Facebook notifications are very useful for staying updated on the latest comments made on your posts by friends and followers. However, sometimes these notifications can stop working properly, leading to Facebook not showing notifications for new comments.
This issue can occur due to glitches, bugs, misconfigured notification settings, or other software problems. When Facebook isn’t showing comment notifications correctly, keeping track of all the responses and engagement on your posts can become very frustrating.
In this detailed guide, we will explore all the possible reasons for Facebook not showing comment notifications and provide fixes to resolve the problem on Android and iPhone devices.
Why Is Facebook Not Showing Notifications for Comments?
Before jumping into the solutions, let’s first understand what causes Facebook to stop sending notifications when someone comments on your post.
Here are the most common reasons for this issue:
Facebook Notification Permissions Disabled
The first thing to check is whether notification permissions for the Facebook app are enabled at all. For notifications to work properly, you must allow the Facebook app to send notifications in your device settings.
If you have disabled notifications for Facebook at the system level, naturally the app cannot display alerts and badges to inform you about new comments.
Comment Notifications Turned Off in the App
Even if notifications are enabled for Facebook at the device level, you need to specifically enable comment notifications within the Facebook app as well.
There are granular notification controls inside Facebook that allow you to toggle comment notifications on your posts or posts you are tagged in.
If these in-app toggles have been turned off accidentally, Facebook will not send notifications for new comments as expected.
Connection Issues and Login Problems
Sometimes notification issues arise from temporary glitches with your internet connection or problems with properly logging into your Facebook account.
Logging out and back in often fixes minor account hiccups. Switching between wifi and mobile data can determine if the problem lies with your network.
Outdated Facebook App Version
Facebook is updated frequently, and outdated app versions can suffer from bugs that break certain functionality. Failure to receive comment notifications could indicate your Facebook app needs updating to the latest release.
Server Outages and Platform Issues
In rare cases, widespread technical problems at Facebook’s server infrastructure level can impede notifications. If Facebook servers are experiencing downtime or an outage, notifications may not come through.
Now that you know what’s causing Facebook notifications not to show comments, let’s explore how to troubleshoot and fix this problem in detail below!
How to Fix Facebook Not Showing Comment Notifications
Follow these methods sequentially to identify and resolve Facebook notification issues on your device:
1. Check if Facebook Notifications Are Enabled Altogether
The first step is verifying if notifications are enabled for the Facebook app in your device system settings. If notifications are turned off globally, Facebook cannot send alerts for comments.
On Android:
- Open the Settings app on your Android phone
- Tap on Apps, then select the Facebook app
- Tap on Notifications.
- Check if the toggle for Allow Notifications is enabled (blue).
If notifications are disabled, flip the toggle on to enable Facebook notifications again.
In addition to enabling Facebook notifications in general, ensure that the “Comment” notification button is toggled on.
On iPhone:
- Open Settings
- Scroll down and select Facebook
- Tap on Notifications
- Ensure the toggle for Allow Notifications is green (enabled)
Toggle it on if Facebook notifications are currently disabled.
This will permit Facebook to display badges, alerts and push notifications going forward.
Re-check if you are now getting notifications for new comments on Facebook.
2. Verify Specific Comment Notification Settings
If overall Facebook notifications are already enabled, the next step is making sure your comment notification preferences within the Facebook app are correctly configured.
You need to explicitly toggle comment notifications in app settings depending on whether you want alerts for:
- Comments on your posts
- Comments on posts you are tagged in
Here is how to check Facebook comment notification settings:
On the Facebook App:
- Launch the Facebook app on your phone
- Tap the Menu (with three line icon)
- Select Settings & Privacy
- Tap on Settings
- Choose Notifications
- Ensure On Facebook and Push Notifications are toggled ON for:
- All “Your Facebook Name” notifications.
- Your Account
- Comments
If either of these toggles are disabled, turn them on. You should now get notifications when new comments are posted.
3. Restart the Facebook App
A simple restart of the Facebook app can also help resolve temporary glitches that may be preventing comment notifications from coming through correctly in the app.
To restart Facebook:
On Android:
- Swipe up from the bottom to access the multitasking view
- Locate the Facebook app preview
- Swipe up the Facebook preview to force close the app
- Tap the Facebook icon again to relaunch the app
On iPhone:
- Double press the Home button to bring up the multitasking screen
- Swipe up on the Facebook app preview to force close Facebook
- Tap the Facebook icon on the home screen to restart the app
Restarting will refresh the app and reconnect it to Facebook’s servers which may fix stuck notifications.
4. Check if Facebook Servers Are Facing Outages
In rare instances, the issue may not lie with your account or device at all. Widespread technical failures can sometimes plague Facebook’s infrastructure.
When Facebook servers themselves suffer downtime or temporary outages, notifications naturally get impacted across the board.
You can check third-party sites like Downdetector to confirm if Facebook is having server-side problems:
- Visit Downdetector.com
- Search for Facebook in the top search bar.
- If the graph shows a spike in outage reports recently, Facebook is likely facing disruptions.
In such cases, all you can do is wait for Facebook’s engineers to stabilize servers again. Notifications will automatically resume when systems are back up.
5. Reboot Your Phone
If restarting Facebook does not work, the next solution is performing a phone reboot. Rebooting refreshes the phone’s memory and reloads system components.
To reboot your device:
On Android
- Press and hold the Power button
- Tap Restart in the power menu
- Tap Restart again to confirm.
The phone will restart. Open the Facebook app again once the reboot finishes.
On iPhone
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button
- Finally, press and hold the Power button
- Drag the power off slider to turn off your phone
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power button to turn phone back on
Run the Facebook app to see if notifications show after reboot.
6. Clear Facebook App Cache and Data
Outdated cached data can sometimes interfere with the proper functioning of the Facebook app.
