Focus on iPhone problem

Excuse my ignorance, but I can’t think of how to solve a problem on my iPhone with the Controls Center. Since upgrading my phone, right in the middle, far too easy to trigger inadvertently, we find the dreaded Focus button, ready and primed to turn my phone into an unresponsive brick without my knowledge at the slightest touch. I looked under the Control Center settings and couldn’t find any way to remove this horrible app. Can anyone help me get rid of this “feature” that has so seriously compromised my ability to receive phone calls?

I’m afraid this is just another one of those things Apple doesn’t let users configure. They know better, you’re holding it wrong, and all. What you can do though is remove the various predefined Focus profiles.

Settings > Focus

However, even there you will be forced to leave at least one (DnD). Still, you can configure that to minimize the amount of damage it causes if you inadvertently activate it.

And if you make sure to turn off Status Bar Icon for System Services Location, you will at least always get to see a little moon up left next to the clock reminding you that you’ve accidentally managed to turn Focus on. Well hidden under
Settings > Location Services > System Services > Status Bar Icon (@ very bottom)

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Strangely enough, it’s the only way (besides using Siri) to invoke a focus mode manually. Settings / Focus - you can change the focus settings but, unlike prior versions of iOS, you cannot actually turn a focus mode on in settings. Perhaps that makes sense, as it is the Settings app, but you can turn WiFi on and off in Settings, Bluetooth, Cellular data, etc.

Single-touch, or even long-press, of the focus button in control center, though, does not turn on any particular focus. It shows the list of focus modes that you can use to turn them on. It’s rather difficult to actually invoke a focus accidentally from control center.

But it remains one of the items in control center that cannot be removed or even moved. (Wouldn’t it be nice to able to long-press an empty area in control center and change the order of the icons, remove any of them, etc., to mimic the Home Screen?)

Well, it does take two taps to turn on a Focus mode, so hopefully it doesn’t happen by accident too often. But you might consider using the customization options in Settings to change your Lock and Home Screen when a Focus mode is active, as a way to signal to yourself that it has happened.

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Not here (16.4 on 12 mini) it doesn’t. One tap on the moon icon and it’s on.

I think two taps is required only if you happen to hit the Focus label rather than the icon.

Thanks for inadvertently teaching me something new! You’re right, it’s two taps if you hit the icon, one tap if you hit the moon. I’ve always been frustrated by the two taps.

Diane

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