The app offers a lot of useful functions including TikTok’s notification function. Every time one of your posts gets a new like or comment, the app will notify you immediately allowing you to respond quickly. So when your TikTok account reaches a certain level of engagement with your TikTok followers, you won’t be able to miss these important announcements. Also, you don’t want to miss the latest videos from other TikTokers you love.
However, sometimes the TikTok notification function does not work. You will not receive any notifications for new posts or comments from other TikTokers.
So what is the cause of the notification function error that you and other users often encounter? Usually, the main causes of TikTok notification problems include:
- Misconfigured push notification settings
- Weak or no internet connection
- The application file is corrupted or the application is malfunctioning
This article is a guide to 10 simple ways to fix when the TikTok notification function is not working. These instructions work on whatever mobile device you’re using, mainly iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.
1. Log out and back into your TikTok account
You should re-login to your TikTok account, if you are not properly logged in to your TikTok account, the app cannot retrieve data from your profile and send you notifications.
Additionally, by signing in again, you can re-adjust your account notification settings to the settings on your device.
Sign out of your TikTok account by following these steps:
Select Me from the bottom bar and tap the menu icon in the upper right to access Settings.
Then, scroll down and select Log out.
At the next pop-up, select Confirm.
Once you’ve completely signed out of TikTok, you can try restarting the app by exiting and removing the app from Recent Apps or App Switcher. Finally, reopen and log in to the same TikTok account and check if you can receive TikTok notifications correctly again.
2. Reboot the device
Restarting the device is the right fix for many TikTokers experiencing notification issues, to terminate all background apps and free up RAM. As a result, restarting the device may pause any app or task that affects TikTok notifications.
Restart your device following the usual steps:
- For iPhone/iPad: Press and hold the power button, slide the Slide to power off switch. Then wait a few seconds before turning it back on.
- For Android: Press and hold the power button for a few seconds, then select Restart when prompted.
3. Check out the latest TikTok updates
Just like any other app, TikTok occasionally releases new updates to address various issues of the old version. The TikTok Support Center is inundated with reports and complaints about notification malfunctions from TikTokers.
In response to users, TikTok may have released an app update with appropriate bug fixes. So to make sure you don’t miss any updates, check that your TikTok app is running the latest version.
To install pending TikTok app updates:
- First, open the App Store (Apple) or Play Store (Android).
- Then go to the TikTok app page and if an update is available, tap the Update button.
4. Turn off and back on TikTok notification settings
TikTok’s notification function is not working because the notification settings are completely turned off or have not been set up. In the TikTok app settings, users can choose a specific time to receive notifications. You can easily customize your notification selection, enabling only the ones you really need. Maybe you don’t like being spammed and just need to be notified about messages or when someone mentions you in a comment.
Therefore, to check the notification settings of the TikTok application you need to follow these steps:
- First, select Me from the bottom bar and tap the menu icon in the upper right to access Settings.
- In the Content & Activity section, select Push notifications.
- On the next page, make sure that Push notifications are enabled by tapping it and enabling the system notification settings.
- On the Push notifications page, turn all the sliders to green. You should disable and re-enable the sliders to refresh the notification settings in the app.
5. Enable TikTok notification settings in your device’s settings
You can find another set of TikTok notification settings in the system settings. This set of settings basically grants the TikTok app permission to receive notifications. If the notification settings are not enabled, the application cannot send notifications.
Also, if these settings are already enabled, you should disable and re-enable them to refresh these settings and get TikTok notifications working properly again.
Steps to check system notification settings:
a) For iPhone/iPad
From Settings, scroll down and select TikTok.
Then select Notifications.
On this page, turn off Allow Notifications, wait about a minute and turn it back on.
In the Alerts section, tick all the alert options: Lock Screen, Notification Center, Banners. Here, make sure the Sounds and Badges feature is always on and the Show Previews option is set to Always.
b) For Android
First, open Settings and select Apps & notifications.
Select TikTok from the list of apps.
Then select Notifications.
Make sure all notifications are turned on, then turn off the All TikTok notifications option, wait about a minute and turn it back on.
6. Enable Background Data Usage for TikTok
If you find your TikTok notifications only show when the app is open, this setting may be disabled. Basically, when the Background Data Usage feature is enabled, the TikTok app can access the Internet even when it’s not launched.
