No Mail notification sounds on iPhone after iOS 18.4 update

Both me (IPhone 13mini) and my wife (IPhone 12)affected also. Prior to 18.4 update ‘push’ email and no sound notification, mail only downloaded when opening Mail app, was broken from previous update. As of the 18.4 update, ‘push’ working, but no sound as email arrives. I’ve worked through all the usual fixes online (as I did prior to 18.4 while trying to fix push). Other sound notifications working such as text, send mail etc. so sound switch on, do not disturb off, focus off, no schedules etc.

It is ridiculous that I can no longer hear any notification of new email since this iOs update on my iPhone 13 mini. Apple needs to fix this. I have tried EVERYTHING listed in this thread and then some. I have turned my phone off and back on several times after trying all the steps. I tried the steps multiple times. NOTHING WORKS. Someone from Apple needs to fix this problem please.

Hi Oly, yes I’d been through there before and just checked again, is set to All Unread Messages. Still no sounds, have two mail accounts, both set for Alerts, Sounds, Badges.

I have an iPhone 14 Plus. I have this same issue. I thought it was because I had muted the volume. However, I unmuted the phone and sent a series of messages to myself, across multiple email addresses, and none of them triggered the notification.

I am also very curious about what this "Primary" feature is in notifications. I do not see any where that allows me to designate an email account as my "Primary".

This is yet another instance of Apple delivering poorly tested and defective software features. I am exceptionally disappointed. I wish I could buy a phone with iOS 17 on it and go back to that since it worked (mostly) correctly.

This may help. Go to Mail notifications then Customize. Check if notifications are set to all mail or just Primary. Even though I do not use categories that setting defaulted to Primary and then caused no notifications to be alerted. I switched to all and the problem was solved.

I have an iPhone 12. In my case, Messages stopped playing notification sounds with the installation of iOS 18 (which I didn't do until 18.3). Mail stopped playing notification sounds with the installation of 18.4. I'm currently on 18.4.2. My wife has an iPhone 13 with iOS 18.4.1 and she gets notification sounds on messages (she has it turned off on mail).

I've tried every fix given on every related thread I can find here - including hard resets and uninstall/reinstall of mail. Nothing works.

This is really pretty simple in my mind. If everything worked on the phone, and it stops working with the installation of a new version of iOS, THE PROBLEM IS WITH IOS. It appears to work differently depending on the model of phone. Why?

Apple has a history of bringing out "cool new features" and breaking the old ones when they do it. For example, my email account has not worked right on MacOS since El Capitan. I've spent hours with Apple support and nobody's ever been able to figure it out.

This may get fixed, or it may never get fixed. Nothing we can do about it.

Somewhere on this site, there was a similar thread in which someone said the notification sound problem in mail and messages would be fixed with iOS 18.5. (Can't find it because this board won't let me search only threads I'm following).

I updated to iOS 18.5. Got a mail notification sound ONCE, and then it stopped working again. After a couple of days I rebooted the phone. Got a mail notification sound ONCE, and then it stopped working again.

As far as messages goes, I will SOMETIMES get a notification sound and MANY TIMES do not. I NEVER get a notification sound on a two factor authentification text from any site.

After updating to iOS 18.4, some users have reported that their iPhone no longer plays notification sounds for email. This issue can be resolved by checking the Mail notification settings and ensuring that alerts and sound notifications are enabled for each email account. 

Here's how to fix the no sound issue: 

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Mail .
2. Tap Notifications .
3. Make sure "Allow Notifications" is turned on .
4. Tap Customize Notifications .
5. Tap the email account you want to change .
6. Turn on "Alerts" .
7. Ensure a sound is selected for the email account .
8. Repeat steps 5-7 for all email accounts .
9. Check for "Do Not Disturb" or "Focus" settings . Ensure they are not enabled or have schedules that might be interfering with notifications.

Appears now solved at least with my 13 mini. I waited for the recent 18.4.1 update, this made no difference but after uninstalling Mail app then reinstalling from App Store, the mail notification sound returned. Nothing that I can see changed in settings, so hopefully the fix will be permanent!

Cheers

J

I spent about 3/4 hr on the phone with a really nice Apple tech today (May 13/25) because I was getting no notifications of incoming emails on my ipad, iphone and Mac, and then all of a sudden I would get one, then back to none. After checking all the settings in my ipad, iphone and Mac he consulted a higher-up person who said that they are aware of the problem and are working on it. It should be resolved in an upcoming update.

It looks like problem is only with old iPhones, like 13 and older. My 15 Pro do not have this issue. Everybody in office with 13 and older has, most issues with Exchange.

Thanks. My notifications for Mail sound were set to "off".