16 Best Fixes for iPhone Not Receiving Text Notifications

Although many have moved to WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook Messenger to stay in touch with friends and family, some users still prefer normal text messages. The problem occurs when the iPhone stops receiving text message notifications. Whether it’s a message from your bank or an important text from your family, you wouldn’t want to miss it.

You can always open the default Messages app to check new texts. But it’s time-consuming and not a feasible solution. Before you miss important messages, use the tricks below to troubleshoot your iPhone not receiving text notifications.

1. Check Notification Tone Custom Notifications

You may miss incoming alerts if the text notification tone is set to none. You should pick a relevant text tone from the Settings menu.

Step 1: Open Settings on iPhone. Scroll to Sounds & Haptics.

Step 2: Select Text Tone.

Step 3: Select your favorite tone. You can also head to Classic and pick a familiar old notification tone for the Messages app.

Messages let you filter incoming messages into categories like Unknown Senders, Transactions and Promotions. You should enable notification permission for these categories.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Messages.

Step 3: Tap on Notifications.

Step 3: Scroll down and tap on Customize Notifications.

Step 4: Turn on the toggles next to Unknown Senders, Transactions, and Promotions.

2. Check Messages Notification Settings

One of the common culprits is the notification settings on your iPhone. You’ll need to check whether those notification settings are correctly enabled on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Messages.

Step 3: Tap on Notifications.

Step 4: Turn on the toggle next to Allow Notifications. Also, turn on notifications on the Lock Screen, Notification Center and Banners under the Alerts section.

3. Check Custom Notifications

iOS lets you set custom notifications for individual contacts. You may miss several incoming notifications if you have set it as ‘None’. Here’s what you need to do.

Step 1: Open a conversation in Messages. Tap the contact name at the top.

Step 2: Select Info.

Step 3: Tap Edit. Select Text Tone and pick a custom tone for the contact.

4. Restart iPhone

Rebooting your iPhone may fix messages notifications not showing issue. Keep pressing the power and any volume key simultaneously and use the slider to turn off iPhone.

Once your iPhone shuts down completely, wait for a minute and keep pressing the side button until the Apple logo shows up

5. Disable Focus

When you enable Focus, your iPhone suspends all notifications and calls. You must disable Focus or make an exception for the Messages app.

Step 1: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the iPhone screen.

Step 2: When the Control Center opens, tap on the Focus tile to disable it.

If you have enabled Focus on iPad or Mac, iCloud may sync the same on your iPhone (using the same Apple ID). You need to disable Focus on Mac from the Control Center.

You can also exclude Messages from Focus using the steps below.

Step 1: Launch Settings on iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on Focus.

Step 3: Select your preferred Focus profile.

Step 4: Tap on Apps.

Step 5: Enable the ‘Time-Sensitive Notifications’ toggle. Tap on the Add button, select the radio button above Messages and tap Done in the top-right corner.

This change will ensure you receive text notifications even when the Focus mode is active.

6. Remove Messages From the Scheduled Summary

If you have added Messages in the Scheduled Summary, you will only receive text notifications at set times. You can follow the steps below to remove Messages from the Scheduled Summary and start getting real-time notifications.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap Notifications.

Step 2: Tap Scheduled Summary.

Step 3: Turn off the toggle next to Messages from the following menu.

7. Unmute Threads

Did you happen to mute an annoying conversation thread in Messages? You won’t get a notification from such threads until you unmute them.

Step 1: Open Messages on iPhone.

Step 2: Swipe left on a thread and select unmute.

8. Disable Hide Alerts

The system won’t send text notifications if you have hidden alerts from a specific contact. Go through the steps below to unhide alerts.

Step 1: Launch the Messages app on iPhone.

Step 2: Select a thread from which you are not receiving messages.

Step 3: Tap the contact’s name at the top. Turn off the toggle next to ‘Hide Alerts’ to disable the option.

9. Enable Time-Sensitive Notifications

iOS delivers Time Sensitive notifications immediately and keep them on the Lock Screen for an hour. Here’s how you can enable Time-Sensitive notifications for Messages.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Messages.

Step 3: Tap on Notifications.

Step 4: Turn on the toggle next to ‘Time-Sensitive Notifications’ to enable the option.

10. Reset All Settings

Do you still face issues with text message notifications on your iPhone? It’s time to reset all settings and try again.

Step 1: Open Settings and scroll to General.

Step 2: Tap Transfer or Reset.

Step 3: Select Reset and tap Reset all settings.

11. Force Quit Messages App

You can force quit messages and try opening it again. Swipe down and hold from the bottom to open the recent apps menu. Swipe up on Messages and open it again.

12. Disconnect Bluetooth

Did you connect your iPhone to a wireless headphone, speaker, or TWS via Bluetooth? All your incoming notifications play on the connected device, and you may miss such alerts. You should open the Control Center and disable Bluetooth.

13. Disable SMS Forwarding

iOS lets you forward incoming messages to your iPad or Mac using the same Apple account. You can send or receive SMSes on other devices signed in to your iMessage account. You should disable SMS forwarding and try again.

Step 1: Open Messages in Settings (check the steps above).

Step 2: Tap SMS Forwarding.

Step 3: Disable the toggle beside your iPad or Mac.

14. Allow Mentions Alerts

Do you frequently miss mentions in chats through the Messages app on iPhone? You’ll need to enable alerts for mentions. When it’s on, the Messages app will notify you whenever someone mentions (tags your contact name) specifically in a muted conversation thread.

Step 1: Open Messages in iPhone Settings.

Step 2: Enable the ‘Notify Me’ toggle.

From now on, whenever someone mentions you in Messages, you will receive an instant notification.

15. Unblock Contacts

Did you block annoying contacts on your iPhone? You won’t receive any text from them. You need to recheck the blocked contacts list and unblock relevant ones.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Phone.

Step 3: Tap Blocked Contacts.

Step 4: Swipe left on a contact and select Unblock.

16. Update iOS

The default Messages app is a part of the iOS. Apple adds new Messages features with iOS updates. Running an outdated iOS version may leave you with a buggy Messages experience on your iPhone. It’s a good practice to update your iPhone to the latest version to avoid issues like text message notifications not working.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on General.

Step 3: Select Software Update and install any pending updates.

Get Real-Time Text Notifications

Text notifications not working on iPhone can lead to undesirable situations. You can also contact your local carrier if the issue persists for a long time. Which trick worked for you? Share your findings in the comments below.