What “Notifications Silenced” Means on iOS 15 and iOS 16?

When texting someone who uses an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you sometimes might see a notification or message saying, “(name) have notifications silenced?” Well, this is not a bug or an issue you must worry about. This only means that the user you are trying to connect with has turned on Focus mode on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. So for those struggling to understand what notifications silenced means, this article will be informational.

Furthermore, some users have pointed out that the contact they are trying to reach has not turned on Focus mode, but they still see the message saying notifications are silenced. We will also discuss that in detail and give you solutions to try and fix it. It does not matter whether you are on iOS 15 or iOS 16. This feature is present in both versions. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.

What “Notifications Silenced” Means on iOS 15 and iOS 16?

With iOS 15, Apple introduced new features related to notifications. One of them was the Focus Mode. When Focus Mode is turned on, users can set various profiles as their customized notification profiles. These profiles will have customized notification settings for Do Not Disturb, Driving, Sleeping, and more. The profile you select will turn off notifications on your iPhone based on the criteria specified on the shape chosen.

Within the Focus Mode settings menu is an option to share Focus Status. With this feature enabled, any other iPhone user that messages to this device has Focus mode turned on. They will see the message in iMessage that reads “(name) have notifications silenced.” So if you see this message when you are messaging someone on iMessage, do not assume that the person has blocked you. They have not.

Disable/Enable Focus Status:

The other person sees the message because the Focus Status share is enabled by default when a user turns on Focus mode. It does not matter which focus mode the user turns on. The Focus Status share is enabled by default. However, one can choose to disable this feature because the person won’t see the silenced message at all. Do note that this feature can only be disabled by the person you send a message to. You cannot disable this from your device and expect not to see the silenced notification message. The person receiving the message needs to have this feature disabled.

iOS 16:

• Open Settings on your iPhone.
• Go to Focus.
• Select Focus Status.
• Turn off the toggle next to any desired Focus profile. If you want to disable it for all focus profiles, simply disable the toggle at the top.

iOS 15:

• Open Settings on your iPhone.
• Go to Focus.
• Tap on the focus mode where you want to disable the Focus Status.
• Tap on Focus Status.
• Turn off the toggle on the next screen.

With iOS 15, you can disable Focus Status entirely for all the focus modes. For this,

• Go to Settings.
• Open Messages.
• Turn off the toggle for Focus.

Turn off Focus Mode:

The other thing you can do to ensure you do not see this message of silenced notification is to ensure that the receiving device has Focus Mode turned off entirely.

iOS 16:

• Open Control Center.
• Tap on the active Focus icon, and that will turn it off.

iOS 15:

• Go to Settings.
• Tap on Focus.
• Tap on the desired focus mode.
• Turn it off on the next screen.

If you witness that even after having Focus disabled on the receiving device, you are still seeing the notification silenced message, it could be possible that the user on the receiving end has multiple Apple devices. In one of those devices, the Focus Mode is turned on.

So the user on the receiving end needs to check the Focus Mode on their iPad or Mac, whichever device they own, and make sure it is disabled across devices. This should get rid of the silenced notifications message entirely.

So this is all about the “Notifications Silenced” message on iPhones. If you have any questions or queries about this article, comment below, and we will reply. Also, check out our other articles on iPhone tips and tricks, Android tips and tricks, PC tips and tricks, and much more for more helpful information.