple’s own advice when Do Not Disturb misbehaves is to update to the latest version of iOS in Settings > General > Software Update. A restart is also worth trying.
On iOS 14 or earlier
Older versions keep Do Not Disturb as its own setting rather than a Focus. Open Settings > Do Not Disturb, turn off the main switch and Scheduled, then check Do Not Disturb While Driving and set it to start manually. The crescent moon in Control Center still turns it off.
Do Not Disturb questions
Will my alarms still go off?
Alarms from the Clock app are generally not silenced by a Focus, but Apple’s Do Not Disturb page does not address alarms directly. If you rely on one for something important, set a test alarm a few minutes ahead with Do Not Disturb on and confirm you hear it.
Does it only work when the iPhone is locked?
No. Apple describes Do Not Disturb as silencing calls, alerts and notifications whenever it is on. Older advice that says it only works while the phone is locked does not describe the current Focus version.
Can people tell I have Do Not Disturb on?
In Messages, contacts may see a note that you have notifications silenced if Focus status sharing is on for that Focus. You can turn status sharing off in the Focus settings. Callers simply reach voicemail. If you want calls to look busy for a different reason, see how to make your phone appear busy when someone calls.
Can I delete the Do Not Disturb Focus?
Do Not Disturb is built in, so plan on keeping it. Instead, remove its schedules, turn off Share Across Devices and unlink any Lock Screen, and it will only turn on when you choose.
Next step: open Control Center now, confirm the Focus button shows no moon, then remove whichever schedule or link was turning it back on.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.