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Android Notifications Not Showing Up: How to Fix

Android · 4 min read · Target: android notifications not showing · Updated September 2026

Experiencing android notifications not showing until you manually open an app is an extremely common frustration. The underlying reason for Android notifications not showing up is aggressive OEM battery management (Samsung One UI, Xiaomi MIUI, and OnePlus OxygenOS) putting background messaging sockets into deep hibernation.

Diagnosis: If alerts only deliver when you unlock the screen or open the app, Android Doze mode is blocking push payloads. Follow the steps below.

Step-by-step unblocking procedure

  1. Step 1 — Whitelist the app from Battery Optimization

    Go to Settings → Apps → [Target App e.g. WhatsApp, Gmail] → Battery. Switch setting from Optimized to Unrestricted. This exempts the app from Android Doze background network cutoff.

  2. Step 2 — Turn on Background Data and Unrestricted data usage

    Under Settings → Apps → [Target App] → Mobile data, verify that Allow background data usage and Allow data usage while Data saver is on are both toggled ON.

  3. Step 3 — Turn off Sleeping Apps (Samsung Galaxy)

    On Samsung devices, open Settings → Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits. Check the lists for Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps. Remove any messaging, email, or security camera apps found there.

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