Notifications are not working on your iPhone and you don’t know what to do. You’re even starting to miss important messages, emails, and other alerts! In this article, I’ll show you what to do when iPhone notifications are not working.
I’m Receiving Notifications, But My iPhone Doesn’t Play A Sound!
If you’re receiving notifications on your iPhone, but it doesn’t play a noise when you receive notifications, take a look at the switch on the left side of your iPhone. This is known as the Ring / Silent switch, which puts your iPhone into Silent mode when the switch is pushed towards the back of your iPhone. Push the switch towards the front of your iPhone to hear an audible alert when you receive a notification.
If the switch is pulled towards the front of your iPhone, but it still doesn’t play a noise when you receive a notification, check out our article on how to diagnose and fix iPhone speakers issues.
The steps below will help you diagnose and fix the real reason why notifications are not working on your iPhone!
Restart Your iPhone
A minor software glitch could be the reason why your iPhone isn’t getting notifications. Sometimes restarting your iPhone can fix these sorts of minor software problems.
To turn your iPhone off, press and hold the power button until “slide to power off” appears on the display. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, press and hold the side button and the volume down button. Then, swipe the power icon from left to right to shut down your iPhone.
Wait at least 15 seconds, then press and hold the power button (or side button on an iPhone X or newer) until you see the Apple logo appear in the center of the display.
Turn Off Do Not Disturb
One of the most common reasons why iPhone notifications are not working is because Do Not Disturb is turned on. Do Not Disturb is a feature that silences all calls, texts, and other alerts on your iPhone.
If your iPhone is running iOS 15, open Settings and tap Focus -> Do Not Disturb.
Turn off the switch at the top of the screen next to Do Not Disturb.
If your iPhone is running iOS 14 or older, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Do Not Disturb. Then, tap on the switch next to Do Not Disturb to turn it off. You’ll know Do Not Disturb is off when the switch is positioned to the left.
Were You Recently Driving?
If you were recently driving, Do Not Disturb While Driving may have been turned on and may still be turned on. Press the Home button or swipe up from the bottom of the screen and tap I’m Not Driving if the prompt appears on your iPhone.
Note: Do Not Disturb While Driving is an iOS 11 feature. If iOS 11 or newer isn’t installed on your iPhone, you can skip this step.
Turn On Always Show Previews
If iPhone notifications are not working, you may have turned Always Show Previews off in the Settings app. Notification previews are the little alerts from apps that appear on your iPhone’s display.
Open Settings and tap Notifications -> Show Previews. Make sure there’s a check mark next to Always.
Not Receiving Notifications From A Specific App?
Are iPhone notifications not working for only one app? Your iPhone allows you to turn off all notifications for specific apps, which may be the problem here.
Go to Settings -> Notifications and tap on the app that you’re not receiving notifications from. Make sure the switch next to Allow Notifications is turned on. You’ll know the switch is on when it’s green!
If Allow Notifications is turned on for the app, check to see if an app update is available by going to the App Store and tapping on your account icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Scroll down to see a list of your apps with available updates. To update an app, tap the Update button to the right of the app.
Check Your Wi-Fi & Cellular Connection
If your iPhone isn’t connected to your Wi-Fi or Cellular network, your iPhone won’t receive notifications.
First, check to see if your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network by opening the Settings app and tapping Wi-Fi. Make sure the switch next to Wi-Fi is turned on.
If you see a check mark next to the name of your Wi-Fi network at the top of this menu, your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi. If you’re not connected to a Wi-Fi network, tap on the one you want to connect to under Choose A Network…
You can quickly check to see if Cellular is turned on by opening Control Center and looking at the Cellular button. If the button is green, Cellular is turned on!
Reset All Settings
Reseting all settings is our last-ditch effort to fix any underlying software problem that could be preventing your iPhone from getting notifications. This reset will all of your iPhone’s settings to factory defaults, so you’ll have to go back and reenter your Wi-Fi passwords and configure your favorite settings.
To reset all of the settings on your iPhone, go to Settings -> General -> Transfer Or Reset iPhone and tap on Reset All Settings. You’ll be asked to enter your iPhone passcode, then confirm your decision by tapping Reset All Settings. After the reset is complete, your iPhone will restart itself.
Repair Options For Your iPhone
99.9% of the time, notifications aren’t working on your iPhone because of a software issue or misconfigured setting. However, there’s an incredibly small chance that the antenna which connects your iPhone to Wi-Fi and cellular networks is broken, especially if you’ve been having trouble recently connecting your iPhone to wireless networks.
