How To Turn On Text Notifications On Iphone

You might not get new text notifications due to misconfigured settings or software bugs. Usually, the issue is temporary and can be solved by some quick, straightforward fixes.

If you aren't getting text message sound alerts on your iPhone, or your device isn't showing notifications for new SMS or iMessage, look at these handy solutions to fix this issue.

1. Check Notification Settings for Messages

When you aren't receiving iPhone message notifications, make sure the Messages app is permitted to show them on the Lock Screen, Notification Center, and elsewhere.

To do this:

Open Settings and tap Notifications > Messages.
Ensure Allow Notifications is green.
Next, check the boxes for Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners.
Tap Sounds and choose a loud message tone.
If you do not see the actual message content on iPhone Lock Screen, tap Show Previews and choose Always.

2. Ensure the Person Is Not Muted

After you mute a person or group, iPhone won't alert you when they send you a new text or iMessage. Below, you'll find out how to fix this.

Open the Messages app and go through your conversations.
Swipe left on the conversation that has a gray slashed bell icon.
Tap the purple-white bell icon to unmute this chat.

3. Turn Off Silent Mode and DND

After you put your iPhone in silent mode, new texts won't have a notification tone. To fix this, turn off silent mode by pushing up the switch that's above the volume buttons.

Secondly, when your iPhone is in Do Not Disturb mode, it does not vibrate or play a sound for new texts. You can fix this by opening the iOS Control Center and ensuring the DND symbol (crescent moon) is not purple. If it is, tap it to turn off DND.

iOS 15 has Focus modes that let you configure which apps and people you want to allow notifications from. If you're using one of these modes, turn it off from the Control Center or Settings app.

4. Force Quit the Messages App

On iPhones with Face ID, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold. If you have an iPhone with a home button, quickly double press it. From the app switcher, swipe up the Messages app card to force close it. After a few seconds, open this app again.

5. Ensure iMessage Is Enabled

Before you move ahead, it's essential to check if iMessage is switched on or not.

Go to Settings > Messages and make sure iMessage is enabled. Next, tap Send & Receive and check you have the correct phone number and email here.

6. Restart Your iPhone

Often, things might not work correctly on your iPhone due to temporary glitches. Usually, a quick restart fixes these issues.

To turn off your iPhone, use the physical buttons or go to Settings > General and tap Shut Down. After a minute, turn on your iPhone either by using the power button or plugging in your charger.

7. Turn Off Filter Unknown Senders

iPhone lets you automatically filter spam and texts from unknown people. When you enable this, in rare cases, you might miss a few meaningful text notifications. Plus, if someone who isn't in your contact list messages you, chances are the Messages app will sort their text in a separate list and not notify you of it.

To fix this, go to Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam and turn off Filter Unknown Senders.

8. Disconnect Bluetooth Devices

If you forget and leave Bluetooth buds or devices connected to your iPhone, the new text message sound may output via that instead of the on-device speaker. To fix this, open the Settings app and turn off Bluetooth. Or, you may also disconnect these devices from the iOS Control Center by tapping the Bluetooth icon.

9. Make Sure the Person Is Not Blocked

After you block a person, they can't call or text you. If you aren't getting texts from a specific person, make sure they are not added (accidentally or on purpose) to the block list.

Open Settings and tap Messages.
Tap Blocked Contacts.
If the person is listed here, swipe left on their name or number and tap Unblock.

10. Ensure Custom Text Tone Is Not Set to "None"

Did you ever set "None" as the alert tone for a particular contact and forget about it? If yes, here is how to revert that and have a proper tone for new texts from that person.

Tap the person's name in the Contacts or Phone app.
Tap Text Tone and choose a different alert tone instead of "None." Tap Done to save this change.
If you don't see Text Tone in step 2, that means you didn't set a custom text tone for this person. Please move on to the next fix.

11. Enable "Notify Me"

Were you receiving too many group iMessage notifications, and thus you muted the conversation? If yes, go to Settings > Messages and turn on Notify Me. Now, you'll receive notifications only when someone mentions you in a muted conversation. This way, you can limit unnecessary text notifications and still be aware of those where you're mentioned specially.

12. Disable Text Message Forwarding

When you choose to receive texts on your Mac or iPad, at times, new text notifications may not show on your iPhone. To fix this, go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding and turn it off for your other Apple devices.

13. Are You Using an Apple Watch?

If you have enabled text notifications on your Apple Watch, it may not show them on the iPhone or play the tone. To address this, make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are running the latest versions of iOS and watchOS, respectively. You may also choose to turn off text notifications on the Apple Watch from the Watch app.

14. Have You Opened the Messages App on Your Mac?

If you keep the Messages app open on your Mac, new messages may appear there, and your iPhone may not play the text notification sound for them. To fix this, quit the Messages app on your Mac. Or, you may use it there if you're already working on your computer.

15. Other Solutions

If none of the solutions listed above help, don't worry—hope isn't lost yet.

The first thing you can do is make sure that your mobile plan allows you to receive text messages. Make sure your plan is active and that you have no pending bills.

If you think that glitches are causing your device to not receive iPhone text message notifications, you might also need to update your device's software. You can update your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Software Update. At times, known bugs like failing text notifications are fixed by installing the newest iOS update.

Successfully Getting Text Notifications on iPhone

Not getting text messages on your iPhone is annoying, but you should start receiving notifications again after trying each of the above solutions.

Once everything begins running as normal, consider spicing up your app experience by using iMessage in unique ways. How does talking about the weather and playing games sound?

17 Cool Things You Can Do With iPhone iMessage Apps

You can do a lot more than simply send text, voice, picture, and video messages with iMessage.