Apple iOS 6 flaw leaves Do Not Disturb permanently activated

Posted on 3 Jan 2013 at 10:06, by Gareth Halfacree

Apple has admitted that the latest version of its iOS 6 software, found in the iPad, iPad Mini, iPod Touch and iPhone 5, has a bug - and it's one that's causing users to miss calls and alarms.

Users waking up from New Year's celebrations have found themselves oversleeping thanks to a flaw in the Do Not Disturb functionality used to schedule 'silent' periods, during which noisy functions - including alarms, message notifications and incoming calls - are disabled. Normally, this feature is activated and deactivated according to a timer set by the user - but those running on the latest version of iOS 6 have found that, since the calendar flipped over to 2013, the system has been jammed on with the pre-set schedule being ignored.

Apple has confirmed that the flaw exists, stating in a brief support notice that "after January 1st, 2013, Do Not Disturb mode stays on past its scheduled end time." Sadly for those who rely on Do Not Disturb for a good night's sleep but require an iPhone alarm to wake up in the morning, there's no fix beyond switching Do Not Disturb on and off manually and ignoring the previous ability to schedule periods of silence.

The flaw appears to be found in the way iOS tracks the date: the move to a new year has confused the scheduling system, such that it never receives the alert to disable Do Not Disturb functionality at the appointed time. There is hope on the horizon, however: when the internal clock of the iOS device passes the 7th of January next Monday, the scheduling feature will once again work as normal.

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User comments

Another year another calendar bug...

So Google ditched the Month of December in Jellybean and now Apple have an OS which doesn't recognise an entire year properly. I wonder if Apple have resolved the issue with the clocks going forward yet causing people using their phones to again get up for work late. I wouldn't hold my breath. During testing both companies should check for these issues with greater care. I'm sticking with the trusty old big ben alarm clock.

By mr_chips on 3 Jan 2013