If your iPhone is still covered by AppleCare, try contacting Apple support or setting up an appointment at your local Apple Store.
Sensational Notifications
Notifications are working on your iPhone once again and you aren’t missing important messages and alerts. Next time notifications are not working on your iPhone, you’ll know exactly how to fix the problem! Feel free to leave any other comments or questions you have in the comments section below.
Nope. Not working. This is an Apple APN serverissue which is not yet resolved.
I also wasted days doing all the suggestions presented here,
I guess we’ll have to wait till Apple fixes this.
I downloaded Apples Notification Center, however it is in Spanish. How do I download English??????
I have iphone 6. I don’t receive any messages after doing all method.
I have iPhone 7plus. I don’t receive notifications even after i have reset my phone’s settings. If i restart my phone, the notifications will come for a while and later stop. I have all notifications turned on. Please hell me in fixing this.
Were you able to find a solution?
Just the other day, i stopped getting notifications from Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Zillow, Groupme, etc… But I still get them for Twitter. What sort of glitch is this and when will Apple presumably fix it? It is incredibly obnoxious and I have checked every single box on my own.
I spent two hours + with an Applecare tech. What was happening is that notification suddenly stopped appearing on my iPhone 13 ProMax. The only thing that had happened in times previous to the loss of function was that my ISP WiFi connection had been lost and took a bit to get restarted on the phone and computer. I had been using the Airmail app and had the native Apple Mail app disabled. However, when we re-enabled the Mail app it, too, did not give any notification when new mail arrived. I told the tech this, but she still thought… Read more »
I figured out the cause on my end as it was related to cellular low data mode being enabled instead of wifi low data mode being turned on so make sure to check both you guy’s.
To make sure it is disabled in cellular data, go to Cellular in settings and tap on cellular data options at the top second option just below cellular data and make sure low data mode is also off for cellular data.
I get notifications from the NYT, but not the Wall Street Journal and many others. Any advice? thanks. New Iphone SE
richard
Are you trying to get notifications from Apple News, or from the apps of each individual media outlet?
I have several from which I receive notifications, but not from the WSJ-which I do get on my ipad and which I got on my old phone-8. Not trying to get from apple news
Thank you. Hardware switch to silent phone ring?? Seems ridiculous as a new iphone user… Thank you for your help, I now can hear my phone ring!
Amazing guide! It is really helpful and worked for me.
This worked for my iPhone 6S. Thank you!
I followed everything you suggested and was about to reset to factory settings, which I had to do for the same issue a couple of weeks back. Doing that is a pain and I couldn’t face it just at that moment. My husband suggested that I change the sound type, which I did. I had used ‘Chord’ but now it’s something else and strangely it works! Just thought you may like to know. I would not, however, have done this had I not first explored every other avenue that you so clearly provided, so thank you.
I have an IPhone 7 Plus running IOS 15.2.1. It no longer has a “Show Notifications” button for “MB Bluetooth” which is the Bluetooth connection to my 2013 Mercedes e350. Consequently, I can’t get text messages to display on the screen in my car. The feature worked for years and stopped working recently. How can I fix this?
Is there an update available for the app?
If you are having trouble receiving notifications for text messages and the phone never makes a sound (despite having sound on, etc), go to Settings –>Bluetooth and toggle the button to turn it off completely. Don’t just “Disable Bluetooth Connections Until Tomorrow” at the command center – that doesn’t work. You have to go to Settings and turn it off completely. The second I turned off the Bluetooth, I got notifications again. Hope this helps people! I can’t believe I solved a computer related problem. #FeelingProudBecauseIAmKindOfALuddite
Awesome thank you it worked !! Although my messenger and Facebook alerts still aren’t at least I’m getting text message alerts again ?
All I did was change my alert tone for text messages from one of the old classic tones to the default one called Note and I started getting my text alerts again.
Hi. I have an iPhone 12 operating the most up-to-date iOS. I had this issue on my iPhone XR as well. When I am in the lunch room at work, there are text messages I don’t get a sound notification for. This happens almost every day, around the same time and place, and is not specific to 1 contact. If I am at my desk, this problem doesn’t occur. I’ve checked and double checked all settings and they are all good, including Do Not Disturb. Please help.
So I fixed this and hope it works for you. Go to Settings->Bluetooth and toggle the button to completely off. Don’t just “Disable Bluetooth Connections Until Tomorrow” at the command center – that doesn’t work. You have to go Settings and turn it off completely. The second I turned off the Bluetooth I got notifications again.
