Expert-recommended fixes for iPhone notifications not working

Phone notifications are the backbone of a phone’s functionality. Missing an important notification can be frustrating and may also bring loss to your personal and professional life. While Apple users love using iOS products, iPhone notifications not working can give them a headache.

In this article, we’ll discuss how iPhone notifications work and the reasons why notifications may stop working. We’ll also discuss some simple and advanced ways to fix this issue. At the end, there will be a bonus tip for parents to ensure online safety for their kids through effective notifications.

How iPhone notifications actually work?

You don’t get notifications directly from an app to your iPhone. All the notifications are sent to the Apple servers to decide what will happen for those notifications. Depending on your settings and other priorities, your iPhone will either show or hide that notification from you.

Let’s briefly discuss the whole notification process on the iPhone step-by-step below:

Step 1. Your iPhone app’s notification > Apple Servers.

Step 2. Apple servers analyze if the notification should be sent to you, based on your iPhone settings and permissions.

Step 3. If passed from the Apple servers, you get a notification on your iPhone.

We will discuss these options separately in the section below.

Why am I not getting notifications on my iPhone

Let’s discuss possible reasons your iPhone notifications aren’t working.

Focus Mode enabled 

If you have enabled the Focus mode on your iPhone, some notifications will not be shown to you. Focus mode may include sleep, work, or exercise.

Do not disturb

The notification will also not show on your iPhone if you have activated the Do Not Disturb (DND) mode. The notifications will still show on your iPhone but you’ll not get any vibration or notification sound if your iPhone is not on a silent mode.

Notification previews disabled 

As the name of this setting suggests, if you have disabled the notification previews, you will not see any alerts on your iPhone’s lock screen. You will not see any preview even if you are getting the notifications.

Misconfigured app permissions

If you have misconfigured an app’s permissions, you may face difficulty in getting proper notifications from that app. Some apps require exclusive permissions to your iPhone’s internal data and functionality. If you haven’t configured those permissions, you may not receive the notifications for those apps.

Low Power Mode

iPhones have an exclusive feature of “Low Power Mode” which ensures that the battery runs for a longer period. Enabling this option limits background activities, including excessive notifications.

Poor internet connection

If you are in an area that has limited internet connectivity, you may not receive notifications properly on your iPhone. You may notice the difference between notifications you received with good and bad internet connectivity.

Background app refresh turned off

Some apps require to be refreshed in the background to be able to send the fresh notifications.If you have disabled background refresh for some apps, you may get limited notifications from those apps.

Software bugs

While this is a very rare case, still there is a possibility that your iPhone’s software might experience some temporary glitches or bugs. They may get resolved in some time automatically. Restarting your iPhone may also get it fixed.

Outdated iOS

You must always update your iPhone’s software. If you can’t update your iOS software due to any reason (low internal space or old iPhone model, etc) then you may face difficulty in getting some notifications.

App-specific notification servers are down

If you are not getting notifications from specific apps, it might be possible that the servers of those apps might be down and may get beetroot in some time.

VPN or security apps are interfering

VPNs interfere with your devices because they change your IP settings. If you have turned on the VPN on your iPhone, you may experience changes in some of your app’s notifications.  

Screen time restrictions

If you have enabled screen time limits for certain apps, you will not get notifications from those restricted apps. That’s because those app’s allowed time may have elapsed.

Silent switch toggled

You will not hear the sound for the notification if you have put your iPhone on silent mode by switching on the toggle switch. You will still get notifications but you won’t hear the sound of them.

Step-by-step fixes for “iPhone notifications not working”

Let’s discuss step-by-step fixes for iPhone notifications not working properly in this section. This will help you know what you need to do exactly to start getting notifications again on your iPhone.

