When Firefox notifications stop showing up on iPhone, it’s usually one iOS toggle (or Focus mode) quietly blocking them—not Firefox “breaking.” Here’s a calm checklist that fixes the most common causes.
Work top to bottom; you can stop as soon as notifications return.
1. Confirm iPhone notification permission for Firefox
First, make sure iOS is still allowed to deliver Firefox alerts.
- Open Settings → Notifications → Firefox.
- Turn on Allow Notifications.
- Set Alerts to Lock Screen, Notification Center, and/or Banners (pick what you want).
- Turn on Sounds if you expect an audible alert.
If Allow Notifications is already on, continue—another iOS feature is often filtering them out.
2. Check Focus and Sleep mode (the #1 “they disappeared” cause)
Focus can silence or hide notifications even when permissions look correct.
- Go to Settings → Focus.
- Check any active Focus (especially Do Not Disturb and Sleep).
- Tap Apps (or Allowed Notifications) and make sure Firefox is allowed, or turn Focus off temporarily to test.
- Also check Focus → Focus Status and schedules/automation that may be turning it on.
Quick test: turn Focus off for 2 minutes and trigger a notification (see step 6).
3. Make sure notification delivery isn’t set to “Scheduled Summary”
If notifications are arriving late in batches, iOS may be summarizing them instead of showing them instantly.
- Open Settings → Notifications → Scheduled Summary.
- If it’s on, either turn it off or ensure Firefox is not included in the summary list.
This is easy to miss because you’ll still get notifications—just not when you expect.
4. Check “Deliver Quietly” and notification style (banners vs none)
Firefox notifications can be technically “allowed” but show up quietly (no banner) or only in Notification Center.
- Go to Settings → Notifications → Firefox.
- Set Banner Style to Temporary or Persistent.
- Turn on Lock Screen if you expect to see them there.
If you previously long-pressed a notification and chose a quieter option, this often reverses it.
5. Confirm Firefox’s own notification settings (site alerts can be blocked)
Some Firefox notifications come from websites (news, forums, email web apps). iOS permission alone isn’t enough if site permissions are blocked inside the browser.
- Open Firefox → tap the menu (three lines).
- Go to Settings → Notifications (if present) and ensure they’re enabled.
- Also check Settings → Privacy / Permissions and any Site permissions options.
- If it’s a specific site, revisit it and look for its permission prompt/settings.
Site-based notifications on iOS can be inconsistent depending on the site and how it’s configured, so testing with another site can help isolate it.
6. Try a clean “test notification” (then restart)
Instead of waiting, trigger something that should notify you (like a site alert you control), then do a quick reset cycle.
- Toggle Allow Notifications for Firefox off, wait 10 seconds, then turn it on again (Settings → Notifications → Firefox).
- Close Firefox completely (open App Switcher and swipe it away).
- Restart your iPhone.
This clears a surprising number of “everything looks right but nothing arrives” cases.
7. Update Firefox and iOS, then reinstall only if needed
If notifications used to work and stopped after an update (or haven’t worked in a while), bring both sides current.
- Update Firefox from the App Store.
- Go to Settings → General → Software Update.
- If nothing helps: delete Firefox and reinstall.
Before reinstalling, make sure you know how your data is saved (for example, whether bookmarks/tabs are synced to a Firefox account). A reinstall can remove local data.
Final thoughts
Most Firefox notification problems on iPhone come down to Focus/Sleep mode, quiet delivery settings, or a permission toggle that got flipped during an iOS change.
If you tell me what kind of notifications you mean (site alerts, downloads, account/security, etc.), I can narrow this to the exact settings that control it.