Focus silence notifications from not working

Hi,

I'm having trouble setting focus to "silence notifications from", I'm adding literally only 5 apps but when this focus is on it silences all other apps as well.

The only way i can make it work is to select "allow notifications from" and select all apps excluding these 5, but even so, out of the blue, without me touching it, the ios simply add one of these apps to the whitelist, literally like a ghost using my phone.

I've tried setting up many times, restarted the phone but nothing works, so I'm stuck with whitelist focus and a persistent app sneaking its way into the whitelist.

Any help is appreciated.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

Posted on Jun 10, 2023 05:12 AM

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Posted on Jun 12, 2023 08:39 AM

Ok, i tried deleting the focus and recreating but its still happening.

I've taken some screenshots that might help.

Pic 1: how i have my focus set up, i only blacklisted the phone app, nothing else

Pic 2: The function i want, i only want to receive calls from contacts. This works as intended, i'm only getting calls from contacts, perfect.

Pic 3: Sent a message through whatsapp and as you can see, i received on Work focus, even though i don't have whatsapp on the silence list.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 12, 2023 08:39 AM in response to bbesspete

Ok, i tried deleting the focus and recreating but its still happening.

I've taken some screenshots that might help.

Pic 1: how i have my focus set up, i only blacklisted the phone app, nothing else

Pic 2: The function i want, i only want to receive calls from contacts. This works as intended, i'm only getting calls from contacts, perfect.

Pic 3: Sent a message through whatsapp and as you can see, i received on Work focus, even though i don't have whatsapp on the silence list.

Jun 12, 2023 08:29 AM in response to Revnn

Hey Revnn,


You mentioned setting up your Focus many times, but still getting the same result. If you haven't already, try deleting the Focus completely, then setting it up again to see if you get the same results: Turn on or schedule a Focus on iPhone - Apple Support


  1. "Go to Settings  > Focus.
  2. Tap the Focus, scroll to the bottom of the screen, then tap Delete Focus."


If the same issue occurs after this step, please reach out to Apple Support directly for a closer look: Get Support


Take care.



Jun 11, 2023 02:21 PM in response to Revnn

Hello Revnn,


To help us get a better understanding of the issue, we’d like to ask a few questions.


1. Have you always experienced this issue, or did this begin recently?

2. If this started recently, were any changes made to your device before this began? If so, what was changed?

3. Do you ever receive an error when attempting to silence notifications with Focus? If so, what does the error say?


The above details will help us plan how to proceed. Please also check out this link which outlines the correct process to set up your Focus, so we can make sure there are any issues there: Use Focus on your iPhone or iPad


Turn on Focus

1. Go to Settings > Focus. 
2. Tap a provided Focus option—like Do Not Disturb, Personal, Sleep, or Work—then tap Customize Focus.
3. Set up your Focus. You can select allowed or silenced notifications from people and apps, connect your Lock Screen or Home Screen, have this Focus turn on automatically, and add Focus filters.

You can also enable Time Sensitive notifications from apps, which allows apps not in your allowed list to send notifications marked as Time Sensitive.

You can also turn on Focus from Control Center. Just open Control Center on your iPhone, or on your iPad, touch and hold Focus, then select the Focus you want to turn on.

When you set a Focus, the icon appears in the status bar and on your Lock Screen, and your status is automatically displayed in the Messages app. When people try to send you a message, they'll see that you've silenced notifications, but they can still notify you if it's urgent.

When you use Focus on one device, the setting is automatically applied across your Apple devices that are signed in with the same Apple ID.


Thanks!

Jun 12, 2023 05:18 AM in response to Brittany1416

Hi,

it happens ever since i started using focus to silence any calls outside my contacts. No errors, simply apps not blacklisted are also being silenced.

I've been receiving a lot of bot calls so i have focus to turn on automatically to filter calls, but if i add an app onto the list of blacklisted apps (meaning if i set to silence specific apps) the focus silence many other apps not blacklisted.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Focus silence notifications from not working

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