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iPad User Guide

Stop, mute, and change message notifications on iPad

You can change whether or not you’re notified about text messages you receive, and how the notifications appear or sound. For example, you can turn off message notifications so you aren’t distracted by notification sounds when you’re in a meeting or other quiet settings, or assign a special sound for certain contacts so you know when you get a message from them.

👁 Messages Notification settings in Settings.

Stop all notifications

You can stop getting notified about activity in the Messages app while continuing to receive messages. When you’re ready to read them, you can open Messages to see the texts you missed while notifications were off, and catch up on messages you missed.

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
     on your iPad.

  2. Tap Notifications, then tap Messages.

  3. Turn off Allow Notifications.

Note: Senders receive a note indicating that you have notifications silenced.

To let people know you’ve read their messages, you can turn on read receipts.

When you want to get notified again, turn on Allow Notifications. If you also want to hear them, make sure the Ring/Silent switch isn’t in Silent mode and your volume is audible.

You can also stop notifications from other Apple apps and third-party apps. See Change notification settings.

Stop sharing your Focus Status with one person

When your Focus pauses notifications, your status appears in the Messages app to let people know you’re not receiving messages. You can turn this off in one-to-one conversations.

  1. Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. Tap a conversation, then tap the contact icon at the top of the conversation.

  3. Turn off Share Focus Status.

Mute sounds for sent and received messages

When you send a message, a swoosh sound plays by default. When you receive a message, a tone plays. If you don’t want to hear these sounds, you can set your text tone to None.

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
     on your iPad.

  2. Tap Notifications, then tap Messages.

  3. Tap Sounds, then tap None (below Alert Tones).

You can also put the Ring/Silent switch in Silent mode.

Note: The None and the Ring/Silent switch setting affect both incoming and outgoing sounds. (You can’t mute only one.)

See also Flash the indicator light for notifications.

Change the sound for notifications

You can set the sound volume for alerts and choose between a tone or sound for alerts.

  1. Go to the Settings app 👁 Image
     on your iPad.

  2. Tap Sounds.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Make notifications quieter or louder: Adjust the volume with the slider.

    • Choose a tone or sound: Tap Text Tone, then tap a sound below Alert Tones (or tap Tone Store to download one).

    Tip: The tone you choose applies to both the Messages app and other apps that have notifications on, such as Mail, Phone, and other Apple or third-party apps. To change it just for the Messages app, go to Settings 👁 Image
    > Notifications > Messages, then tap Sounds.

You can set how many times to repeat a notification (from Never to 10 Times) in Settings 👁 Image
> Notifications > Messages > Customize Notifications.

Change the notification sound for certain people

You can choose a specific sound to play when you get a message from one specific contact.

  1. Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. In a conversation with one person, tap the contact icon at the top of the conversation.

  3. Tap Info, tap Edit, tap Edit Contact Info, then tap Text Tone.

    If you don’t see Edit, tap Create New Contact or Add to Existing Contact.

  4. Do any of the following:

    • Specify a tone or sound: Tap a sound below Alert Tones (or tap Tone Store to download one).

    • Mute the sound: Tap None below Alert Tones.

    • Mute notifications for this conversation: Tap None below both Haptics and Alert Tones.

To give this contact the option to override a Focus, so any important messages can get through, turn on Emergency Bypass. You might turn it on for a family member, caretaker, or colleague, for example.

Mute one conversation

You can stop getting notifications for a conversation while you continue to receive its messages.

  1. Go to the Messages app 👁 Image
    on your iPad.

  2. In the conversation list, do one of the following:

    • Swipe left on a conversation, then tap 👁 the Mute button
      .

    • Tap a conversation, tap the contact or icon at the top of the conversation, then turn on Hide Alerts.

Note: Senders receive a note indicating that you have notifications silenced.

To completely stop getting messages for one conversation, you can block a specific person or number or leave a group conversation.

Announce messages

Siri can announce messages on your iPad speaker or supported headphones.

To hear incoming messages on MFi hearing devices, see Announce calls and notifications for specific apps.

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