Notifications not working on your iPhone after the latest iOS 26 update? It seems that the iOS 26 upgrade broke notifications on iPhones for some users. Users have been complaining that notifications for app alerts stopped working once they upgraded to iOS 26, causing users to miss texts, emails, reminders and more.
After updating to iOS 26, many iPhone users have complained that notifications are not showing up or making any sounds for some or all of the apps.
I had this problem with notifications after upgrading to iOS 26 as well. For certain apps, notifications were sometimes working and sometimes not working for no apparent reason. This was causing me to not see the app updates until I opened the app. If your iPhone’s notifications stopped working after iOS 26 update, here’s what may be going on, and what you can do to get those alerts flowing again.
Why are notifications not showing up on my iPhone after iOS 26 update?
There are several reasons you aren’t getting notifications on your iPhone after iOS 26 update. Some common reasons include misconfigured settings, software glitches, or Do Not Disturb mode being enabled. Let’s work through these potential fixes to get your notifications back up and running.
How to fix iPhone notifications Not Working After iOS 26 Update
If you’re not getting notifications on your iPhone after iOS 26 update, try these fourteen fixes. We recommend going through these troubleshooting steps in order. We’ve arranged them in a diagnostic fashion, starting with things that are easy to check and/or rule out. More complicated and/or drastic options have been saved for last. If a particular idea seems likely to work, though, feel free to skip ahead.
Make sure notifications are turned on
Sometimes, the reason you’re not getting notifications after iOS 26 update could simply be that you somehow turned them off. Here’s how to double-check your notifications are on:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap on Show Previews at the top.
- Tap Always so you’ll receive notifications even if your iPhone is locked or unlocked.
- To make sure notifications are turned on for a specific app, tap Back on the top left to go back to the notification settings. Under the sub-menu Notification Style, find and tap the app you want to receive notifications for.
- In the app’s notification settings, you’ll see a toggle next to Allow Notification. If it’s gray, it means it’s off, and you should tap it to turn it on. In addition, make sure Allow on Lock Screen, Allow in Notification Center, and Allow as Banners are enabled per your preferences. You should also enable Sounds and Badges for the app if you want those to fire for new notifications.
Review Your Scheduled Notification Summary
Scheduled Summary is a notification feature that aims to help you focus better. For example, you can schedule to receive all your social media notifications at one go when you don’t want to get periodically distracted by story replies, likes, and comments.
When an app is part of your Scheduled Summary, you won’t receive notifications from it at other times of the day. Therefore, it might feel as if your notifications aren’t showing up accurately on your iPhone.
Go to Settings > Notifications > Scheduled Summary to review the settings. Toggle off any apps you no longer want to be included in your summary.
Check In-App Notification Settings
Some apps, particularly social media platforms and instant messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and similar, have dedicated notification settings. These act independently of the notification configuration in your iPhone’s Settings menu that we looked at above.
So, if an app doesn’t show notifications despite having notifications enabled on your iPhone, check its in-app notification settings for any irregularities. For instance, WhatsApp allows you to mute individual conversations permanently. If you forgot to unmute them, you’ll still get new messages without issues but won’t get notified at the time of receipt.
Check if you are filtering unknown senders
If you are not getting text notifications after iOS 26 update, go to Settings, scroll down and tap Apps. Scroll down again and tap Messages. Under Unknown Senders section, make sure Screen Unknown Senders and Filter Spam settings are turned off.
See also: How to fix texts notifications not working on iPhone after iOS 26 update
Ensure that notifications are not silenced by a Focus mode
Just as people sometimes leave the mute switch on by accident, they can also forget to disable Do Not Disturb or other Focus modes that are meant block most or all notifications. Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen and turn off the Focus mode if it’s active.
Make sure you have a strong cellular or Wi-Fi signal
Some apps require the internet to receive notifications. Here’s how to make sure your mobile data is turned on:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tab Cellular.
