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Focus Mode notifications not arriving on Apple Watch

Hello, when I turn on focus mode on the iPhone, I select in the settings which contacts can call me from, but at the same time I remove the synchronization of the Apple Watch with focus mode, that is, I disable accounting on all devices so that focus mode is not duplicated on the Apple Watch, and when the person who is allowed to call in focus mode He's calling me on my iPhone, but I'm not getting a call on my Apple Watch. But calls should come on the Apple Watch, because focus mode is not enabled there. But for some reason, notifications don't arrive on the watch either. It’s like everything is being duplicated from my iPhone. I don’t understand why this is happening. I wanted the notifications to still come through on the watch.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Focus iPhone

5 replies

Hi there


Please try this


  • Check Apple Watch Focus State: Press the side button to open the Apple Watch Control Center and ensure a Focus mode (like a half-moon icon for Do Not Disturb) isn't accidentally enabled directly on the watch. 
  • Verify Mirror Settings in the Watch App: Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to My Watch > General > Focus, and verify how your watch handles states if you prefer independent or mirrored behavior. 
  • Test with iPhone Locked: Lock your iPhone screen completely and have your allowed contact call again to see if the alert properly routes to your wrist (accounting for the default iOS rule that active/unlocked iPhones suppress watch alerts). 
  • Review Allowed People & Apps in Focus: On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus, select the active Focus, and double-check that Allow Notifications From includes both the specific contacts and that phone/call permissions aren't being overridden by a silent configuration.


Everything is done exactly as you wrote: this person is not on the list of approved contacts who can be called by phone. But you can call them from an Apple Watch, because the Focus feature on the watch is not duplicated. But for some reason, the watch blocks this call as well. Although the call should go to the watch. And, accordingly, it doesn’t go to the phone.