Facebook notifications are a great way to stay updated on what’s happening on the platform, but many users get frustrated when those notifications come through silently. If you’ve ever wondered why your Facebook notifications don’t make a sound, even when your phone is set to ring and vibrate, there are a few potential reasons.
Facebook’s Default Notification Settings
The most likely culprit is Facebook’s default notification settings. When you first set up the Facebook app on your phone, the default setting has message notifications coming through silently. This means they will not make a sound, vibrate, or pop up on your screen when coming through. The notifications will simply appear in your notifications bar for you to check later.
Facebook sets the notifications this way so as not to be too intrusive or distracting. Social media apps need to walk a fine line between keeping users updated and constantly interrupting their day with dings and buzzes. Facebook errs on the side of silence in order to provide a better user experience.
If you want your Facebook notifications to make a sound, you’ll need to manually change the settings. We’ll go through how to do that in a moment.
Your Phone’s Global Notification Settings
Another possibility is that your phone’s global notification settings are silencing Facebook alerts. On iOS and Android devices, you can change settings that affect notifications from all apps at once. For example, you can set your phone to mute all alerts during certain hours or enable/disable vibrating alerts.
If you have these global notification settings adjusted to mute or limit sounds, it will affect Facebook along with your other apps. Your Facebook notifications will abide by those overall phone rules unless you specifically change the Facebook app settings.
So if you want Facebook to make noise, check that your global phone settings are not blocking notifications system wide during certain time periods.
Facebook Notification Settings
Assuming your global phone settings are not causing the issue, the fix is to change the notification settings within the Facebook app itself. Here is how to do it:
- Open the Facebook app on your phone.
- Tap the three line Menu button (iOS) or three dot Menu button (Android).
- Go to Settings & Privacy.
- Tap Settings.
- Choose Notifications.
- Tap Push Notifications.
- Toggle any notification categories to on (green). For all Facebook sounds, toggle Message and Posts to the On position.
- Tap a notification type like Messages to open more options.
- Choose your desired notification sound and vibrate settings.
This will override Facebook’s default silent notification settings and let sounds and vibrations come through from the app.
Custom Notification Settings for Individuals
You can also customize notification settings for messages and posts from specific individuals. Here’s how:
- Go to that person’s Facebook profile.
- Tap the three dot More button.
- Select notifications.
- Adjust the notification settings any way you prefer for this person only.
This lets you tweak alerts for your closest friends and family members while keeping other notifications muted.
Facebook Messenger Notifications
Keep in mind that notification settings within the Facebook app only affect regular Facebook alerts. If you also want sounds for Facebook Messenger, you’ll need to change those notification settings separately:
- Open the Messenger app.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Go to Preferences.
- Tap Notifications.
- Adjust notification settings.
Be sure to enable both Facebook and Messenger notification sounds if you want alerts from all messages.
Other Facebook Notification Considerations
Here are a few other things to keep in mind when managing your Facebook notification settings:
- Check notification settings on both mobile and desktop. The options may differ between devices.
- Make sure notifications are enabled for both the Facebook app and website if you use both.
- Try force quitting and reopening the Facebook app if notifications ever stop working.
- Ensure all software, including Facebook, is up to date.
- On iOS, check that Facebook notifications are enabled in Settings > Notifications > Facebook.
- On Android, check Other app notifications in Settings to make sure Facebook has permission.
Troubleshooting No Facebook Notification Sound
If you’ve followed all these steps and Facebook notifications still don’t make a sound, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Close and restart the Facebook app.
- Force stop the Facebook app in Settings.
- Update the Facebook app and iOS/Android system software.
- Toggle Facebook notification sounds off and back on.
- Restart your phone.
- Clear the Facebook app cache and data.
- Associate your Facebook account with another phone number.
- Log out and back into Facebook on mobile.
- Uninstall/reinstall the Facebook app.
- Factory reset your phone (backup data first).
Hopefully with some adjustment of your notification settings, you’ll have Facebook alerts making sounds and vibrating reliably. Letting you know instantly when you get a new message or post engagement can make Facebook a much more satisfying and connected experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my Facebook notifications silent?
The most common reasons Facebook notifications are silent include:
- Facebook’s default notification settings mute alerts.
- Your phone’s global notification settings are blocking sounds.
- Specific Facebook notification categories are disabled.
How do I allow Facebook notifications to make sounds?
To enable sounds for Facebook notifications:
- Open the Facebook app Settings.
- Go to Notifications > Push Notifications.
- Toggle notification categories like Messages and Posts to on.
- Customize sounds and vibration options.
Can I customize Facebook notification sounds?
Yes, you can set custom sounds and vibration patterns for different Facebook notification types like messages, posts, and friend requests. Just go into the sound settings for each notification category.
Do Facebook Messenger notifications make sound?
Messenger notifications must be enabled separately in the Messenger app settings. Toggle on Messenger notification sounds in addition to the Facebook app.
Why did my Facebook notifications stop making sound suddenly?
If Facebook notifications suddenly go silent, it’s likely due to a settings change or app glitch. Try force quitting Facebook, toggling sounds off/on, or uninstalling/reinstalling the app to resolve it.
Conclusion
Having your Facebook notifications come through with a sound is helpful for staying on top of messages, comments, and other activity. By taking the time to adjust Facebook’s default silent notification settings, you can enable notification tones and customize vibrations to your liking.
Be sure to check your overall phone notification settings in addition to customizing alerts within the Facebook app itself. And if notifications ever stop making sound suddenly, there are various troubleshooting steps like force quitting the app, toggling sounds on and off, or uninstalling Facebook entirely to get them ringing once again.
With properly configured notification sounds, you’ll never miss an important Facebook update again!