I can’t receive all my notifications. Please tell me how to fix?
There is no fix. It’s a software issue. Apple refuses to fix it.
My phone fell out of my pocket a few days back and I stopped receiving some sound notifications on my iPhone 11 pro iOS14. There is no physical damage, a screen protector took all of the damage. The screen works fine, I can play music and podcasts, record voice messages, video, but certain apps no longer make sound notifications, while the badges display. I’ve tried everything above, I’ve even erased the phone and did a reinstall from a back up. Notifications are all turned on, even for the individual apps that don’t make sounds. I have also turned off the… Read more »
I have done everything you instructed, but still I’m not receiving anything notifications from my apps. Is there any else I should do?
Go to facebook app then settings go to notification and turn on push notification. Thank me later
SOO Thank u ! Reseting all Settings worked flawlessly !
Hi, I have tried absolutely all your suggestions time and time again (except “Reset”) and nothing. No notifications ever came to my iPhone6 with the latest iOS. However I found a solution that worked on the spot. I went to each app that I used to get notifications from. I opened it (say CNN), SELECTED no matter what article, and closed it again. Immediately I started receiving notifications. I did the same for all the other apps which I used to get info from and they all are back to normal.
Hey, Graciela! That absolutely worked for me! Thank you very much!
I listened to so many experts and other on YouTube and nothing worked. I used your method and BINGO. It worked! Thank you so very much. I wish I had seen it sooner as it would have saved me hours of frustration. My phone is an iphone XsMax in case anyone in the future is dealing with this problem on that particular model.
I did everything my notifications from my Instagram app is not coming in and I turned on notifications in the app too I don’t know what is going on I need your help!
This is happening to me too, specifically on instagram, have you managed to fix it?
Going through this. I’m pretty sure it’s a problem with icloud – why? because I factory reset the phone and chose not to restore from icloud back up. Guess what? receive message alerts! then signed into icloud – get a “message not received” error (even though no text sent from or to the phone). After this – notifications don’t work anymore.
I can’t get any notifications for messages or emails and all are turned on. This happened after I did reset all settings, my device is iPhone 6S+
I get notifications from my Ring Doorbell but no sound on my phone 6S
You might want to check out my comment because not only did those steps solve my problem with notifications, but now my phone is vibrating which it’s never done!!
Thanks!!
Yay, it works!!! I went on Settings – Notifications – Made sure Allow Notifications was On – Set Show Previews to Always – Set Notification Grouping to Automatic – and the last thing I did was Set Repeat Alerts to Twice!! Not only did this fix my problem, but my phone is now Vibrating which it wasn’t doing before even after doing everything you said to do to fix that issue! I thought it was something internal that would probably never work! I am more than happy that my phone vibrates now! Thank you guys so much!! You really know… Read more »
I can’t get any notifications for messages or emails and all are turned on. iPhone 6 s
For about three months now I have been having trouble receiving push notifications to my iPhone over the cellular network, which is bad because this prevents me from working!! I’ve done everything and the problem persists!
Could this be a cell tower issue with my cell phone company?
Sir david. my iphone 6 alert notif and message notif is working but not the notification of my apps, i did not get notif sound whenever someone chatted me. i checked all the settings and its all fine, but still it did not have notification sound
Im not getting notifications of text messages..not even a banner is coming…i checked if notifications was off in the setting..but its on..
Why is it that way
Almost there: there are 3 setting options for the Alerts (text messaging)
“Lock Screen”, “Notification Center”, and “Banner”
which one(s) should I check off?
im not getting them from a specific app.. but its messages
what do
i do??
I have push and badge notifications turned on but I am not getting them on the mobile app. Can you help or fix this? I have an iphone 6
Hey I have the same problem I have IPHONE X I don’t not receive notification he’s turn on but can you help me because I can’t see it my notifications also put it always preview they did not work?
I dont wanna reset all – it must be disaster.
I have same problem went to Apple shop they said my watch was vibrating so my watch was telling me I was getting a text message Apple have decided I dont need to hear it on my phone just a vibrating on my watch he told me but from I got home whatever he done to my phone I dont even get vibrating from my watch
No Time (on lock screen), no notifications. Restart helps but than it happened again. No answer and no advice from the apple forum. Got this problem since october 2017 o iphone 7
Thanks David. It didn’t work for me, but you did cover all the bases.
the nokia criket phone i purchaset is defected. all of the segestiong have been checked out. the Criket store in bastrop louisiana refuses to do the right thing and somply send me a phone that is not defective.