Top 13 Fixes for Outlook Notifications Not Working on Android and iPhone

Email notifications are very important. Usually, your phone will notify you when a new email arrives so you don’t have to check emails as often. Unfortunately, many Outlook app users can’t enjoy the same. For many, the Outlook app doesn’t send a notification for new emails. Let’s check out various ways to fix Outlook notifications not working on iPhone and Android.

Outlook users have issues ranging from not getting notifications to getting notifications without a badge or with sound. Some iPhone users won’t see a preview of the message.

Let’s check the solutions.

1. Reboot Phone

We recommend restarting your phone before trying other solutions. Most of the time, this simple solution fixes all notification issues.

2. Update Outlook App

Another simple solution you should try is to update the Outlook app. Most of the time, there is a bug in the current app and this causes notification issues. Open Play Store (Android) and App Store (iPhone/iPad) and search for Microsoft Outlook. Tap on Update.

Pro Tip: Open Outlook in Play Store or App Store to check if the problem is with the current version of an app. Go to the review section. Sort by newest. You may see similar comments from people who have raised concerns about the notification issue.

3. Check Outlook Application Notification Settings

Here’s how to do it.

Stage 1: Open the Outlook app on your Android phone or iPhone.

step 2: Tap the profile picture icon at the top. Press the settings icon.

Stage 3: Under the Mail section, tap Notifications.

Pro Tip: Tap Notifications under the Calendar section to customize or troubleshoot Outlook calendar notifications. Find out what’s the difference between Outlook and Gmail calendar.

Step 4: Tap Notifications on Android and change it to All mail.

Tap the Focused and Other inboxes on iPhone.

You will now receive notifications for all incoming emails to your Outlook inbox.

4. Check Notification Sound

Fly: Learn how to enable or disable desktop notifications on the Outlook.com website.

5. Check Phone Notification Settings

Alongside the Outlook app’s notification settings, you’ll find more notification settings in the Settings app. There you will also need to check and enable notifications for Outlook.

Here’s how to do it.

Check Outlook Notifications on Android

Stage 1: Open Settings on your Android phone.

Step 2: Go to Apps & notifications. Under All apps, tap Outlook.

Stage 3: Tap on Notifications. Next, make sure that the button at the top indicating Outlook notifications is enabled. Also, check out the other toggles below.

If a notification setting has a flat bar next to it, it means there are more settings in it. Tap on such a setting. For example, you can see Mail has a flat bar next to it. Tap anywhere before the transition. On the next screen, verify that everything about notifications is turned on.

Check Outlook Notifications on iPhone

Stage 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap Outlook.

Stage 3: Tap on Notifications.

Step 4: On the next screen, enable the toggle next to Allow notifications. If it’s on, disable it and enable it again.

Apart from that, pay attention to the following:

• Enable any alert.
• Tap on banner style. Choose Persistent.
• Also enable toggles next to Sounds and Badges.
• Under Show previews, select Always. This is especially helpful if you don’t see email previews.

Fly: Check out other fixes for iPhone app notification sounds not working.

6. Enable Background App Refresh (iPhone)

To receive email notifications while the Mail app is running in the background, you must leave Background app refresh enabled in iPhone settings. To enable it, go to phone Settings > Outlook. Enable the toggle next to background app refresh. If it’s on, turn it off and enable it again.

Note: When you turn on background app refresh and notifications, app badges are automatically updated in the background.

7. Clear Cache and Data of Outlook App (Android)

On Android phones, you should clear the cache and data of the Outlook app. Clearing cache or data will not delete any of your personal information, while clearing data will log you out of the app. You will need to sign in again. This will restore your emails to the device. Find out in detail what happens by clearing data on Android phones.

To clear the cache and data of the Outlook app, go to phone Settings > Applications > Outlook. Tap on Storage and then Clear cache. Restart the phone. See if you get notifications. If the problem persists, tap on Clear data/Clear storage.

8. Turn off Battery Saver Mode

Battery saver modes often block the normal functions of apps. You should turn it off and see if you can receive Outlook email notifications.

To turn off battery saver mode on iPhone, go to Settings > Battery. Turn off the toggle next to low power mode.

On Android, go to Settings > Battery. Turn off battery saver or Adaptive battery. If you have a Samsung phone, you should check the Outlook app under Settings > Device Management > Battery > Sleeping apps. Remove it from there.

9. Check Do Not Disturb Mode

You may have enabled and forgotten Do Not Disturb (DND) mode on your iPhone. So check the DND settings on your phone.

On Android, go to Settings > Sound > Do not disturb. On iPhone, go to Settings > Do not disturb. If you want to keep it active either turn it off completely or check the individual settings. Also check the timing DND settings.

Fly: Learn more about what Do not disturb mode is on Android and iPhone.

10. Collect Diagnosis

Some Outlook app users suggested that notifications start working properly when they let Microsoft collect diagnostic data from the Outlook app. There’s no harm in trying.

Open the Outlook app and go to its Settings. Tap Help & feedback, then tap Collect diagnostics.

11. Update Phone Software

Similar to bugs in the Outlook app, your phone may also have issues with the last software update. Check for a new software update for your phone.

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software update. On Android, go to Settings > Software update or Settings > System > Software update.

12. Reinstall Outlook App

If nothing works, you may need to uninstall the Outlook app. Doing so will not delete any of your emails. When you reinstall the app, the emails will be available again on your phone.

You can uninstall the Outlook app from your phone. Restart your phone. Next, install the Outlook app only from the official stores i.e. App Store (iPhone) and Play Store (Android).

13. Reset Settings

Finally, you need to reset all settings on your phone. You don’t have to do this manually. There is a setting on both Android and iPhone.

On Android, you will need to use Reset app preferences. This includes app permissions, default apps, restrictions, etc. will reset settings such as To reset app preferences, open Settings > Apps. Under All apps, tap on the three-dot icon at the top and select Reset app preferences. Find out in detail what happens by resetting app preferences.

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset all settings. See our explainer to find out what happens when you reset iPhone settings.

Gmail with Outlook

We hope that by following the fixes above, Outlook notifications will start working on your Android phone or iPhone. If the problem persists, you should sync Outlook with Gmail. Check out our guide to syncing Outlook emails with Gmail.

Next: Improve your Outlook email experience with great tips. Check out 9 Outlook tips for Android and iOS at the next link.