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JohnGabrielson
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Focus mode stops timers; Clock app cannot be whitelisted

I noticed that timers can skip their tone when Focus mode is on and I am sleeping. It probably knows from my Apple Watch, my wife verified she never heard my loud alarm. What is the workaround, as I cannot white list the Clock app? It simply does not end up as a selection in the Add Apps section of the Focus. The watch is a bit controlling here, but if it’s going off without the alarm, it’s not waking me.

Posted on Oct 21, 2026 5:39 PM

1 reply

Lawrence Finch
User level: Level 10 (244,490 points)

Oct 21, 2026 5:52 PM in response to JohnGabrielson

For alarms you should be using the Alarm feature, not the timer. Alarms always sound, even in Focus.


However, I just tested using the Timer function and it also sounded.


So it’s likely that it isn’t waking you when it alarms. Try a really obnoxious sound for the alarm; I use Radial, and it would wake the dead.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256380567