How to Setup & Enable Focus on iPhone and Apple Watch

Happy to announce that Apple has added one of the best features of iOS 15, macOS Monterey & WatchOS 8 or later version, the Focus Mode, which allows us distraction-free workout, driving, yoga, and of course, sleep. Nowadays, Focus and Commitment are getting impossible day by day, to overthrow this never-ending misery, Focus Mode is here for you. It is available across iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, and MacOS; or say, whichever Apple device is signed in with the same iCloud ID can access the Focus Mode across multiple devices.

We’ve prepared this detailed article explaining each and every aspect of What is Focus Mode? How Focus Mode Works? How to Setup and Enable Focus Mode in iOS 15 and more. Other than this, if you’ve any queries, feel free to ask us in a comment.

How to Setup and Enable Focus Mode on iPhone & Apple Watch

What is Focus Mode in iOS 15, iPadOS 15?

Focus Mode is nothing but an advanced version of Do Not Disturb mode in a simpler way but will more access to what notifications do you want to receive and from which apps. With Focus Mode, you don’t have to deal with unwanted phone calls and notifications that don’t matter to you.

Focus Mode ensures the best experience with these four effective principles as listed,

Silence Notifications: With Focus Mode, it silences all the unwanted notifications and alerts that you don’t want to catch up.

• Don’t Miss Out: You can select the apps and peoples from which you wish to receive notifications by Don’t Miss Out mode.
• Share a Status: When Focus Mode is active on your device, the Focus status informs your contacts who are trying to contact that you’ve silenced the notifications with a label, [your name] has notifications silenced with Focus.
• Turn On Automatically: Focus Mode can be scheduled as per your set time and location as well as while using a specific app, in case you don’t want to entertain random notifications.

How to Enable and Use Focus on Mac

Full guide!

What Type of Focus Mode Can Be Created in iPhone and iPad?

Focus Mode on iPhone, iPad can be used for various purposes since it is a precocious combination of Do Not Disturb and Sleep Tracking programs that could improve and let you stay focused on what you do. Furthermore, there are various instances where we can use the Focus mode on iPhone, iPad.

• Work
• While Sleeping
• Driving
• Workout
• Yoga
• Gaming
• Personal
• Do Not Disturb
• Custom, in which you can customize a Focus Mode

Focus Mode Settings That You Should Know

Till now, you might have already access the Focus Mode and saw certain features like Share Across Devices, Focus Status, Phone Calls, and more. Well, before you set up and enable the Focus Mode, know what this basic setting means and how they work with Focus Mode, and most importantly, how it can benefit you.

Share Across Devices:

Thankfully, the Focus Mode syncs automatically in iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, sign in with the same iCloud account. By default, Share Across Devices is turned on, though; if you don’t want to use it across multiple Apple devices, simply turn it off.

Focus Status:

With Focus Status, you can let other apps and people know who try to contact you that Focus Mode is enabled on your device. Mostly, it is useful with the Messages App; it’s quite similar to Status that we put on other social apps.

In addition, set up auto-reply while Focus Mode is enabled, so one can try to contact you via another platform if there’s some urgency.

Phone Calls:

You can also choose if you want to get notified when a person places multiple calls to you. For instance, if you receive repeating calls from the same number within three minutes, the device will rand, no matter Focus Mode is enabled. It can be further customized to All Contacts, Favorites, or No Contacts.

Setup and Enable Focus on Apple Watch

Just like iPhone we can also enable or Customize Focus from apple watch. Follow the below steps on your Apple watch to Use Focus on Apple Watch.

1. Press the Digital Crown button to move your Apple Watch Home screen. Tap on the Settings app and open on your Apple Watch.
2. Now, Scroll and Tap on Focus.
3. Here’s the list of Focus that you created or added in other apple devices like iPhone, Mac. we can not create a new focus on apple watch but we can manage or Enable/Disable Added focus from your Wrist.
4. Make sure and enable “Mirror Across Devices” toggle to apply changes on all the device that’s signed in with the same apple id account.
   • To quickly Turn on and Turn off Focus on Apple Watch, Open control center on apple watch > Touch and Hold on DND icon [Half moon] > And See All Focus. Just Select to enable or Tap on Turn off any active focus.

How to Setup and Enable Focus Mode in iOS 15

Now that you’ve learned what Focus Mode is and how it can benefit you let’s see how to set up and use Focus Mode on iPhone, iPad.

1. Go to the Settings app on iPhone. Tap Focus. Tap on Plus(+) button in top-right corner.
2. You’ll see a list of Focus Mode available like Custom, Driving, Fitness, and Gaming. Among these options, you can choose any of them or tap Custom to create a customized Focus Mode that is not available by default.
3. I’m going with Gaming, just to explain how to set up. The steps remain the same, whatever Focus Mode you wish to use.
4. On selecting the Focus Mode, a card appears with instructions and features; read them and tap Next.
5. While Focus Mode is turned on, you’re allowed to receive notifications from important contacts, tap Add Contacts, and add one by one. Or select Allow None if there’s no exception for you in Focus Mode.
6. Tap Allow [number of people] People’s option once you’re done with adding exceptions.
7. Do the same for the Applications installed on your iPhone. Like if you can’t miss notifications from WhatsApp, then add WhatsApp to receive Notifications even in Focus Mode.
8. Once done with Adding apps, tap Allow [number of apps] Apps or Allow None to move forward.
9. Tap on Allows Time-Sensitive option to receive the notifications from apps and contacts that you’ve selected earlier during the Focus Mode.
10. Also, Enable “Share Focus Status” to Allow People to notify you anyway. and more customization is for Home Screen and Options, Smart Activation, and “Delete Focus” as well.
11. That’s it.