Fix 1 – check focus Modes, DND & lock screen settings

As discussed earlier in this article, Focus Modes, Do Not Disturb (DND), and Lock Screen Settings may be the reason why you are not getting the notifications properly. Let’s have the steps below to resolve this issue:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s settings > Focus
• Step 2. Tap DND, Personal, or Work etc depending on your choice.
• Step 3. Check “Allowed notifications” and ensure to add your apps from which you want to get the notifications even if the focus modes are on.
• Step 4. Also ensure to allow the notifications when your iPhone is locked

Note: You can also simply turn off the DND mode from your iPhone’s Control Center.

Fix 2 – verify app notification permissions (Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat & More)

If you want to check about specific app’s notifications, follow these steps:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s settings > Notifications.
• Step 2. Scroll down and find your required apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.)
• Step 3. Tap on your preferred app from which you want to receive the notifications.
• Step 4. Ensure that the “Allow notifications” switch is rigged on.
• Step 5. Find and tap “Alerts” and ensure that alerts are allowed for Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banner.

Fix 3 – disable low power mode & data saver

Follow these steps to disable low power mode and data saver in your iPhone:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s settings > Battery
• Step 2. Tap on the toggle button to turn off the Battery Saver option.

Your iPhone’s battery sign’s color will change from yellow to green.

Fix 4 – restart, update iOS & update the app

Follow these steps to ensure receiving notifications that were stopped due to old iOS version of old apps version:

• Step 1. Restart your iPhone by pressing the power button and wait for 30 seconds. Then turn it on again.
• Step 2. Go to your iPhone’s settings> General > Software update.
• Step 3. Download and install the latest software on your iPhone.
• Step 4. To update your apps, go to your iPhone’s App Store and tap your profile photo.
• Step 5. Tap “Available Updates” and update the apps that you want to receive the notifications from.
• Step 6. It is better to restart your iPhone again after doing all this activity.

Fix 5 — reset network settings

If you are facing issues in receiving notifications due to network issues, try these steps to reset your network settings:

• Step 1. From your iPhone’s settings, go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset Network Settings.
• Step 2. Enter your iPhone’s passcode and your iPhone will restart. This will reset your network settings.

Fix 6 – turn off VPN, security apps or content filters

If you want to fix notifications issue related to your iPhone’s VPN, security apps, or content filters, follow these steps:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s settings > VPN & Device Management > Turn off VPN.
• Step 2. If you have content filter apps or security apps like firewall etc, you have to open those apps individually and disable their functionality.

Fix 7 – reset all settings (advanced fix)

If nothing is working or you doubt that the problem is arising due to multiple issues, you can try resetting all the settings by following these steps:

• Step 1. Open your iPhone’s settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
• Step 2. Tap Reset, then tap Reset All Settings.
• Step 3. Enter your iPhone’s passcode when you get the prompt.  

Your iPhone will restart and all the settings will be reset on your iPhone.

Address specific notifications not showing on iPhone issues

Are you facing problems or delays in receiving specific notifications from certain apps? There can be various reasons which you can try to diagnose and resolve. In some cases, your iPhone’s settings may conflict with other app’s internal settings. Let’s discuss some solutions below for your convenience:

Solution for issue “Not getting text notifications on iPhone”

If you are not getting text messages on your iPhone, you should try checking your iMessage or SMS settings. You may also have some content filtering enabled or some contacts may be in your blocked list.

Try the following steps to resolve this issue:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings > Notifications > Messages.
• Step 2. Make sure that the “Allow Notifications” option is toggled on.
• Step 3. Go to Settings > Messages > Filter unknown senders. Turn it off.
• Step 4. Go to Settings > Messages > Blocked Contacts. Remove blocked contacts if you don’t want to block them.

Additionally, ensure that your iMessage option is enabled in your iPhone’s settings. Also check that your carrier’s signals are working properly so that you can receive texts regularly.

Solution for the issue “iPhone email and calendar notifications not working”

You must know that email and calendar notifications use sync settings and account type. Notifications on your phone also depend on whether the email and calendar apps use “Push” (instant notifications) or “Fetch” (periodic notifications after 15 to 30 minutes interval) mechanism to show notifications.  

