Check if notifications are turned off for that app
The most common reason you're not seeing notifications is that you've turned them off for a specific app without realizing it. On iPhone, you can disable notifications for individual apps while leaving them on for everything else. Open Settings, tap Notifications, find the app in the list, and check whether Allow Notifications is toggled on. If it's off, turn it on.
Even if Allow Notifications is on, the app might be set to deliver notifications silently — meaning they arrive but don't make a sound or light up your screen. Look for the Sounds toggle in that same app's notification settings. If you want to see and hear notifications, make sure both Allow Notifications and Sounds are enabled.
Key Takeaways
- Each app has its own notification settings in Settings > Notifications, and turning off Allow Notifications for one app doesn't affect others.
- Focus modes (Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep) block notifications from apps you haven't added to an allowlist, even if notifications are turned on in Settings.
- If notifications appear in Notification Center but not on your lock screen, check the Lock Screen setting for that app — it's a separate toggle from Allow Notifications.
- Turning off Critical Alerts in an app's notification settings will block all notifications from that app, including time-sensitive ones.
- Restarting your iPhone fixes notification delivery problems in most cases where settings are correct but notifications still don't arrive.
Make sure a Focus mode isn't blocking the app
Focus modes — like Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep, or custom ones you've created — let you choose which apps can send notifications and which can't. When a Focus mode is active, only apps on your allowlist will notify you. If you're in a Focus mode and an app isn't on that list, its notifications won't come through, even though notifications are turned on in Settings.
To check which Focus mode is active, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center. If you see a Focus mode name displayed, that's what's blocking notifications. Tap it to turn it off, or open Settings > Focus and edit that Focus mode to add the app to the allowed list. You can also create a Focus mode that allows specific apps while blocking others, so you're not choosing between silence and chaos.
Check if the app is set to deliver notifications silently
An app can be allowed to send notifications but still deliver them without sound, vibration, or a banner on your screen. This means the notification sits in your Notification Center, but you won't know it arrived unless you swipe down to check. Go to Settings > Notifications, find the app, and look at the Sounds and Vibration toggles. Turn both on if you want to be alerted when a notification arrives.
You can also control how notifications appear on your lock screen. In the same app's notification settings, look for Lock Screen and make sure it's set to Count or List rather than Off. This determines whether you see a badge, a list of notifications, or nothing at all when your phone is locked.
Verify the app has permission to send notifications
The first time you open an app, iOS asks for permission to send notifications. If you tapped Don't Allow, the app can't notify you at all, and the toggle in Settings will be grayed out. To fix this, go to Settings > Notifications, find the app, and look for a message saying notifications are not allowed. Tap it to open the app's full settings page, where you can turn on Allow Notifications.
Some apps also need permission to access other features that affect notifications — like your location or calendar. If an app's notifications depend on location data, for example, and you've denied location permission, notifications might not work as expected. Check Settings > Privacy for the specific permission the app needs, and make sure it's turned on.
Restart your iPhone to reset notification delivery
If your settings are correct but notifications still aren't arriving, a restart often fixes the problem. Notification delivery can get stuck if your iPhone hasn't been restarted in a while, or if there's a temporary glitch in how the system is handling background tasks. Restart your iPhone by holding the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then drag it to turn off your phone. Wait a few seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on.
After restarting, open the app and check whether notifications now arrive. If they do, the problem was a temporary system issue. If they still don't come through, go back and verify each of the settings above — Focus modes, Allow Notifications, Sounds, and app permissions.
Check if the app itself is having problems
Sometimes the app is the problem, not your iPhone. If notifications worked before but stopped suddenly, the app might have a bug, or the service it relies on might be down. Try closing the app completely and opening it again. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or swipe down from the top-right on newer models) to open the app switcher, find the app, and swipe it up to close it. Then tap the app icon to reopen it.
If that doesn't work, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Open the App Store, search for the app, and tap Get to reinstall it. This clears out any corrupted files that might be preventing notifications from working. If notifications still don't arrive after reinstalling, the problem might be with the app's notification service itself, and you may need to contact the app's support team or check their website for known issues.
Turn off Critical Alerts if they're blocking everything
In an app's notification settings, you might see a toggle for Critical Alerts. This is different from regular notifications — it's a special permission that lets apps send notifications even when your phone is in Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode. However, if Critical Alerts is turned off and the app only sends critical notifications, you won't receive any notifications from that app at all.
Check the app's notification settings and look for Critical Alerts. If it's off and you want to receive notifications from this app, turn it on. Be aware that critical alerts will bypass your Focus modes and Do Not Disturb settings, so use this only for apps where you truly need to be notified no matter what.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do notifications appear in Notification Center but not on my lock screen?
Your app's notification settings have a separate toggle for Lock Screen. Go to Settings > Notifications, find the app, and make sure Lock Screen is set to Count or List instead of Off. This controls whether notifications show up when your phone is locked, separate from whether they show up in Notification Center.
I turned off notifications for an app, but now I can't turn them back on. What's wrong?
If the toggle is grayed out, you may have denied the app permission to send notifications when you first installed it. Go to Settings > Notifications, find the app, and look for a message about permissions. Tap it to open the app's settings page, where you should be able to turn Allow Notifications back on.
Do notifications work differently on the lock screen versus the home screen?
Yes. The Lock Screen setting in notification preferences controls what you see when your phone is locked. The Notification Center setting controls whether notifications appear when you swipe down from the top. You can have notifications in one place but not the other depending on how you've configured each app.
Will restarting my iPhone delete my notifications?
No. Restarting your iPhone won't delete any notifications that are already in your Notification Center. It will only clear out temporary system issues that might be preventing new notifications from arriving. Your existing notifications will still be there after the restart.
Why do some apps have a badge number but no notifications?
A badge number (the red circle with a number on the app icon) is separate from notifications. An app can show a badge even if notifications are turned off. If you want to see actual notifications when the app sends them, make sure Allow Notifications is turned on in Settings > Notifications for that app.