Wiping the cache and app data forces the app to start with a clean slate and resync correctly with Facebook’s servers.
Here is how to clear cache and data:
On Android:
- Open Settings and select Apps
- Find and tap on Facebook in the apps list.
- Tap Storage and cache.
- Tap Clear Cache and OK to confirm
- Next, tap Clear Storage and confirm again.
This will wipe the existing cache and app data. Open Facebook again – it will reload content afresh.
On iPhone:
- Open Settings
- Scroll down and select Facebook
- Tap on the Offload App button
- Then tap Reinstall to get the latest Facebook app
This achieves the same effect as clearing cache and data on Android.
7. Update Facebook to the Latest Version
Bug fixes, performance improvements and notification optimizations are included in app updates.
Using an outdated Facebook version can therefore lead to problems with notifications.
Ensure you upgrade Facebook to the latest release:
On Android:
- Open the Play Store
- Tap the profile icon
- Select Manage apps & device
- Under Updates available, check if Facebook app needs updating.
- If prompted, tap Update to upgrade Facebook.
On iPhone:
- Open the App Store
- Tap your profile picture
- Scroll down to App Updates and view pending updates
- Check if Facebook is listed and tap Update.
The newest version may resolve any notification bugs.
8. Disable Do Not Disturb Mode
The Do Not Disturb feature on phones blocks sounds and vibrations from all notifications when enabled.
While useful at night, having DND mode active all day will mute Facebook alerts as well.
On iPhone, enable Focus mode also inhibits notifications temporarily while that focus session is active.
On Android:
- Pull down the notification shade at the top
- Check if Do Not Disturb mode is presently enabled
- Tap on the icon to disable Scheduled DND or turn off the manual toggle
On iPhone:
- Open Settings > Focus
- Ensure a Focus mode is not activated currently
- Disable any automatic or schedule rules for Focus
With DND disabled on Android and Focus switched off on iPhone, Facebook should be able to ping notifications freely again.
9. Review Focus Mode Settings on iPhone
Expanding on the previous point, the Focus feature on iPhones allows granular control over app notifications as per user-defined scenarios.
For instance, you can suppress Facebook notifications when Focus is enabled for driving, gaming, studying etc.
To ensure Facebook notifications bypass Focus modes:
- Go to Settings > Focus
- Tap on each Focus mode’s configuration
- Toggle Off notifications for Facebook in Focus
With Facebook removed from Focus triggers, its notifications should not be impacted when Focus sessions are active.
10. Re-login to Your Facebook Account
Sometimes simply logging out and back into your Facebook account can resolve minor account issues that may be interfering with notifications and feeds.
To re-login on mobile:
- Open the Facebook app
- Tap the Menu
- Scroll down and choose Log Out.
- Enter credentials and log into your account once again.
Re-authentication refreshes your session and reconnects the app correctly. Check for notifications after logging back in.
11. Uninstall and Reinstall the Facebook App
If other simpler troubleshooting methods have failed, uninstalling and reinstalling the Facebook app could resolve deeper issues preventing notifications from coming through.
This deletes your existing install and sets up the app fresh again.
To uninstall and reinstall Facebook:
On Android:
- Go to Settings > Apps
- Select Facebook and tap Uninstall
- Confirm uninstallation in the popup prompt
- Next, go to the Play Store, search for Facebook and tap Install to get the app again
- Open Facebook app and log back into your account
On iPhone:
- Tap and hold the Facebook icon until icons start wiggling
- Tap the X icon on the Facebook preview to delete the app
- Go to the App Store and re-download the Facebook application.
- Sign into your account again after the installation is completed.
With Facebook freshly set up again, comment notifications may resume as expected.
12. Temporarily Disable Battery Optimization
To conserve battery life, Android phones restrict background activity for certain apps. This optimization can sometimes prevent Facebook from syncing content efficiently in the background.
Disabling battery optimization for Facebook specifically allows it to keep running in the background without interference – ensuring notifications come through.
To disable optimization for Facebook on Android:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Facebook
- Tap Battery
- Tap Optimize battery usage and select Don’t optimize from the dropdown
- Confirm in the popup prompt
Without optimization battery will drain slightly faster. But Facebook notifications should now sync without hindrance.
13. Report Notification Issues to Facebook
If your troubleshooting attempts have failed, try officially reporting the notification problems to Facebook for further assistance:
- Tap Menu > Help & Support in the Facebook app
- Or visit Facebook’s Help Center on the web.
- Choose the option for Reporting a Problem
- Select Something Went Wrong as issue type
- Provide details about notifications not working under Details and tap Next
- Under Issue, select Notifications and Sounds
- Share more specifics in the text box and tap Review
- Submit the report to send it to Facebook’s team
Direct developer intervention may be needed if it is an account-specific notification bug.
14. Try Facebook Lite App
Facebook Lite is a stripped down version of Facebook aimed at regions with poor connectivity or lower-end phones with less storage space.
But as a side effect, switching to this streamlined alternative app sometimes helps fix quirky issues like notifications not working properly.
You can find Facebook Lite on both Play Store and App Store for free. Install it as secondary troubleshooting step.
If notifications suddenly work in Lite but not the main Facebook app, you know something is faulty in the fuller version. Stick to Lite in that case.
15. Use the Facebook Website Temporarily
As last resort, you can also access Facebook through its mobile website m.facebook.com as temporary workaround.
Web notifications for Facebook comments should still come through even if the native app is glitching.
To enable browser notifications:
- Open the Facebook website
- Tap the lock icon before webpage URL
- Tap Allow when browser seeks permission for notifications
You won’t get all native app features, but will stay up-to-date with comments. Reinstall/update the Facebook app meantime in background to attempt permanent fix.
