Notification is one of the critical features of any smartphone. Leaving those promotional in-app and SMS notifications aside, getting instant notifications from the bank and your office through applications becomes super important. Suppose there’s a meeting, and you have not received any notification on your phone. Or, let’s say someone has done a transaction using your credit card, and you didn’t get notified on your phone. In both scenarios, a timely notification can change the whole equation.
Several iPhone users have reported that notifications are not working or showing after installing the iOS 16 update. The problem is not limited to a specific iPhone model; it has affected iPhone 13, iPhone 12, iPhone 11, and iPhone 8 users. Those affected say they don’t get notifications from the default messaging app or third-party apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. If the notification problem is also troubling you, stick to this article. I’ll walk you through the best solutions to quickly fix the problem.
Page Contents
- iOS 16 Notification Not Working or Showing on iPhone, How to Fix
- Solution 1: Check App Notifications Settings
- Solution 2: Disable Focus or Do Not Disturb Mode
- Solution 3: Turn Off Airplane Mode
- Solution 4: Disable Notification Summary
- Solution 5: Restart Your iPhone
- Solution 6: Check Sound Settings
- Solution 7: Check Your Apple Watch
- Solution 8: Software Update
- Solution 9: Reset All Settings
iOS 16 Notification Not Working or Showing on iPhone, How to Fix
Try the following solutions individually and see which one spells out success for you.
Solution 1: Check App Notifications Settings
There are notification settings for every application on your iPhone. You must grant permission to an app to display notifications. Sometimes we disable this permission by mistake whenever the app asks for it, and hence you miss out on notifications from that app.
Open the Settings app and go to Notifications to ensure notifications are enabled. Select the app in question and enable Allow Notifications. On this page, you’ll see different types of alerts. Ensure these are enabled wherever you want the notifications to appear: on the lock screen, in the Notification Centre, and as drop-down banners.
You can also choose between temporary and permanent banner styles. The former will automatically hide notification from the screen, and the latter option will require you to dismiss it manually. Just ensure you have enabled at least one of three alert types.
Solution 2: Disable Focus or Do Not Disturb Mode
If you are not getting any notifications on your phone, chances are that the Do Not Disturb (DND) mode is turned on. This feature comes in handy when you want to focus on something else. Enabling it does not allow the notifications to disturb you.
To check if the Do Not Disturb feature is turned on, open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Focus to see different focus modes: Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep. I would recommend turning them off to check they are the source of the problem on your iPhone.
If you want to keep enabling the Focus mode but do not want to miss out notifications from several apps and contacts, whitelist them. You can turn off distracting gaming or social media alerts while still being able to text or phone friends.
Here’s how to add exceptions to the Focus mode:
- Go to Settings > Focus.
- Select one of the Focus modes.
- Under Allowed Notifications, you’ll get two options: People and Apps.
Under the People option, add your friends or family members you don’t want to miss a call or text from. Or, you can select Everyone. Under the Apps option, select important apps which can show notifications.
Solution 3: Turn Off Airplane Mode
If the Airplane mode is turned on your iPhone, you won’t be able to access the internet connection, call/text someone, or receive notifications. You can disable it using the Control Center.
Pull down the Control Center from the upper-right corner and tap on the Airplane icon to disable it. If it is already disabled, enable it, wait for a minute, and then disable it. After doing this, check if the problem is solved.
Solution 4: Disable Notification Summary
iOS 16 has a Notification Summary feature that can bundle non-urgent notifications and deliver at a specific time of the day. The good thing is that you can choose the app and timing for delivering the messages. Using this feature, you can cut down on interruptions caused by the smartphone and the number of times it pings you.
To disable Notification Summary, go to Settings > Notifications, click Scheduled Summary, and toggle the switch next to Scheduled Summary.
Here’s how to setup Scheduled Summary on your iPhone:
- Open the Settings app and tap on Notifications.
- Click Scheduled Summary and turn on the feature (if it is disabled already).
- Under the SCHEDULE section, you can set the time at which you want the notification to appear from specific apps. You can set up to 12 daily summaries.
- You can manually assign applications to your summary by toggling the switches next to them in the “Apps in Summary” list further down the options menu.
Solution 5: Restart Your iPhone
If you have applied all the solutions mentioned above and the notifications are still not showing, there might be some software issues. A temporary bug or system glitches could be the sources of the problem. You should try restarting your phone to check if it can spell out success for you. To restart your iPhone, press and hold the side button and any of the two volume buttons until the power slider appears. Drag the slider to the right and wait for the device to restart.
Also Read
Solution 6: Check Sound Settings
Check the sound settings if you do not get the notification sound whenever a notification appears on your iPhone. Open the Settings app on your phone and select Sounds & Haptics. From there, raise the alert’s volume to its full and change the default alert sound for notifications.
Solution 7: Check Your Apple Watch
If your iPhone is connected to another Apple device, such as an Apple watch, iPad, or Mac, your text notifications may appear on the linked device. By default, if your iPhone is locked or asleep, the notifications will appear on the linked device. Your phone won’t even light up or make any sound. Either de-link other devices or follow the steps to always see notifications on your iPhone:
- On your iPhone, open the Watch app.
