4 Ways to Fix iPhone App Notification Sounds Not Working

Basic Fixes:

• Check your iPhone’s speaker: If your iPhone’s speaker grill is damaged, it might not play notification sounds. To check this, try using an app or playing a video at high volumes. If there is still no sound, we recommend getting your device checked at an authorized Apple service center.
• Ensure iPhone volume is set to max: You can’t hear notification sounds if your iPhone’s volume is low. So, open the Control Center and use the volume slider to increase iPhone volume to max.
• Check for software and app updates: Bugs or glitches in your app or device’s software can cause notification issues. To fix this, first install the latest software updates for your iPhone. Then, open the App Store and install all the available app updates. Once done, check again.

Fix 1: Turn off DND or Any Other Focus Mode

As the name suggests, Do Not Disturb and Focus Modes help reduce device distractions by muting app notifications, calls, etc. This will block any notification sounds for all apps, as long as they’re not in the exception list. So, you can turn off DND or any other Focus Mode on your iPhone. Here’s how.

Step 1: Pull down from the top-left corner of the screen to open Control Center. Here, long-press on Focus.

Step 2: From the options, disable DND or the relevant Focus Mode.

Fix 2: Enable Sound Notifications

If app notifications or notification sounds are disabled from the settings menu, you will not get an audible alert whenever that app receives a notification. To ensure this is not the case, check the app’s notification settings and enable sound notifications. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open Settings and tap on the relevant app. Here, tap on Notifications.

Step 2: First, ensure the Allow Notifications toggle is on. Then, turn on the toggle for Sounds.

You can also scroll through this page and enable all notification settings visible for the selected app.

Fix 3: Change App Notification Sound

If you still can’t hear app notifications, you can potentially change the notification sound if your device is running iOS 17.2 and above. This will help you set a louder alert tone for all your installed apps and ensure you never miss another notification. Follow the below steps to do it.

Step 1: Open Settings > tap on Sound & Haptics > Default Alerts.

Step 2: Scroll through the options and select another alert tone louder than the current one.

Fix 4: Reset All iPhone Settings

You can reset all iPhone settings if you’re still facing issues getting notification sound to work for multiple apps. Doing this will only reset your iPhone’s settings without impacting the device data. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open Settings > tap on General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on Reset. From the options, tap on Reset All Settings.

Now, follow the on-screen instructions to finish the reset process. Then, set up your phone again and wait a while to see if the app notification sounds are working as expected.