Malcolm Owen
A number of iPhone users are having issues receiving notifications from Messages in a timely manner in iOS 14, with users not being informed via an alert or a red badge that there are unread messages waiting for them.
The issue, which seems to have been limited to the iPhone 12 range of devices running on iOS 14 at first, has grown to affect a considerable number of people using other models of iPhone, including the previous iPhone 11 generation. An Apple support forum post titled "iOS 14 text notification issues" from September 19 currently has 43 pages of replies, and has been tagged with "I have this question too" by 5,265 users.
The errors largely have the same symptoms, where users don't see the banner on the lock screen, no notifications when messages come through, and no red dot indicator on the Messages app to show there are unread communications. Despite assorted attempts to fix the issue in different ways, ranging from restarting the iPhone to resetting it completely, and even to changing settings on other Apple hardware capable of receiving iCloud-synchronized messages, there doesn't seem to be a concrete solution to the problem.
Initial reporting on the problem by MacRumors followed by a more recent update by The Verge has helped to raise awareness of the problem, but even so there's seemingly no word from Apple about an answer.
An update for iOS 14.2.1 did address some MMS issues, but apparently didn't sort out the entire problem. Users have also complained about group messages, where some messages failed to come through while others arrived in a timely fashion.
An expected rollout of iOS 14.3 in the coming days may offer a bug fix, but it seems unlikely one will arrive with that release. The Verge writes the second release candidate provided to beta testers doesn't appear to include a fix.
William Gallagher
Marko Zivkovic
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
10 Comments
For me, it’s more like a notifications issue, not just a messages notification issue. I’ll miss notifications from multiple apps. Text messages, Outlook e-mail notifications, game notifications, etc. Nothing will alert me on my Apple Watch. Nothing alerts me on my phone. I will just pick up my phone and there will be a bunch of notification banners on there with no alerts whatsoever. Did a complete wipe of my iPhone 12 Pro last weekend and started from scratch. That didn’t solve the issue. Decided then to install the beta profile and installed iOS 14.3 RC. That still didn’t solve the issue.
Sometimes I see unanswered phone calls which I never heard (or felt on my watch).
Strange that so basic functions are not ironed out.
Count me as one of those users who has noticed the lack of notifications with messages on my iPhone 12 Pro. It has been an obvious problem and quite annoying.
Boy. I thought it was just my phone or the lack of a solid cell network around me. This confirms my worst suspicions.
Yes, my Apple Watch and iPhone 12 Pro Max misses a lot of notifications. Also, my watch is not a source in the Health app, even though it is synced/paired with Watch and Fitness app (which updates with info). With Fitness+ coming soon, this will make it even worse. Interns for Health and Watch/Fitness app must be having a fight and not talking to one another :D