Have you ever been in a situation where you are not getting a text message alert on your iPhone? Well, if you have, you are not the only one. This is a common problem experienced by many users out there.
The cause could be with both hardware and software. There is a good chance that you have accidentally disabled text message alerts on your device, or it could be due to a bug in iOS firmware. No matter whatever is causing this annoying issue, we have possible fixes.
Make sure you have disabled Silent Switch
One of the first things you need to do is check if your iPhone’s silent switch is now turned on. If this is the case, make sure you turn it off by moving the switch, so the orange background does not appear. Once you are done, check if your iPhone plays a notification sound again.
Turn off Focus Mode
Focus mode is a great addition to iOS that allows you to silence notifications and offers you the option to enable alerts from certain apps and people. If your iPhone fails to play a notification sound, maybe you’ve accidentally activated Focus mode.
To turn off Focus mode on your iPhone, open the Settings app > Focus. One more thing, Do Not Disturb is now part of Focus mode, allowing you to mute calls and notifications even when your device is locked. So, make sure you check that setting as well.
Check Your Mute Settings
If you are not getting a notification sound from a specific person in your contact, there’s a chance that you have muted them. Launch the Messages app on your iPhone, select your messaging thread, and swipe left on the thread to reveal the bell icon. Now, tap on it to unmute.
Check Block Settings
IOS allows you to block a specific contact or spam. Once you have blocked someone, they cannot call or text you anymore. If you are not getting texts or calls from a specific person, make sure they are not blocked.
To unblock a contact on your iPhone, open the Settings app, select Messages, followed by Blocked Contacts. Hit the Edit button at the top right corner, then hit the red minus button to the left of the contact, and tap Unblock.
Turn on Notify Me
When you turn on Notify Me, you no longer receive alerts from any iMessage group. While it may come in handy, at times, you may miss out on important messages. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone, select Messages, and turn on the switch next to Notify Me.
Check Your Custom Text Tones
The ability to create your custom text tones is excellent because it lets you keep your conversation private. However, when you set None as the alert tone for a specific discussion or messaging thread, you no longer hear from it unless you revert the setting.
Now, open the Contacts app on your iPhone, select a specific contact, and hit the Edit button. From there, change to a different alert and save your action.
It’s also good to check if the text tone is now set to “None” for all contacts. To do so, go to Settings > Sound & Haptics. Select Sounds and vibration patterns > Text Tone and select a different tone.
Make sure the Filter Unknown Senders option is disabled
IOS allows you to filter unknown senders to keep spam messages in check on your iPhone. If you still cannot receive text message alerts, try turning it off. Head over to Settings > Messages and turn off the switch next to Filter Unknown Senders.
Turn off Text Message Forwarding
Text Message Forwarding is a great feature that allows you to receive texts on your Mac or iPad without needing a nearby iPhone. However, it may prevent messages from showing up on the iPhone. Go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding to turn it off.
Force Quit the Messages app
Your Messages app may sometimes be problematic, thus preventing text alerts from popping up. In this case, try performing a force quit on the app.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen on an iPhone with Face ID and hold to force quit the app. On an iPhone with a physical home button, double press it to trigger the App Switcher and swipe up the Messages app card to close it. Wait for a few seconds and re-launch the app.
Unpair any Bluetooth Devices
There are times when a paired device may cause the text message sound to malfunction. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone to deal with this, then turn off Bluetooth.
If your iPhone is now paired with an Apple Watch, check if you receive new messages on your wearable device. Consider turning off text notifications on your Apple Watch from the Watch app if you do. Your Watch can work perfectly without a paired iPhone, so give it a try.
Restart your iPhone
If none of the above solutions works, the problem may be due to a software bug. In this case, a quick restart may do the trick. Go to Settings > General > hit the Shut Down button if you are not familiar with the physical buttons. Wait for a few minutes, and turn your device back on.
