The concentration modes introduced by Apple in iOS 15 are very useful. But the concentration driving mode is very convenient. Here’s how to work around mistakes to get the most out of them.
Apple Focus is a great way to match Apple devices to your current activities. If you’re at work, Focus Mode Work can turn off unwanted notifications on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On the other hand, personal mode ensures that work messages are not delivered to you until the next business day. On the other hand, the driving mode is different.
Unlike other focus modes, Apple designed it to be automatic by default. If your iPhone thinks you’re driving, it wakes up so you can focus on the road without being distracted by messages and notifications. This is a good thing. Unfortunately the set is broken. It seems that the detection sensitivity is too thin, which sometimes causes the concentration driving mode to be triggered when you are not in a vehicle or even not in motion.
There is a long discussion on Reddit about this topic. Some say that the iPhone activates the mode when it detects motion, others even when the phone is on the table. And the problem is that after activation you have no notifications. And default focus modes apply to all connected and compatible Apple devices. This means that if your driving focus mode is enabled on your iPhone, it will also be enabled on your iPad and Mac. And you’ll also have notifications on your Mac telling you when Driving is on or off… It’s hard to be productive in these conditions.
And as of this writing, with iOS 16.1, this bug is still present even though the functionality has been present since iOS 15.
How to prevent driving focus mode from activating when you’re not driving
Although we do not know the cause of the problem, there are several solutions. The first thing to do is disable automatic activation. You can do this in Settings > Focus > Driving. Tap “While driving”under “Activate automatically”and select “When connected to car Bluetooth”if you have a car with Bluetooth. Concentration Driving mode is activated automatically only when your iPhone is connected to your car.
If you have a car with CarPlay, “Activate with CarPlay”offers the same. When you connect your iPhone to CarPlay, Concentration Driving is activated. If you don’t have Bluetooth or CarPlay, leave it on Manual. This way, you will have to remember to activate it yourself every time you drive, but you won’t have to suffer from excessive activation/deactivation every day. You can also, more radically, remove the concentration driving mode, but it would be a shame to part with such a safety feature.
Another option is to turn off “Share focus status”in the main focus settings menu. So if your iPhone accidentally goes into Concentrated Driving mode, it won’t affect your other devices. However, this exposes a gap in functionality. Why is this separation of status not characteristic of every mode of concentration? You may want to decide not to share the data for the Driving focus mode, but to share it for the Work or Personal mode.
Apple is still working on this feature. First, fix the iOS 16.2 bug as soon as possible, if possible. And then add a “Share concentration status”setting for each concentration mode. Until then, one or another of these options will need to work around the problem.