How to Fine-Tune iPhone Notifications on the Lock Screen

By Leanne Hays Updated 01/13/2022

* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

iPhone notifications and alerts can be really helpful, or they can be disruptive; luckily there's a way to change the way you receive Lock Screen notifications on the iPhone, so you're not overwhelmed. With previous operating systems you had to go into the Settings app to change email, app, and iMessage notifications, but beginning with iOS 12 on the iPhone, a Lock Screen notification is easy to customize without entering Settings. Apple calls this process Fine Tuning; let's get started learning how to Fine Tune your iPhone notifications without leaving the Lock Screen. 

Related: What to Expect from Apple's Sept. 12 iPhone Announcement: New iPhones, Apple Watch Series 4, AirPods 2 & Studio Pods 

You can access the Notification Center by swiping down from the center of your iPhone's display. Once you're in the Notification Center:

  1. Choose the Notification you'd like to manage; slowly swipe it to the left.
  2. A menu will appear; tap Manage.

    ios 12 notificationsnotification center
     
  3. If you'd still like to receive notifications from this source, but without sound, tap Deliver Quietly. 
  4. If you want to stop receiving notifications from this source, tap Turn Off.
  5. If you want even more options, tap Settings.

    iphone notification soundnotification settings
     
  6. From here you can make lots of specific alterations to the way you get notifications from this source. You can:
  7. Choose where the alert will appear under Alerts.
  8. Toggle on or off Sounds and Badges.

    iphone lock screen notificationios 12 lock screen
     
  9. Decide which Banner Style you'd like; Temporary or Persistent.

    notifications ios 12lock screen ios 12
     
  10. Decide when you'd like notification previews to be shown under Options.
  11. Also under Options, decide how you'd like this type of notification to be grouped.

    iphone notificationsiphone notification center

And there you have it! In this same menu, you can also change notifications for a specific app to stay on the screen longer if you don't want to miss them.​ Another option is to schedule a notification summary to be delivered at specific times.

Top image credit: admin_design / Shutterstock.com

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Topics

How-To
iPhone
Lock Screen
Notification Center
Notifications

Author Details

Leanne Hays's picture

Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is an SEO Content Strategist and Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.