How to Turn Off Do Not Disturb on a Mac

Introduced as part of the broader “Focus” feature set in modern macOS, Do Not Disturb (DND) is a powerful tool that silences all incoming notifications, emails, and iMessages, allowing you to work without interruption. When active, a small crescent moon icon appears in your menu bar, and all alerts are silently routed straight to the Notification Center without playing a sound or displaying a banner.

However, if you are expecting a critical email from a client or waiting for a FaceTime call, you must manually turn Do Not Disturb off so your Mac can alert you immediately.

Method 1: Using the Control Center (Fastest)

Apple centralized all major system toggles into the Control Center, making this the most efficient way to manage your Focus modes.

1. Look at the top-right corner of your Mac screen, in the menu bar.
2. Click the Control Center icon (it looks like two small toggle switches, located just to the left of the date and time).
3. A panel will drop down. Look for the block labeled Do Not Disturb (or whichever specific Focus mode is currently active, like “Work” or “Sleep”). It will likely be highlighted in purple, indicating it is turned on.
4. Click the purple crescent moon icon directly.

The block will instantly fade to dark grey, and the crescent moon icon will disappear from your menu bar. All notifications will now immediately appear on your screen with their accompanying sounds.

Method 2: Using the Keyboard Shortcut

If you don’t want to use your mouse, macOS includes a built-in keyboard shortcut to instantly toggle Do Not Disturb on and off.

• Locate the F6 key on the top row of your Mac keyboard (it usually has an icon of a crescent moon on it).
• Simply press the F6 key once.

(Note: If you have an older Mac with a Touch Bar instead of physical function keys, you will likely need to expand the Control Strip on the Touch Bar to find the crescent moon icon).

Why Does Do Not Disturb Keep Turning Back On?

If you manually turn off Do Not Disturb, but you notice the crescent moon icon reappears an hour later, your Mac is operating on an automated schedule or syncing from another device. You need to investigate your Focus settings to find out why it is triggering automatically.

1. Click the Apple Logo () > System Settings.
2. Click on Focus in the left-hand sidebar.
3. Click on Do Not Disturb.
4. Look at the section labeled Set a Schedule.
   • If you see a rule listed here (e.g., “From 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM”), the Mac will turn on DND automatically during those hours. Click the schedule and delete it or turn it off if you don’t want this behavior.

The iCloud “Share Across Devices” Feature

The most common culprit for rogue Do Not Disturb behavior is your iPhone. If you turn on DND on your iPhone before you go into a meeting, your iPhone tells iCloud, and iCloud instantly turns on DND on your Mac as well.

If you want your Mac to ring even when your iPhone is silenced, you must break this link.

1. In the main Focus menu within System Settings on your Mac, look for the toggle switch labeled Share across devices.
2. Turn this toggle OFF.

Now, silencing your iPhone will no longer affect your Mac, and vice versa. They will operate completely independently.