How to Edit Do Not Disturb on iPhone | Change Focus Settings

Editing Do Not Disturb on an iPhone now requires going through the Focus menu in Settings, where you can adjust allowed notifications, linked screens, and automated schedules.

Apple moved Do Not Disturb under the Focus system a few iOS versions ago, and the old standalone toggle is gone. If you have poked around Settings looking for a simple switch and come up empty, that is why. The change actually gives you more control once you know where to look — you decide who and what breaks through, which screen shows up, and when the whole thing turns on automatically. Here is where Do Not Disturb lives now and how to edit every part of it.

Where Do Not Disturb Lives in iOS Now

Do Not Disturb is one of several Focus modes Apple includes alongside Personal, Work, Sleep, and Driving. You reach it through the Focus settings rather than a dedicated Do Not Disturb section. On current iOS versions, the path is Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.

You can also turn Do Not Disturb on or off without opening Settings at all. Open Control Center — swipe down from the top-right corner on iPhone X and later, or swipe up from the bottom edge on iPhone SE and iPhone 8 and earlier — then tap the Focus control and select Do Not Disturb. Tap and hold the Focus button to pick Do Not Disturb from the menu, or just ask Siri.

What You Can Edit in Do Not Disturb

The Focus-based Do Not Disturb gives you three main adjustment areas, and each one works independently. You can set them once and forget them, or change them as your schedule shifts.

Allow Notifications

This is the setting most people actually want. Tap Allow Notifications inside the Do Not Disturb settings, then choose which people and which apps can still send alerts while the mode is active. By default nothing gets through — silence is the starting state — but if a family member or a work messaging app needs to reach you, you add them here. Notifications from anyone outside the allowed list are delivered silently to Notification Center and do not light up the screen or make a sound.

Customize Screens

This lets you pick a specific Lock Screen and Home Screen that appear only when Do Not Disturb is on. You can choose a minimalist wallpaper with fewer app badges, or a screen that hides distracting apps entirely. The connected Lock Screen wallpaper is changed by long-pressing the Lock Screen, tapping Customize, selecting a wallpaper, and then choosing the Do Not Disturb Focus option.

Set a Schedule

Do Not Disturb can turn itself on and off at set times each day. Tap Set a Schedule, choose a start and end time, and pick which days it repeats. You can also tie activation to a location or opening a specific app, though most people use the time-based option for overnight quiet hours or work focus blocks.

Common Mistakes People Make

Three mix-ups cause most of the confusion around Do Not Disturb on current iPhones. The first is looking for it in the wrong place. Apple’s support page documents the Focus-based path, but older guides and forum posts still reference Settings > Do Not Disturb or an older Control Center layout. If you are following a walkthrough from a few years ago, the screen will not match.

The second mistake is confusing Silent Mode with Do Not Disturb. CNET explains the difference clearly — Silent Mode mutes sound alerts but does nothing to stop screen notifications, while Do Not Disturb is a Focus mode that controls whether notifications arrive at all. Flicking the mute switch does not engage Do Not Disturb.

The third issue is expecting total silence from Do Not Disturb when you have configured allowed people or apps. If a family member is in your allowed list, their texts will still light up the screen. Do Not Disturb only blocks what you tell it to block — check the Allow Notifications list if messages are getting through that should not be.

Does Do Not Disturb Block All Notifications?

Not by default, and not necessarily when you customize it. With zero exceptions configured, Do Not Disturb silences everything. The moment you add a person or an app under Allow Notifications, that entry bypasses the block. So if a critical contact keeps buzzing your phone during your scheduled Do Not Disturb hours, you probably added them intentionally at some point. Go back into Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb > Allow Notifications and review the list.

The Control Center label can also cause confusion. Apple now displays the control as Focus rather than Do Not Disturb, so tapping the Focus control opens a menu where you pick the mode. If you tap Focus and nothing obvious happens, you may have accidentally selected a different mode like Personal or Sleep.

How to Edit Do Not Disturb: Step by Step

If you want to make changes right now, the path is the same regardless of which iPhone model you have. The steps from Apple’s official support documentation apply to any iPhone or iPad running a current iOS or iPadOS version.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Focus.
3. Tap Do Not Disturb.
4. Adjust any of these options:
   • Allow Notifications — add people or apps that can still reach you.
   • Customize Screens — choose which Lock Screen and Home Screen appear.
   • Set a Schedule — set automatic start and end times, or tie activation to a location.
   • Focus Status — let apps show that you have notifications silenced.

When you toggle Do Not Disturb on from Control Center, the Lock Screen briefly shows a small Do Not Disturb icon — a crescent moon — at the top. That is the visual success cue that the mode is active.