Apple says Do Not Disturb scheduling bug will correct itself automatically after January 7, 2013

In a support article on its website, Apple has acknowledged that a bug is keeping iOS devices’ Do Not Disturb feature active past its scheduled time. It says that the bug will automatically correct itself after January 7, 2013.

Do Not Disturb is a feature added by Apple in iOS 6, and allows you to block all but the most important notifications from lighting up your device or making noise. Do Not Disturb includes a scheduling feature which allows it to automatically shut the mode off at a set time.

Do Not Disturb scheduling feature will resume normal functionality after January 7, 2013. Before this date, you should manually turn the Do Not Disturb feature on or off.

To turn off the scheduling feature, tap Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb and switch Scheduled to Off.

The bug was causing the feature not to shut off as scheduled, leaving the feature enabled until it was toggled off manually. Some even reported a reboot being necessary before their devices would acknowledge the switch.

Apple began airing a clever, but poorly timed, advertisement promoting Do Not Disturb over the New Year’s holiday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLJN_d2sVjk&list=UUE_M8A5yxnLfW0KghEeajjw&index=1

Apple has traditionally had an issue with alarms and clocks at the turn of the new year and at daylight savings time changes. Whatever specific code snafu that is causing this particular bug appears to have been deemed too minor to issue a full software patch over and Apple has elected to let it run its course instead.

As a side note, I’ve been using the feature heavily for a couple of months now and am really enjoying it. I’ve noticed an increase in productivity and focus as only calls from my favorite people make it through. Obviously, this is not an option for many people who depend on their alerts coming through. If you’re one of those, then you should manually toggle DND off for now, rather than scheduling.

Still, Apple’s ‘just wait’ response, and in a technical support posting no less, does feel somewhat underwhelming in this instance. A direct statement of culpability and an apology wouldn’t be too untoward here.