Android: Push notifications no longer work

Push notifications no longer work on your Android smartphone? There can be several reasons for this. We give you tips on how to solve the problem.

Reasons for no push notifications

Apps use push notifications to provide you with current messages in the status bar of your Android smartphone. This can be, for example, direct messages from social networks, emails or news updates. However, if the messages fail to appear, this can have various causes.

• To receive push notifications, you usually need a connection to the Internet. Therefore, make sure that your smartphone is online. If you use an app to save energy on your smartphone, make sure that it does not switch off your data connection under certain conditions. For example, some apps disconnect from the Internet when you turn off your smartphone display.
• If you have a so-called task killer installed on your smartphone, this can also prevent the receipt of push notifications. You will then only receive them while you are using the respective app. If you do not want to do without the task killer, you must add an exception rule for the applications concerned.
• Android itself also has settings for saving energy that can prevent the receipt of push notifications. If you rely on receiving the messages over a Wi-Fi connection, make sure that the Wi-Fi doesn't turn off automatically when it's not in use. To do this, go to "Settings" - "Wi-Fi" and then press the menu button. Select "Advanced" and set "Leave Wi-Fi on in standby" to "Always".
• You must also not restrict the transfer of background data. The corresponding setting can be found under "Settings" - "Data usage". Press the menu key and make sure that there is no checkmark in "Restrict background data".
• If all of this is not the case, it may be necessary to delete the app concerned and reinstall it.

Note: These tips are based on Android 4.0.4. The procedure can therefore differ slightly with older or newer versions of the operating system.