How to Customize Focus Mode in iOS 15 iPhone

While setup, if you’ve missed adding certain apps or contacts to receive notifications, then the Focus Mode can be customized with ease. Plus, there are more options available like dim the notification light, hide notification badges, and more. Here’s how to customize focus mode on iPhone iOS 15.

1. Go to the Settings app. Tap Focus.
2. Choose the Focus Mode that you want to customize, like Reading, Driving, Sleep, Work, etc.
3. You can add People and Apps under ALLOWED NOTIFICATIONS for that particular Focus Mode.
4. Select Apps Tab and Add.
5. Toggle Time-Sensitive Notifications if you don’t want to receive notifications from exceptions.
6. Enable or Disable the Share Focus Status, to inform other apps and contacts about Focus Mode in your iPhone.
7. Under CUSTOMISATIONS, tap on Home Screen to only view the home screen page during this Focus Mode and hide the rest of them. For Driving, Automatically Turn on Driving Focus on iPhone and on your other Apple device.
8. Turn On Custom Pages.
9. Tap Choose Pages.
10. Now select the home screen pages that you want to see while this Focus Mode is enabled.
11. Tap Done.
12. Additionally, it is possible to dim the lock screen, delayed delivery, and hide notification badges. Tap Options and then turn on among these three settings that you want to use.

How to Enable and Disable Focus Mode Quickly Using Control Center?

Once you’ve set up the Focus Mode, then there is no need to visit the Settings and enable Focus Mode every time; it is available in Control Center too. Just a single tap could turn on Focus Mode for you.

From Control Center:

1. In iPhone without Home Button, swipe down the top-right screen to bring the Control Center and tap on Focus Mode. While for iPhone with Home Button, double-press the home button to launch Control Center. And tap on Focus Mode.
2. When you tap on the Crescent Moon icon in the Focus Mode button, it will immediately turn on Do Not Disturb mode instead of showing types of Focus Mode. So tap on Focus text.
3. Select the Focus Mode like Do Not Disturb, Gaming, Driving, Sleep, Personal, or any other. And when you tap on three dots, it’ll ask you to set the period of time for which you want to enable this Focus Mode, like For 1 Hour, Until tomorrow morning, or Until I leave this location.  

On Apple Watch:-

1. Open the Control center on the apple watch by swipe up your finger on the screen and see the Control center on the apple watch.
2. See DND icon Tap and Hold on more Focus options > Tap on Enabled Focus to Disable or Enable any Focus mode on apple watch. the settings also apply to other apple devices.
3. That’s it.

From Lock Screen:

Focus Mode can be enabled or disabled from the lock screen too. The Focus Mode button appears just below the Clock. If the Focus Mode is enabled on iPhone, then it can be accessed from the lock screen like this.

1. Touch and hold the Focus Mode button below the Clock to turn off or switch the Focus Mode.
2. Tap on three dots to explore more options for a particular Focus Mode.

How to Enable and Disable Focus Mode Automatically/Schedule

Focus Mode comes with few automation options, or say it can be scheduled on iPhone. This is for the users who are usually committed to their daily routine activities, no matter what comes.

1. Navigate to the Settings app.
2. Tap Focus.
3. Select the Focus Mode to edit.
4. Swipe down to the end and tap on Smart Activation.
5. Turn On Smart Activation.
6. Tap Done in the upper-right corner.
7. To add Automation, tap on the Plus button right above the Smart Activation button.
8. You can schedule Focus Mode, tap on Time.
9. Set Location where you wish to use Focus Mode, and it allows you to add Apps, so when you use that app, the focus mode will automatically turn on.

How to Add Apps to Share Focus Mode Status

Inside Focus, you can get the list of apps that are allowed to use the Focus Status. Check out the apps with whom the Focus Status is currently shared.

1. Launch the Settings app on iPhone.
2. Open the Focus.
3. Tap on Focus Status.
4. A list of applications will appear who have requested access for the Focus Status. You can disable or enable the app to share the Focus Mode status.

Receive Phone Calls During Focus Mode

To not get disrupted by random marketing calls and at the same time, can’t miss calls from a beloved person, Focus mode lets you add the contact of which you’ll receive calls even in Focus Mode.

1. Launch Settings app.
2. Tap Focus.
3. Select Phone Calls.
4. There you should see several options like Allow Repeated Calls, which will not silence the repeated phone calls if placed within three minutes.
5. Also, choose from which you want to receive the phone calls, Everyone, No One, or Favorites.

How to Delete Focus Mode in iPhone

No longer need the Focus Mode? Not to worry, you can anytime delete the Focus Mode from the iPhone that is not part of your schedule now.

1. Go to the Settings app.
2. Tap Focus.
3. Select the Focus Mode to remove.
4. Tap on the Delete Focus button.
5. Confirm Delete Focus.

Here’s How to Setup and Customize Focus on Mac

Read full guide..

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