Email notifications on iPhone come from the Mail app's settings, not from individual email providers
To get notifications when new emails arrive, you need to turn them on in two places: in the Mail app itself, and in your iPhone's system settings. The Mail app controls whether notifications exist at all. Your iPhone's notification settings control how they appear — as banners, sounds, badges, or lock screen alerts. Most people set this once and never touch it again, but if notifications stopped working or you want to change how they look, both places matter.
The fastest route is to open Settings, go to Notifications, find Mail, and make sure "Allow Notifications" is turned on. After that, open the Mail app, go to Settings (the gear icon at the bottom left), tap your email account, and confirm that notifications are enabled for that specific account. If you use multiple email accounts, each one has its own notification toggle.
Key Takeaways
- Notifications must be enabled in both the Mail app settings and your iPhone's system Notifications menu, or they will not appear.
- Each email account you add to Mail has its own notification toggle, so you can turn notifications on for work email but off for a secondary account.
- The Mail app's notification settings control whether you get alerts at all; iPhone's Notifications settings control whether they make sound, show on your lock screen, or appear as badges on the Mail icon.
- If notifications stopped working, check that Mail has permission to send notifications in Settings > Notifications > Mail, and that your account is still signed in.
Turn on notifications in the Mail app
Open the Mail app and tap the gear icon at the bottom left of the screen. This opens Mail settings. Tap the email account you want to receive notifications from — you will see a list of all accounts you have added to Mail.
Look for an option called "Notifications" or "New Mail Sound". Tap it and make sure the toggle next to "Notifications" is green (turned on). If you see options for "Sound" or "Vibration", you can turn those on or off here too. Repeat this step for each email account if you use more than one.
If you do not see a Notifications option in the Mail app settings, your iPhone's system settings are blocking it. Go to the next section to fix that first.
Allow Mail notifications in iPhone settings
Open Settings on your iPhone and scroll down to find Notifications. Tap it. Scroll down the list of apps until you see Mail, then tap it.
Make sure "Allow Notifications" is turned on (the toggle should be green). Below that, you will see options for how notifications appear: "Lock Screen", "Notification Center", and "Banners". Turn on whichever ones you want. "Lock Screen" shows alerts on your lock screen. "Banners" show a notification at the top of your screen when you are using your phone. "Notification Center" lets you swipe down from the top to see past notifications.
You can also turn on "Sounds" and "Badges" here. "Sounds" makes your phone play a noise when an email arrives. "Badges" puts a red number on the Mail app icon showing how many unread emails you have. Neither is required for notifications to work, but both are useful.
Set up notifications for individual email accounts
If you use multiple email accounts in Mail, you can control notifications separately for each one. Open Mail, tap the gear icon, and tap each account one by one. For each account, toggle notifications on or off as you prefer.
This is useful if you want notifications for your work email but not for a newsletter account, or if you want your personal email to make a sound but your secondary account to stay silent. The account-level settings override the app-level settings, so if you turn notifications off for a specific account in Mail settings, you will not get alerts for that account even if Mail notifications are on in your iPhone settings.
Troubleshoot notifications that stopped working
If you used to get email notifications but they stopped, start by checking that Mail still has permission to send them. Go to Settings > Notifications > Mail and confirm "Allow Notifications" is on. If it is off, turn it on.
Next, open Mail, tap the gear icon, and check that notifications are still enabled for your account. Sometimes an iOS update or a change to your account settings can turn them off without warning. If notifications are off, turn them back on.
If notifications are on in both places but you still are not getting alerts, try signing out of the account and signing back in. Open Mail settings, tap your account, scroll to the bottom, and tap "Delete Account". Then go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account and sign back in. This refreshes the connection between Mail and your email provider.
Customize notification sounds and badges
By default, Mail uses your iPhone's default notification sound. To change it, open Settings > Notifications > Mail and tap "Sounds". You will see a list of available sounds. Tap one to hear it, then tap it again to select it. Your choice applies to all email accounts unless you have customized individual accounts in the Mail app.
Badges are the red numbers that appear on the Mail icon. They show how many unread emails you have across all accounts. To turn badges on or off, go to Settings > Notifications > Mail and toggle "Badges" on or off. If you turn badges off, you will have no visual indicator of unread mail unless you open the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why am I not getting notifications for one email account but I am for another?
Each account has its own notification setting in the Mail app. Open Mail, tap the gear icon, tap the account that is not sending notifications, and make sure notifications are turned on for that account. Also check that the account is still signed in — if your password changed or the account was removed, you will not get alerts.
Can I get notifications only during certain hours?
Mail does not have a built-in quiet hours feature, but you can use your iPhone's Focus modes to silence notifications at specific times. Go to Settings > Focus, create a new Focus (like "Evening"), and add Mail to the list of apps that can send notifications through it. Then set a schedule for when that Focus turns on automatically.
How do I turn off notifications for one account but keep them for another?
Open Mail, tap the gear icon, tap the account you want to silence, and turn off notifications for that account. Notifications for your other accounts will continue to work. You can also mute notifications in your iPhone settings by going to Settings > Notifications > Mail and turning off "Allow Notifications", but that silences all accounts at once.
Will I get notifications if my iPhone is locked?
Yes, if you have "Lock Screen" enabled in Settings > Notifications > Mail. The notification will appear on your lock screen, and if you have sounds turned on, your phone will play a sound. You do not need to unlock your phone to receive the alert.
What is the difference between banners and lock screen notifications?
Lock screen notifications appear when your phone is locked or when you are not using it. Banners appear at the top of your screen while you are actively using your phone. You can have both on, both off, or just one. Most people turn both on so they see alerts whether their phone is locked or not.