How To Fix Messenger Notification Not Working Issue

Are you experiencing the Messenger notification not working issue? There are several factors that can cause this problem such as a poor internet connection, notification settings, do not disturb settings, or an app issue. To fix this you will need to perform several troubleshooting steps.

Facebook Messenger is a popular and free messaging service that works in tandem with your Facebook account. It can be accessed using your computer browser or by using the dedicated app on Android devices or iOS devices. Messenger allows users to to connect with each other and send instant messages, photos, videos, and other communication related tasks. Nearly a billion users worldwide use this service for their communication needs.

Why am I not getting notifications for my messages?

One of the issues that you might experience when using the Facebook Messenger app is you can’t receive notifications. This can be an annoying issue especially if you are chatting with someone and expecting their reply when in fact they have already replied.

Here’s what you can do to fix the Facebook Messenger notification not working issue.

Solution 1: Check your internet connection

One of the main reasons the Facebook Messenger notifications are not showing on your smartphone is due to an issue with the internet connection. THe connection might be slow or non-existent at all.

You can check the status of your internet speed with the help of online speed checkers such as speedtest.net.

Checking your internet speed

Open a browser. You can use any browser you want. I will be using Chrome for this example.

Go to speedtest.net. This is an online speed test tool that is free to use.

Click on Go. This will start the speed test.

Take note of the ping, download, and upload results. These results will determine if your connection is good.

In order to prevent any iPhone Facebook messenger notification or Android messenger issues your download speed should be good. The download and upload results in particular should be almost the same as what your are subscribing for from your internet service provider.

If you have an unstable connection then you can check if it is caused by your networking equipment by following these steps.

• Turn off your phone.
• Unplug your Modem and Router from the power source.
• Wait for a minute then plug your modem and router back into the power source.
• Wait until the lights turn back on.
• Turn on your phone.
• Reconnect your phone to the internet.

Here’s what you can do to avoid any possible network issues.

• Try to disconnect other devices connected to the Wi-Fi router while you use the Facebook Messenger app. This will allow the device to use the maximum internet bandwidth.
• Move the device closer to the router when you watch videos. This will allow the device to get a much stronger Wi-Fi signal and improve the connection speed.
• If you have a dual band router try to connect to the 5Ghz band instead of the 2.4 GHz band.

You should also try turning off the Wi-Fi switch of your phone then enable mobile data. This way your phone will be using the data connection from your network.

If you are using the messenger app on mobile data then you have to make sure that you don’t have a slow mobile network connection. It’s best to have a 4G LTE or even 5G signal on your phone.

Solution 2: Check the push notifications settings of your phone

Another factor that can cause your Facebook Messenger notifications to not work is when the push notification settings have been turned off on your phone. Make sure that the Messenger app is allowed to send push notifications.

Enabling push notifications on Android

• Press and hold the Facebook Messenger app icon and select App info.
• Go to Notifications and toggle on the All Messenger notifications option.

Enabling push notifications on iOS device

Open Settings.

• Scroll down to tap on Messenger.
• Go to Notifications and toggle on the Allow Notification option.
• Make sure that the app is allowed to push alerts on the Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners as well.

Solution 3: Turn off Do Not Disturb mode

When the Do Not Disturb mode is enabled it effectively turns off all notifications from apps or your contacts. This will also affect your Facebook Messenger notifications. If your phone has this setting turned on then make sure that it is off.

Turn off DND mode Android

• Go to Settings
• Search for and select Do not disturb.
• Tap the switch next to Do not disturb to turn it off.

Turn off DND mode iOS device

• Go to Settings and tap Focus.
• Tap Do Not Disturb.
• Tap the Do Not Disturb switch to turn off.

Solution 4: Clear cached data of Facebook Messenger

If the Facebook Messenger notifications are not working on your smartphone then there’s a possibility that the problem is caused by corrupted cached data found in the app. In order to fix this you will need to clear cache and clear data of the Facebook messenger application.

Clearing app cache files

• Go to Settings
• Go to Apps & Notifications or Applications.
• Choose Facebook Messenger application from the list of apps.
• Open Storage and tap on Clear Cache then Clear Data.
• After the old cached data has been removed try checking if the Facebook messenger not showing messages issue still occurs.

Solution 5: Update Facebook messenger

Another factor that can cause Facebook messenger app notification issues is if you are not using the latest version of the app. Make sure that the messenger app is updated from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Updating the messenger app on Android device

• At the top right, tap the profile icon.
• Tap Manage apps & device. Apps with an update available are labeled “Update available.”
• Tap Update.

Updating the messenger app on Apple device

• Open the App Store.
• Tap your profile icon at the top of the screen.
• Scroll to see pending updates and release notes. Tap Update next to an app to update only that app, or tap Update All.

Solution 6: Allow unrestricted data usage of Instagram app on Android

If you have enabled the data saver mode on your phone then you don’t need to disable this feature in order to fix the Messenger notification issue. You can simply give Messenger unrestricted data usage so that it can use background data

Instagram unrestricted data usage

• Long press on the Messenger icon and go to the app info menu.
• Go to Mobile data & Wi-Fi and enable Unrestricted data usage toggle.

Solution 7: Enable mobile data for Messenger on iPhone

If Messenger notifications don’t work when your phone is connected to mobile data then it’s possible that the app is restricted from using mobile data in the phone settings. You need to enable mobile data for Messenger in order to prevent this posting error.

Enable data for Messenger

Open the Settings app on iPhone.

Scroll down and tap Messenger.

Turn on the mobile data switch.

Solution 8: Disable battery saver mode

The battery saver mode is a feature found on smartphone’s that increases the battery life of the device. This feature works by making battery optimization settings such as preventing background data for certain apps.

Make sure to turn off the battery saver feature of your phone as this might be what’s causing the Facebook Messenger notification issue you are experiencing.

Battery saver on Android

• Go to Settings on your device.
• Tap on Battery and Device care, then Battery.
• Disable Power saving mode.

Battery saver on iPhone

• Open Settings.
• Scroll down and tap “Battery.”
• If Low Power Mode is enabled, move the slider to the left to turn it off.

After turning off this feature try to check if you are still experiencing any Messenger notifications working issues

Solution 8: Reinstall Facebook Messenger

Sometimes the problem can already be caused by a corrupted Messenger app. If this is the case then you will need to uninstall the app and install a fresh version from the Google Play Store.

Frequently Asked Questions