The Background Data Usage feature continuously refreshes and pulls data from its servers, allowing the TikTok app to respond in sending notifications about the latest comments and messages.
You can disable this setting to save mobile data or the internet. However, for essential apps like TikTok, you should enable this feature.
The following steps will help you navigate and enable the Background Data Usage setting:
a) For iPhone/iPad
- Select General from Settings.
- Then select Background App Refresh.
- From the list of apps, find TikTok and turn on the switch next to it.
b) For Android
- First, open Settings and select Apps & notifications.
- Select TikTok from the list of apps.
- Then, select Mobile data & Wi-Fi.
- Enable Background Data and Unrestricted Data Usage options.
7. Clear TikTok Data and Cache
Cache data will accumulate over time when you use TikTok, it may slow down app navigation and affect some app functions, such as TikTok notifications.
Besides, the built-in Cache can also take up a large amount of internal memory. When the internal memory is exhausted, some system functions, including the notification function on the device will be affected.
There are 2 ways to clear the TikTok Cache:
a) Through TikTok App Settings
Unlike most other apps, clearing the cache on TikTok is simple, no matter what device you’re using. TikTok has provided an option in the app settings.
To navigate to the one-click button, you should follow these steps:
- Select Me from the bottom bar and tap the menu icon in the upper right to access Settings.
- Then scroll down and select Clear Cache
b) Through your device’s System Settings (For Android)
If you’re using an Android device, you can clear more of your app’s data and cache from within the system settings:
- Open Settings and select Apps & notifications.
- Select TikTok from the list of apps.
- Next, select Storage & cache.
- Click on Clear Cache, then you can also select Clear Cache Data.
8. Reinstall TikTok
If clearing the cache doesn’t work, you can completely reinstall the TikTok app to get rid of the corrupted files and TikTok app errors that are causing the TikTok notifications not to work.
You should proceed to reinstall TikTok according to the steps below:
- First, locate the TikTok app on the home screen or app list.
- Long press TikTok to access the selection menu.
- Then choose Uninstall or Delete App
- Finally, visit the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Play Store (Android) to reinstall TikTok at the TikTok app page.
After completing the above steps, open the newly installed TikTok app and log back into your account to check if TikTok notifications are working again.
9. Report a bug about the notification function to TikTok support
Once you’ve tried everything to fix the notification failure, you should report the issue to TikTok Support so they can provide you with a definitive solution that’s better suited to your problem.
Probably many users are facing the same error message. Therefore, the more people who report it, the faster TikTok can catch and fix errors from the backend
Steps to report notification function failure to TikTok Support:
- From the TikTok app, select Me from the bottom bar, tap the menu icon in the upper right to access Settings.
- Click Report a problem in the Support section.
- In the Select, a Topic section, select Notification and Message.
- Next, select Inbox Notification or Push notification.
- Choose a topic that best describes your problem.
- On the next page, under the question “Is your problem resolved?”, click No to report your error, then select Still have a problem.
- Finally, briefly describe the problem of the TikTok notification function and click Report to submit the problem and wait for the system to respond and help you solve the problem.
10. Restore device factory settings
The last method is to completely reinstall the device. Since factory reset will restore all settings to the device’s default configuration, solving any problems with push notification functionality on the device. As a result, any restrictive settings can be reset, keeping your device and TikTok notifications in good working order.
However, you should keep a backup of your phone data, as factory reset involves deleting apps stored on the device. Once the installation is done, you can slowly restore apps, contacts, messages, photos, etc. from the backup.
Steps to factory reset an iOS or Android device:
a) For iPhone/iPad
Select General from the Settings app.
Scroll down and select Reset.
Finally, select Reset All Settings.
b) For Android
From Settings, scroll down and select System.
Select Reset options and then select Erase all data (Factory reset).
On the next pages, select Erase all data again.
Conclude
Above are detailed instructions on 10 ways to fix errors to help you fix when the TikTok notification function is not working. After doing one of these 10 ways, your TikTok notification function will be back to normal when you receive messages, comments, etc.
Note, once you’ve completed the troubleshooting steps, you can try asking a friend to send you a message or comment on your post. Then while the app closes completely, check to see if TikTok sends back the success message.
