6 Ways to Fix Notification Badges Not Showing on Android

Quick Tips

• Avoid removing apps from the recent apps menu to allow them to work in the background.
• Clearing the launcher app cache or changing the default launcher app can also help fix this problem.
• If notification badges are not appearing for a specific app, try clearing its cache data.

Fix 1: Enable Notification Badges on Your Phone

First up, you need to go through the notification settings on your phone and ensure that app icon badges are enabled. Here are the steps for the same.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone and tap on Notifications.

Step 2: Tap on Advanced settings and enable the toggle next to App icon badges.

Step 3: If you want to see notification badges when Do Not Disturb is active, return to the Notifications page and select Do not disturb.

Step 4: Tap on Hide notifications and then disable the toggle next to Hide app icon badges.

Fix 2: Enable Notification Badges for Individual Apps

Your Android phone gives you the option to enable or disable notification badges on a per-app basis. So, if the app icon badges are not appearing for only one or two apps, you should check their notification settings.

Step 1: Long press on the problematic app’s icon and tap the info icon from the resulting menu.

Step 2: Tap on Notifications. Under Notification types, select the Badge option.

Fix 3: Clear Launcher App Cache

Like any other app, your phone’s default launcher app also creates cache files to serve you better. However, issues with this cache data can result in missing notification badges. You can try clearing the launcher app cache on your phone and see if that helps.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and go to Apps.

Step 2: Scroll down to locate your launcher app on the list and tap on it.

Step 3: Go to Storage and tap the Clear cache option at the bottom.

Fix 4: Change the Default Launcher App

If clearing the cache does not help, you can consider using a different launcher app. Once you’ve installed your preferred launcher app on your phone, use the following steps to set it as the default option.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and go to Apps > Choose default apps.

Step 2: Tap on Home app and select another launcher app from the following menu.

Fix 5: Remove Background Restrictions for Apps

Another reason why an app may fail to display notification badges is if you’ve disabled background data usage for it or imposed battery restrictions. Here’s how to change that.

Step 1: Long-press on the problematic app’s icon and tap the info icon from the resulting menu.

Step 2: Tap on Mobile data and enable the toggles next to Allow background data usage and Allow data usage while Data saver is on.

Step 3: Return to the App info page. Tap on Battery and select Unrestricted from the following menu.

You’ll need to repeat the above steps for every app that’s failing to display notification badges on your Android.

Fix 6: Clear Cache for the Problematic App

Excessive cache data can cause an app to misbehave, resulting in a variety of issues, including this one. You can try clearing cache data for the problematic apps and see if that improves the situation.

Step 1: Long-press on the problematic app’s icon and tap the info icon from the menu that appears.

Step 2: Go to Storage and tap the Clear cache option at the bottom.