- Go to the My Watch section and click Notifications.
- Select Messages.
- Uncheck the Mirror my iPhone option.
After making these changes, notifications will always appear on your iPhone even when an Apple Watch is linked.
Also Read
iOS 16 Notes App Crashing, How to Fix?
iOS 16.5 Causing Battery Drain On Apple Watch: How To Fix?
iOS 17 Release Date, Features, and Supported Devices
Fix: iOS 16 Cannot Add Security Keys Error
Fix: iOS 16.5 Spotlight Search Is Too Slow
How to Fix If iOS 16 iMessage Not Working
Is It Safe To Download iOS 17 Beta Profiles From Third-Party Website?
What “Notifications Silenced” Means on iOS 15 and iOS 16?
Solution 8: Software Update
There might be a temporary bug in the current iOS build. Apple developers may be working on fixing the problems reported by users, including the notification not working issue. The fixes come in the form of software updates. Hence, you should update your iPhone and check if the problem is fixed. Go to Settings > General and tap on Software Update to check for a new update.
Solution 9: Reset All Settings
Resetting all settings can help fix the notification issue on your iPhone. Here’s how you can do it:
- Open the Settings app and select General.
- Click Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Select Reset.
- Tap on Reset All Settings and click Confirm.
- Reboot your phone.
The notification issue on your iPhone can be a head-scratcher if you often get work-related notifications on your phone. In this guide, I’ve mentioned many effective solutions that can fix the issue in no time. Please go through all of them one by one until the problem is fixed. Do let us know which method has done the trick for you in the comments below?
Also Read
All Common iOS 16.5 Problems and Their Solutions
Fix: Snapchat App Crashing on iOS 16 / iOS 16.5
How to Fix Twitter App Crashing in iOS 16 / iOS 16.5?
Fix: iOS 16 Facebook Not Working, Crashing or Not Loading
How to Fix If iOS 16.5 Update Won’t install on iPhone
Fix: After iOS 16 Update, Assistive Touch Not Working on iPhone
Tried all. Nothing works
Já tentei todas as maneiras, ativei todas as notificações e nada de resolver o problema! Meu Amazfit Bip S ficou praticamente inutilizado pois utilizo ele principalmente por não poder estar com o celular o tempo todo.
Unbelievable that a key element of the iPhone doesn’t work. Worse. My notifications works intermittently. This is is rubbish apple people.
Switching airplane mode on, waiting for a few minutes then switching it back off solved the problem for me. My notification centre is back! Thank you so much!
Thanks Pamela – turning Airplane Mode on and off works! Much appreciated!
Nothing works! Do Not Disturb still says On
Didn’t work for me
Hello,
I’ve tried everything you have suggested and since installing iOS 16 and the few updates since. Still no notifications on my IPhone 11. It’s really very frustrating and I am missing important messages for hours at a time if I don’t remember to check the app.
What else can I do 🤷🏼♀️
Konstantinos Karanikas
I did all of the above, even a complete hard reset, nothing worked.
I still don’t see mail notifications on Lock screen, neither do I hear any sounds when I receive emails !
FRUSTRATING !!!
Kosta , this is a bug that I encounter as well….Another big why , as I stated in my other comment.
Apple f…ed up really good in this.
I have a solution that works , but let me look it up again and I’ll get back to you, because I don’t really remember exactly what I did.
What I do remember …is that these geniuses , for no apparent reason , have NESTED notification settings.These settings other times overide one another , or , conflict and the result is no sound nor visual notification.Or only visual , but no sound notification.
Before I come back to you , please do check, NOT general notifications , but go Settings and then into the mail app , then accounts , then select your account and play there with the settings…
iPhone 8 with the latest iOS 16.5
————————————–
The problem with my phone is the exact opposite !
Notifications in lock-screen are very “aggressive” !
Explanation:
This happens only when phone is locked and I receive a call.
I answer the call and place it against my ear, so screen goes black
to continue my call as per normal routine.
If I happen to receive a message, a Viber text, a Messenger text etc. , the screen wakes up ( lights up ) and stays like that until I take it away from ear and if I place it back , proximity re-enables the -screen go off- routine. If I don’t it stays on.
I don’t like the notifications ringing in my ear , but I came to understand that this is an iOS thing and even though I would prefer an option to turn it off , I accepted it.
But , screen turning on while in call for a notification , is BASIC functionality that it has been solved for more than a decade!
And here we are now in 2023, where some people are missing notifications, while others like me are receiving them but in the wrong way.
I have tried many things . Reboots, factory resets , restores , changing different settings, searching for info .Again and again and again…
Nothing….
So , what did I do?
I reduced phone’s notification functionality by disabling lockscreen notifications…that is Apple’s quality now right here.Frustration,fighting dragons and a big why ! Keep in mind there are also other minor bugs that I won’t go in details here,not only in 16.5 but also in older versions as well…
Why I don’t go Android ? Because I have been there .Because I am tired of big phones. Because I wanted a powerful 4.7 inch that only Apple could provide…