How to Fix “Android App Not Sending Notificationsâ€.
Not getting app notifications on Android? There may be many reasons for this. This is usually either a battery optimization issue or a notification access issue. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to fix the “Android app won’t send notifications” error. We’ll start with some basic, but necessary checks, and then move on to fix the problem.
Fix “Android app not sending push notifications”
Step 1: Check Do Not Disturb mode.
If you don’t receive notifications from most apps, you probably forgot to turn off Do Not Disturb. No matter what Android device you are using, DND (Do Not Disturb) mode completely blocks all Android app notifications. Therefore, make sure that Do Not Disturb is turned off.
To check your Do Not Disturb status, slide down the notification bar. Check if Do Not Disturb is enabled.
Step 2. Update the app
If you don’t receive notification from one app, check if the app is updated to the latest version. The latest update mostly gets rid of unnecessary bugs.
To update an app, press and hold the app and tap App Info.
On the App Information page, scroll down and click Store App Information. You will immediately be taken to the list of applications in the Google Play Store. If you see something like the following screenshot, the application needs to be updated and click the Update button. If there are no updates for the app, you will have an Open button instead.
Step 3. Access to notifications
The app needs access to notifications in order to send push notifications. This notification permission is granted by default. However, sometimes, unknowingly, access to the permission could be revoked.
Therefore, first of all we need to check if the application has sufficient permissions to send you notifications. To do this, press and hold the app and select “App Information”. In the App Information section, click Notifications.
In the “App notifications” section, make sure the “Show notifications” switch is turned on. Now, starting with Android 10, you can use different categories in notifications.
For example, in the following screenshot, you will see a separate notification toggle for Instagram direct messages, likes, comments, and IGTV. I can turn off notifications for IGTV, likes, comments, product announcements, but turn on DM and Instagram post requests.
Step 4. Check background access
On the same app info page, tap Mobile Data. On the Application Data Usage page, check to see if the “Allow background data usage” option is enabled. If it’s off, click the toggle next to “Allow background data” to turn it on.
Step 5. Add the application to the whitelist
One of the main reasons the app doesn’t send notification is because of the adaptive battery.
In Android 9.0, Google introduced Adaptive Battery. This basically lets you know how you are using your Android phone and close apps you are not using. This increases the battery life of your Android smartphone. But other Android makers like Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi have gone further in their devices. They began to aggressively kill apps that you even use frequently. Android 10 made this problem even worse, and here is a ranking page designed by a third-party app maker to rank OEMs based on app kills.
To fix this, we’ll have to whitelist our app or give it free access to run in the background. To do this, press and hold the app and tap App Info. In the App Information section, click Battery.
On the Battery Usage tab, click Optimize Battery Usage. On the Optimize Battery Usage page, click Apps are not optimized and select All.
Once you’ve switched to All Apps, click the search icon next to the Optimize Battery Usage label. Find Instagram and tap on it to turn off battery optimization for that particular app. Similarly, you can turn off the switch for multiple apps.
Step 6. Disconnect the adaptive battery
In case the adaptive battery gets out of control (like OnePlus), instead of disabling battery optimization for multiple apps, it is better to disable the adaptive battery.
Now, disabling the adaptive battery depends on the Android skin you are using. Samsung’s OneUI calls this “Adaptive Power Saving” instead of Adaptive Battery. I’ll demonstrate how to disable it on stock Android.
Go to the settings menu and tap on battery.
In the battery settings, click “Adaptive Battery”. On the Adaptive Battery page, click on the switch next to Adaptive Battery to turn it off.
Step 7. Clear application data
Clearing app data can also help reset app settings and preferences. To do this, press and hold the app and tap App Info. On the app information page, click Storage. On the “Storage” page, click on “Clear data” and “Clear cache” at the bottom of the page.
Disabling the adaptive battery will shorten the battery life of your device. But at least you can reply to your Instagram friends in time.
Step 8. Reinstall the application.
If all of the above methods don’t work, please reinstall the app from the Play Store.
Step 9. Check for errors
If none of these methods work, the app might not be working properly. A quick Google search about the app and the notification issue may provide you with information. Alternatively, you can also check the issue in the app review in the Play Store.
Step 10. Reset Android settings to factory settings.
Finally, if all else fails, we’ll have to go ahead and perform a factory reset of the Android device. This will erase all your data, uninstall third-party apps, and sign out of your Google account. Hence, make sure you back up your data before doing a factory reset.
To restore factory settings, go to device settings, go to the bottom and click “General management”. In the General Management section, click Reset.
On the Reset page, click Factory Reset and follow the instructions. Factory data restore may take a while and make sure your device is over 70% charged.
After restoring to factory settings, sign in to your Google account. Your Android device will be able to download the backup and download, restore all apps.
Closing words
I switch mobile devices quite often due to the nature of my work. Earlier, when I wrote my Pixel review, I mentioned this adaptive battery issue on other devices. As OEMs start actively doubling down on this adaptive battery, third-party apps take a hit. A few days ago, the Android engineering team ran an AMA on Reddit and the most frequently asked question was Adaptive Battery.
Let’s hope Android 11 works out. Until then, let’s turn it off!
Also Read: How to Disable the Show Simplified View Popup in Chrome on Android