Push Notifications Troubleshooting

Overview

This guide helps you resolve common issues with push notifications. For general information about setting up notifications, see Setting Up Push Notifications.

Common Issues

Problem: Tapped “Enable Notifications” but nothing happened

Symptoms:

• Clicked or tapped “Enable Notifications” button
• No browser permission prompt appeared
• Notifications status still shows as disabled

Solution:

Your browser may have previously blocked notifications for this site. To fix:

1. Look for lock icon - Find the padlock icon (🔒) in your browser’s address bar and tap/click it
2. Find Notifications setting - Look for “Notifications” in the site permissions list
3. Change to Allow - Change the setting from “Block” to “Allow” or “Ask”
4. Reload the page - Refresh the browser to apply the permission change
5. Try enabling again - Go to My Profile → Notifications and tap “Enable Notifications” again

If you see “Notifications blocked” text on the Notifications tab, this is definitely the issue.

Why this happens: Once you block notifications for a site, browsers remember that choice and prevent the site from asking again. You must manually change the permission in browser settings.

Problem: Allowed notifications but not receiving any

Symptoms:

• Permission granted and subscription active
• No notifications arriving on device
• Test notifications not received

Solution:

Try these steps in order:

1. Check Do Not Disturb mode - Ensure your phone or computer’s Do Not Disturb mode is OFF; DND blocks all notifications system-wide

2. Check device notification settings:

   • Android: Settings → Apps → [Browser name] → Notifications — ensure notifications are enabled
   • iOS/iPadOS: Settings → Notifications → [Browser or App name] — ensure notifications are allowed
   • macOS: System Settings → Notifications → [Browser name] — ensure notifications are allowed

3. Send test notification (if available):

   • Go to My Profile → Notifications
   • Tap Send Test button (if visible)
   • This confirms whether delivery pipeline is working

4. Check notification preferences:

   • Review your notification category preferences in My Profile → Notifications
   • You may have opted out of the specific category the notification was sent in
   • Ensure relevant categories are toggled ON

5. Verify subscription status:

   • Notifications tab should show “Notifications enabled” or similar active status
   • If it shows “Enable Notifications” again, your subscription was lost

Why this happens: Multiple layers control notification delivery: browser permission, device settings, OS-level Do Not Disturb, and app-level preferences. All must be properly configured.

Problem: After app update, stopped receiving notifications

Symptoms:

• Notifications worked before update
• No notifications received after updating app
• Subscription appears disconnected

Solution:

This can happen if browser’s site data was cleared, or on rare occasions after a significant app update. To fix:

1. Go to My Profile → Notifications
2. Check the subscription status:
   • If it shows “Enable Notifications” (not currently subscribed), tap the button to re-subscribe
   • If prompted for browser permission, allow it
3. Your subscription should be restored

Your subscription is normally preserved automatically across app updates. This issue is rare but can occur with major browser updates or if cache was cleared.

Why this happens: Push notification subscriptions are stored in browser cache. Cache clearing or certain update processes can remove the subscription data, requiring re-subscription.

Problem: Browser says push notifications are not supported

Symptoms:

• Error message about unsupported feature
• Can’t enable notifications
• “Push notifications not available” message

Solution:

Some browsers and browsing modes do not support push notifications:

• Not supported:

  • Older browser versions (update to latest version)
  • Private/Incognito browsing mode (use normal browsing mode)
  • Some less common mobile browsers

• Supported browsers:

  • Chrome (desktop & Android)
  • Safari (macOS & iOS/iPadOS)
  • Edge (desktop)
  • Firefox (desktop & Android)

To fix:

1. Ensure you’re using a supported browser from the list above
2. Update the browser to the latest version
3. Make sure you’re not in a private/incognito window
4. Try accessing the site in normal browsing mode

Why this happens: Push notification support requires specific browser APIs that aren’t available in all browsers or browsing modes, especially private browsing which intentionally limits persistent features.

Tips for Reliable Notifications

• Enable once per device - Your subscription is remembered until you disable it or clear browser data
• Don’t clear browser data - Clearing cookies and site data removes your subscription; you’ll need to re-enable notifications afterward
• PWA provides best experience - On mobile/tablet, the installed PWA provides the most reliable notification delivery, even when app is not actively open
• Use category preferences - Filter out unwanted notification categories rather than disabling push notifications entirely
• Check preferences regularly - Adjust notification categories as your needs change