- Tap the toggle next to Cellular Data to turn it on (the toggle will become green).
Instead of mobile data, you may also want to see if you’re connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. Here’s how to check your Wi-Fi connection:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Wi-Fi
- Turn Wi-Fi on by tapping the toggle next to Wi-Fi at the top – if it’s green, it’s on.
Unmute Your iPhone
The next step is to check whether you have accidentally muted your iPhone. When Silent mode is turned on, you won’t hear incoming notification alerts, and as a result, you may think that you’re not receiving notifications as they arrive.
The Silent switch is located on the left side of your iPhone. If it’s showing an orange strip, your iPhone is muted. Push the switch to unmute it.
The iPhone 16e, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max replaced the mute switch with the Action Button, which can be customized. Make sure it’s not set to silent mode by going to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Silent mode.
If you expected vibration alerts on Silent mode but did not receive them for incoming notifications, you’ll need to review the relevant settings. In those cases, incorrect settings are the main reason why your iPhone isn’t vibrating on Silent Mode. Head over to Settings > Sounds and Haptics > Haptics. Choose Always Play or Play in Silent Mode.
- ### Check Alert Volume
- If the volume is too low to hear it alert when a notification comes in, you’ll want to make your iPhone louder. Start the Settings app, tap Sound & Haptics, and then drag the Ringtone and Alert Volume slider until it’s loud enough to be heard.
Turn off Low Power Mode and/or Low Data Mode
It shouldn’t matter that much, usually, but if one of these modes is active, it may be unduly limiting the notifications you’re expecting. You can toggle Low Power Mode by going to Settings > Battery. The only way to control Low Data Mode is via Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode.
Doublecheck that Background App Refresh is on
If this feature is off, apps can’t do much of anything unless you have them open. Head over to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, and verify not just that Background App Refresh is on as a whole, but that the toggles are green for every app you care about.
Change the Display As style for notifications
You can go to Settings > Notifications and choose to view notifications in Count, Stack, or List form. List makes sure every notification is clearly visible, but tends to fill up the Notification Center. Count only displays the number of notifications you have, so the best option is frequently Stack, which piles notifications together but still lets you quickly cycle through them.
Update your iPhone’s apps
Sometimes, the problem is not with the iOS 18 update but the apps themselves. If you’re not receiving notifications for only a particular app, it may be a bug that can be fixed with an update. Open the App Store, tap on your profile icon, then tap Update All to force all available updates to download. You can update apps individually too if you think it’s just a particular one giving you grief.
Scan for iOS updates
Even less likely is that a glitch with iOS 26 version you are running is hampering notifications. It’s not impossible however, so head over to Settings > General > Software Update to see if a new iOS 26 version is available. Before any iOS update, be sure your device is backed up, connected to Wi-Fi, and charged to at least 50% power. In fact, it’s often best to leave your iPhone charging while an update is in progress. Set aside at least 15 to 30 minutes too, because the download can take a while, and your iPhone will be briefly out of commission during installation.
Restart your iPhone
Normally this option would come earlier in an iPhone troubleshooting guide, but a reboot shouldn’t have any effect on notifications. It’s worth a shot only if nothing else has helped so far. Go to Settings > General > Shut Down, then drag Slide to power off icon. Once your iPhone’s screen has gone totally black, you can hold down the side button to power on.
Reset your iPhone’s settings
This should be seen as the very last option when all others have failed. Resetting all of your iPhone’s settings will erase all your Wi-Fi networks, preferences, and passwords. However, your personal data, like text messages, photos, and apps, will be kept intact. You can reset all settings by going to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings.
Get Timely Notifications on Your iPhone
Chances are that at least one of the fixes mentioned above will resolve your iOS 26 notification issues. It’s more than likely an accidental setting blocking the notifications than a full-blown problem.
If you still don’t get notifications after executing these fixes, you might have to factory reset your iPhone. And if that doesn’t work either, it’s time to contact Apple for tech support.
