What To Do If You Are Not Getting Text Notifications on iPhone

No text alert? No sound? Are you missing important messages because of this? Here are the fixes.

Amidst WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, and many other such platforms, text messages still hold an important place and not getting text notifications on iPhone can be worrisome. For example, you wouldn’t want to miss a text from your bank or an OTP you have received. Or, even though not a very common scenario, let’s say a friend or family member has lost internet connectivity and the only way they can text you is via messages. You certainly wouldn’t want to miss that.

But, if for some reason, you aren’t receiving text notifications, here are things you can do –

Why Am I Not Getting Text Notifications on my iPhone?

If your iPhone is not sending you alerts via notifications every time you receive  a message, there could be various reasons, some of which are mentioned below and we have provided solutions to these in this post –

• You haven’t permitted the Messages app to show notifications.
• The contact that’s trying to send messages to you is blocked or muted.
• Your iPhone is either on Do Not Disturb or Silent Mode.
• Messages are put in scheduled summary.
• Your message notifications are being sent to some other Bluetooth connected device.

What Should I Do If I Don’t Get Text Notifications on iPhone?

Solution No. 1 – Check Your Messages Notifications Settings

It could be that you are not getting message notifications on your iPhone because you have not been permitted the app to show notifications on the lock screen and a few other places. To enable this permission, follow the steps mentioned below –

Step 1 – Open Settings.

Step 2 – Tap on Notifications and then Messages.

Step 3 – Check if Allow Notifications is green.

Step 4 – Check boxes for Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners.

Step 5 – Tap on Sounds and select a tone.

Step 6 – Unable to see message content on your lock screen? Tap on Show Previews and select Always.

Solution No. 2 – Update iOS

If you haven’t updated your iPhone in a while, maybe now’s the time to do that. Here’s how you can download and install iOS updates on your iPhone.

Solution No. 3 -Restart iPhone

Restarting your iPhone is one way to troubleshoot many issues. So, if text notifications are not working on your iPhone, a simple restart could just be the solution you need. To do that –

Step 1 – Press and hold either of the volume buttons and the side button till you see the power-off slider.

Step 2 – Drag the slider and wait for at least 30 seconds till your iPhone is switched off.

Step 3 – Turn it back on by pressing and holding the side button till you see the Apple logo.  

Solution No. 4 -Check If Contact Is Muted or Blocked

Wondering why you are not getting notifications whenever a person sends you messages? It is likely that you have blocked that person or muted them (maybe not knowingly but by mistake). In either case, you won’t receive notifications whenever they’ll send you a text.

To unblock the recipient –

Step 1 – Open Settings.

Step 2 – Go to Messages and then check Blocked Contacts. Check if you added someone to that list accidentally. If yes, swipe left on the contacts name and Unblock.

To unmute the recipient –

Step 1 – Open Messages and check the conversations.

Step 2 – If you see a gray slashed bell icon on a conversation, swipe it left.

Step 3 – Tap on the bell icon to unmute the thread.

Solution No. 5 -Is Your Phone on Do Not Disturb or Silent Mode

When you enable the Focus or Do Not Disturb mode, your iPhone suspends all calls and notifications. It could be that you have toggled the Do Not Disturb mode on at night so as to get that much-needed disturbance-free sleep, and forgot to switch it off in the morning. Here are the steps to disable the Focus or Do Not Disturb mode.

Step 1 – Open Control Center and swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. Then, tap on Focus.

Step 2 – Choose a Setting other than Do Not Disturb.

Solution No. 6 – Force Quit The Messages App

Quite like other apps on your iPhone, even Messages is prone to bugs and might throw errors your way. So, if you are not getting message notifications on your iPhone, you can Force Quit the Messages app. To do that, swipe halfway up which will open multitasking. Next, swipe up on Messages to force close it.

Solution No. 7 – Remove Messages From Scheduled Summary

If your iPhone text notifications are not working, you may have added messages in the Scheduled Summary. Here is how you can remove messages from Scheduled Summary and start receiving notifications again –

Step 1 – Open Settings.

Step 2 – Tap on Notifications.

Step 3 – Tap on Scheduled Summary.

Step 4 – Toggle off the switch next to Messages.

Solution No. 8 -Turn Off Deliver Quietly

Step 1 – Swipe down from the top of your iPhone. Here you will be able to find all notifications.

Step 2 – Swipe the Messages app to the left.

Step 3 – Tap on Manage and further tap Turn Off

Solution No. 9 -Unmute Threads

Not getting message notifications on your iPhone. You can also try unmute threads –

Step 1 – Open Messages.

Step 2 – Swipe left on a thread and tap on the unmute button.

Solution No. 10 – Toggle Off Bluetooth

One of the reasons why you might not be getting text notifications on your iPhone could be because your Bluetooth is on and you are connected to another device. In that case, your text notifications may be sent to the connected device and not to your iPhone. To switch off your Bluetooth, go to the Settings app, and switch off your iPhone’s Bluetooth.

Get Notified Every Time

Do give these solutions a try and the message notifications should just work fine for your iPhone. If you have been able to fix the issue, do share your success story with us. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek. You can also reach out to us on Facebook,  Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for more troubleshooting queries.