- Working out where YouTube notifications are going missing
- Checking you're subscribed before blaming YouTube notifications
- Turning on all YouTube notifications for one channel
- Making sure you're signed in to the right YouTube account
- YouTube app notification settings to switch on
- Allowing YouTube notifications in your phone's settings
- When YouTube notifications are late rather than missing
- If your own YouTube subscribers aren't getting notifications
- Reporting YouTube notification problems that remain
- Frequently asked questions
If YouTube notifications aren't working, check you're subscribed, tap Subscribed then All on the channel, make sure you're in the right account, switch on the followed-channels option in the app's notification settings and allow YouTube notifications in your phone's settings.
You follow a creator because you don't want to miss their next video, then find out three days later that they posted on Tuesday. Or you run a channel yourself and your viewers keep telling you they never got the alert. Either way, notifications that don't turn up are frustrating, and the cause is usually somewhere in a short chain of settings.
YouTube has two separate help pages for this: one for viewers who aren't getting notifications and one for creators whose subscribers aren't. I've pulled both together, in the order that makes sense for each, so you can find your own situation quickly.
Working out where YouTube notifications are going missing
Notifications pass through four places: the channel's bell setting, your YouTube account settings, your phone's own settings and YouTube itself. YouTube's help says your device's notification settings can override anything you've set inside YouTube, so a switch in the wrong place can silence everything.
| Where to look | What to check |
|---|---|
| The channel | Are you subscribed, and is the bell set to all? |
| Your account | Are you signed in to the account with your settings? |
| The YouTube app | Is the followed-channels notification option on? |
| Your phone | Is the YouTube app allowed to send notifications? |
Checking you're subscribed before blaming YouTube notifications
Start with the obvious. Open the channel's page in the YouTube app. YouTube says you should see the word SUBSCRIBED on the page. If you see the Subscribe button instead, you aren't subscribed, and tapping it fixes that.
It's also worth knowing that you can sometimes get recommendation notifications for channels you haven't followed. That works the other way round, too: being sent an alert doesn't prove you follow someone.
Turning on all YouTube notifications for one channel
This is the setting behind most complaints of the I get some but not all kind. When you follow a channel, YouTube's help says you only get occasional notifications by default. If you want to hear about every upload, switch it:
- Go to the channel you want alerts from.
- Tap Subscribed.
- Tap All.
On a computer, the same control is the bell icon next to the button. YouTube also says that if you unsubscribe and follow again, your notification setting is reset, so you'll need to choose All once more.
Making sure you're signed in to the right YouTube account
Your settings belong to one account. If you've got a personal and a work account, you could be checking the wrong one. YouTube's steps are to select your profile picture, check which account is shown at the top and, if it's not the one with your settings, tap your profile and pick the right one. My page on switching accounts on YouTube has the full walk-through.
YouTube app notification settings to switch on
- Select your profile picture at the top of the screen.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Notifications.
- Turn on notifications for the option covering the channels you follow.
Within the same area you can choose Channel settings, which lists the channels you follow and the setting for each. To get every notification from a channel, its bell should look like it's ringing.
Allowing YouTube notifications in your phone's settings
If everything inside YouTube looks right, check the phone. YouTube's help treats this as a separate step:
On an Android phone
- Open the Android Settings app.
- Go to Apps and notifications, then pick YouTube.
- Select Notifications.
- Make sure General notifications is ticked.
On an iPhone or iPad
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Notifications, then YouTube.
- Make sure Allow notifications is switched on.
Menu names move around between versions of Android and iOS, so if yours differ slightly, look for the same idea: notifications, then YouTube, then allow.
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When YouTube notifications are late rather than missing
Sometimes nothing is broken. YouTube's help for creators explains that Personalised notifications are sent at what it judges to be the best time for each person. That's why some followers are told hours after a video goes live. Followers who chose All are normally told within minutes. It also says it can take 10 to 20 minutes for all notifications to be sent.
There's a limit as well. Viewers can get a maximum of 3 new video notifications from each channel in a 24-hour period. Those include uploads, live streams and premieres.
If your own YouTube subscribers aren't getting notifications
If you run a channel, YouTube's creator guidance is blunt: viewer settings cause almost all notification issues, so the first step is asking viewers to check theirs. Then work through its list:
- When you upload, keep the box ticked for publishing to the feed and notifying subscribers.
- Check how many videos you published in the last 24 hours. The 3-notification limit applies.
- Avoid publishing in bulk. YouTube says that publishing more than 3 videos in a short time can pause notifications for 24 hours. If you upload a few at once, set them to Private first and publish each at a different time.
- Keep videos public after publishing. If you switch to Private soon after publishing, YouTube stops sending notifications.
- Remember that content set as made for kids doesn't send notifications, so your audience setting matters.
- Check for known issues in the Help Center, then send feedback if all else fails.
Reporting YouTube notification problems that remain
In rare cases there's a delivery fault at YouTube's end. Its help points you to the Known Issues section of the Help Center to see whether that's happening, and to send feedback if you've worked through everything above. For wider problems across the app, my overview of why YouTube might not be working is a good companion.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I not getting YouTube notifications?
YouTube's help says to check you're subscribed, set the channel to All notifications, make sure you're in the right account, turn on the followed-channels option in the app settings and allow notifications for YouTube on your phone.
Why do I only get some YouTube notifications?
By default you only get occasional notifications when you follow a channel. Tap Subscribed, then All, to hear about every upload.
Is there a limit to YouTube notifications?
Yes. YouTube's help says viewers can get a maximum of 3 new video notifications from each channel in a 24-hour period.
Why aren't viewers notified when I upload?
YouTube says viewer settings cause almost all notification issues. It also lists publishing in bulk, switching to Private quickly and made for kids content as reasons notifications stop.
Why did my YouTube notification arrive hours late?
Personalised notifications are sent at what YouTube judges the best time for each person, so some arrive hours after publishing.
