5 Fixes for Facebook Messenger Notifications Not Working on Mobile

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he's a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife. Learn about our Tech Review Board

Updated July 8, 2024

Allow the Messenger app to show notifications on your phone and verify its in-app notification settings.
Make sure Messenger is allowed to run in the background and you haven’t muted any chats.
Consider clearing the Messenger app cache or reinstalling on your phone if the issue remains.

Try Basic Fixes

Turn Off the battery saver mode: When you enable battery saver mode on your phone, it limits certain background activities to reduce power consumption. This can cause Messenger notifications to stop working. To avoid such issues, disable battery saver mode on your phone.
Disable Do Not Disturb mode: If you’ve enabled Do Not Disturb mode on your Android or iPhone, you won’t receive notifications from any apps, including Messenger. Hence, it’s best to ensure that DND is turned off.
Update or reinstall the Messenger app: If the notification problem occurs due to a bug within the app, updating the Messenger app from the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone) should help. If the issue persists after updating the app, uninstall the Messenger app and install it again.

Fix 1: Check Phone Notification Settings

It’s a good idea to check the notification settings on your Android or iPhone and ensure that Messenger is allowed to display notifications. Here’s how you can go about it.

Android

Step 1: Press and hold the Messenger app icon and tap the info icon from the menu that pops up.

Step 2: On the app info page, tap on Notifications. Enable the toggle next to Allow notifications.

Messenger App Info Messenger Notifications on Android Enable Messenger Notifications on Android

Step 3: Tap on Notification categories and ensure all the alerts are enabled.

<a href= Messenger Notification Categories Android" width="500" height="1024" /> Messenger Notification Categories on Android" width="500" height="1024" />

iPhone

Step 1: Open Settings and scroll down to tap on Messenger.

Step 2: Select Notifications and toggle on the switch next to Allow Notifications. Also, tick the checkboxes for Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners.

Messenger on iPhone Messenger Notifications on iPhone Enable Messenger Notifications on iPhone

Fix 2: Check In-App Notification Settings

Like most apps, Messenger allows you to enable or disable notifications from its in-app settings menu. You must review these settings and ensure they are configured correctly.

Step 1: Open the Messenger app, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner, and tap the gear icon.

Step 2: Tap on Notifications & sounds and enable notifications from the following menu.

Open Messenger Settings Messenger Notification & Sounds Enable Messenger Notifications

Fix 3: Allow Messenger to Run in the Background

Another reason Messenger may fail to display notifications is if you have restricted it from running in the background. Here’s how to change that.

Android

Step 1: Long-press the Messenger app icon and tap the info icon from the menu that pops up.

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.

Background Data Usage to Messenger Allow Background Data Usage to Messenger

iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to General.

Step 2: Scroll down to tap on Background App Refresh and enable the toggle next to Messenger in the following menu.

General Settings on iPhone Background App Refresh on iPhone Enable Background App Refresh for Messenger 1

Fix 4: Unmute Contacts

Is Messenger not showing notifications for a specific contact or group? It’s worth checking if you have accidentally muted the person or group.

Step 1: Open the Messenger app on your phone and look for conversations with a crossed-out bell icon next to them.

Step 2: Long-press on the conversation and select Unmute from the menu that appears.

Muted Conversations in Messenger <a href= Unmute Conversations in Messenger" width="500" height="1024" />

Repeat the above steps to unmute all the important contacts and groups on Messenger.

Fix 5: Clear Messenger App Cache (Android)

Overwhelming or corrupt cache data can also cause Messenger to malfunction on your Android. If that’s the case, clearing the Messenger app cache should solve your problem.

Step 1: Long-press the Messenger app 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.