What Does Notifications Silenced Mean?

What to Know

  • When Messages says Contact has Notifications Silenced, the person is in Do Not Disturb/Focus that disables notifications.
  • Notifications silenced does not mean that you are blocked.
  • Tap Notify Anyway to alert the person of your text even if their notifications are silenced.

Have you been wondering what "Notifications Silenced" means? Sometimes, when you text someone via Messages, you might notice that it says the person has notifications silenced. Don't panic! It means exactly what it says: the user has their notifications silenced. It doesn't mean you're blocked. You can usually choose to notify the person anyway. Here's how it works.

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What Does It Mean When Someone Has Their Notifications Silenced

If you're wondering, "Why does it say notifications silenced?" it's usually because someone has entered Do Not Disturb or another Focus mode that disables their notifications. It's also possible that the person has silenced notifications just for Messages, or turned off all notifications with the Ring/Silent switch

People do this for different reasons, especially for work and sleep. Disabling notifications allows people to focus on other things without the notifications on their phones interrupting them. Most notably, seeing the "Notifications Silenced" message does not mean that you are blocked. Once the person switches off DND or whichever Focus they've engaged that silences notifications, you will be able to resume normal communication.

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How to Notify a Person Anyway When Notifications Are Silenced

When someone has their notifications silenced, you can usually still notify them anyway with the Notify Anyway feature. However, if they have turned off Messages notifications in Settings, or have turned off the Ring/Silent switch on the side of their phone, the Notify Anyway feature won't be available. 

If the Notify Anyway feature is available, think twice before using it. The person who has notifications silenced may not want to be disturbed, or, they may not be able to respond. Here's how to use the Notify Anyway feature.

  1. On your iPhone, go ahead and text someone even if their notifications are silenced.

    notifications silenced
  2. Tap the purple text that says Notify Anyway

    iphone notifications silenced

Once you do this, the message will do a little animation to emphasize that it has been sent with a notification to the recipient. 

How to Resume Notifications on iPhone

What if you're the one who has notifications silenced? If you're wondering, "Why does it say I have notifications silenced," you might also want to know how to turn them back on. Notifications are usually silenced via Focus, especially Do Not Disturb. Follow the steps below to resume notifications on your iPhone. 

  1. On your iPhone, swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen.

    swipe down from the top right corner of your iphone screen
  2. Press and hold the Focus button.

    touch and hold focus mode in control center
  3. Tap Do Not Disturb or the Focus mode that has been enabled to turn it off.

    tap do not disturb or focus mode if notifications silenced on iphone
  4. Or, tap another Focus you've created or customized that allows notifications, like Personal

And that's what notifications silenced means, why it says you have notifications silenced, and how to turn them back on again. Good luck, and happy texting! If your iPhone still shows that notifications are silenced, you might want to try turning your iPhone off and back on again. You can also make sure your iPhone is up to date with the latest iOS to fix any bugs and glitches. If this doesn't work, take your iPhone to the Apple store, or email Apple Support

Next, find out how to put iPhone on silent, and how to set up DND or other focus modes. Be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day to learn more tips about your iPhone!

FAQ

  • Can I disable Notify Anyway so that nobody can send me a text when I have my notifications silenced? Yes, you can disable Notify Anyway on your iPhone in a few easy steps.
  • How can you tell if someone silenced you on iMessage? If you're muted, you won't be able to tell. If the person has all notifications silenced and chosen to enable the setting that alerts their contacts, you will see it when you open their message thread.
  • How do you know if someone blocked your iPhone? If you've been blocked on iMessage, you won't get a delivery notification for your messages, and if you were chatting with an iPhone user, the texts will turn green.
  • Can notifications be silenced for one person? Yes, you can mute a contact in the Messages app. You can also set up a Focus where one or a few specific people are muted or silenced while in that mode. And blocking someone is always an option when other things don't seem to work.
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Author Details

Rachel Needell's picture

Author Details

Rachel Needell

Rachel Needell is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and a poet and author. With 10-plus years of experience working with Apple devices, she specializes in all-things iPad and is a Notes App expert, having worked on both the 2023 iPad Guide and the Notes App Guide. You can usually find her writing in the Daily Tip newsletter as one of our senior Tip writers. Rachel received her Master’s degree in English Literature in 2021 and her most recent work appears in the Winter ’21 edition of New Note Poetry. When she’s not obsessing about Apple products, you can find her voraciously reading fantasy books with her cat in Asheville, North Carolina.