• Here’s what you can do about Push or Fetch to optimize receiving notifications:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s settings > Mail > Accounts > Fetch New Data.
• Step 2. Turn on the “Push” option if it is available there.
• Step 3. Set the “Fetch” timing to every 15 minutes.

• You can fix all app notifications by following these steps:

• Step 1. Settings > Notifications > Mail.
• Step 2. Select your email ID for which you want to fix the notifications.
• Step 3. Turn on the “Allow Notifications” option.

• You can fix your email account syncing issues by using these steps:

• Step 1. Settings > Mail > Accounts > Your email ID.
• Step 2. Toggle on the “Mail” option.
• Step 3. Remove your email ID and add again if the problem persists.

• You can fix your calendar notifications issue by following these steps:

• Step 1. Settings > Notifications > Calendar.
• Step 2. Toggle on the “Allow Notifications” option.

• To fix the account syncing issues, follow these steps:

• Step 1. Settings > Mail > Accounts > Tap your email ID.
• Step 2. Ensure that “Calendars” is enabled.

Advanced solutions only experts mention (rare but proven methods)

We have successfully covered common causes that contribute to your iPhone notifications not working properly. But if the issue is still there, you may consider taking advanced solutions that experts mention. These methods are used rarely but these are proven methods to resolve notification issues.

You may be facing problems due to some corrupt push registries and authorization glitches.

Let’s discuss how to resolve such matters:

Method 1: reinstalling problematic apps

Uninstalling and reinstalling an app may look simple but you need to ensure some carefulness so that you get rid of expired or corrupted registries.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Step 1. Long press the app icon and select “Delete App.
• Step 2. Restart your iPhone to get rid of the stored cache and then install the app again.

This reinstalling activity will refresh the corrupted notification registries and you’ll most likely be able to start getting the notifications for those apps.

Method 2: turning off Content & Privacy Restrictions

Work or school devices often have restrictions. If you have content and privacy restrictions on your iPhone, you may want to disable them to get all the notifications. You can do it by following these steps:

• Step 1. Settings > Screen Time.
• Step 2. Toggle off the switch next to “Content & Privacy Restrictions”.

Method 3: resetting APNs

Your carrier’s Access Point Name (APN) is responsible for communicating between your iPhone, your cellular data, and iPhone servers. Corrupt APNs can cause problems in showing notifications properly.

You can fix this issue by following these steps:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
• Step 2. Tap “Reset” and select “Reset Network Settings.”

Your iPhone will restart after you enter the passcode and it will reset the carrier settings. Resetting APN can restore push message delivery.

Method 4: checking iCloud synchronization

Your iPhone’s iCloud synchronisation, if not done correctly, can cause notification issues. You can resolve this by following these steps:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings and tap your Apple ID.
• Step 2. Select “iCloud” and ensure that the preferred notification apps (Messages, Reminders, Notes, etc.) are selected to be turned on.

Method 5: signing out/in to Apple ID

Signing out and signing in again to your Apple ID also works sometime to fix notification issues. This method can fix deeper authentication problems and it stops notifications to go through. Follow these steps:

• Step 1. Go to your iPhone’s Settings > Apple ID > Sign out.
• Step 2. After your iPhone restarts, sign in again.

For kids’ online safety: how parents get notifications from their kids’ phones?

Getting notifications is the key to have insights of a person’s activities. This is especially true for kids. Parents may want transparency and visibility of the notifications their kids are receiving on their phones. That way, they can identify whether their kids are involved in safe or unsafe behaviours using their phones.

So, how can parents know what kind of notifications their kids are getting? Obviously, you cannot stay on your kid’s heads at all times. Thankfully, you can get all the notifications on your phone directly from your kid’s phone by using the FlashGet Kids app. You will know each and everything about your kid’s activities on their phones. You can make parental supervision very effectively using this app.

Wrap up

We discussed multiple solutions step-by-step to provide you with practical options to restore getting notifications on your iPhone. If you’re having notification issues on your phone, you can turn to the simple and advanced solutions we already mentioned in this article. All the fixing solutions are practical and provide you with all the steps for your convenience.

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