iPhone 6(S)/Plus Grandpa And Texting Question, Please ?

[Robert4]

Hi,
Great Forum and folks.

My Grandson doesn't use eMail, only Texting.
I've never Texted anything, but would hate for him to think I'm more of a
Neanderthol than he probably already does.

So, have finally figured out how to Text.
Really proud of myself.

One thing though:

How do I know when a brand new Text message comes in.
Other than actually looking in the Messages APP, I don't see any indication for.

Is there some kind of "visual" indication (not aural) that should indicate, irrespective
of what screen you happen to be in, in the iPhone, that a brand new msg. has just arrived ?

What, am I, as usual, missing ?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[ericwn]

On iOS the default behaviour is to display a notification for incoming text messages. This can be done as a badge icon or as a banner.

Check your notification settings to make sure you have it on for messages and are not using DND at that time.

 

[velocityg4]

To clarify the prior post. Notifications is in the Settings App at Settings > Notifications. Look for Messages and click it to change its settings.

DND is Do Not Disturb. In Settings > Do Not Disturb. The Do Not Disturb toggle should be greyed out.

 

[0128672]

@Robert4, way to go learning how to text. It's pretty cool! Here's a couple of Apple Support guide links with screenshots to help fill in your new skills. These are for iOS version 14. You can check your version by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Have fun and enjoy talking with your grandson. Ask him to teach you about emojis too 😀 👍

General info about sending and receiving messages:
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/send-and-receive-messages-iph82fb73ba3/ios

How to change Messages notifications:
https://support.apple.com/en-bw/guide/iphone/iph62faab6a4/ios

 

[Robert4]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the help. Nice of everyone to take the time.
Much appreciated.

Guess I am still missing something with this.
That old-age problem again, I guess.

To the best of my knowledge, I believe I have all of the settings as suggested by everyone, and the writeups.
Please bear with me a bit more; will blame it on my age now which I've found is a great excuse for most anything.

So,

A Text msge, e.g. comes in. Great.
Where, exactly, do I get a visual indication of this ? Is it "automatic" ?

Is the answer the same irrespective of wherever I may be looking, or doing, at the same time on the iPhone ?

Any way of getting an indication next to the basic Messages screen icon ?

Would the Notification Center automatically open up ?

The reason I ask these is that if I send myself a sample text msg, it goes thru fine, but nothing seems to happen on the phone to tell me, and I "think" all the suggested settings are correct. But, perhaps not; anything in particular to re-check that I may have missed perhaps ?

Regads,
Bob

 

[Boyd01]

There should be a red circle attached to the messages icon when a new text message is received. Are you not seeing that?

BTW, I'm also a grandpa... but I'm the one who has to help the kids with their phone and computer problems. 🤣

 

[ian87w]

When a text comes in, there should be a notification "ping" sound, unless you put the phone into vibrate mode.
Since there's no LED notification, there's no way to know if there's a message when the phone is idle by default. You will only know when you press the power button to turn on the screen as the lock screen will show that there's a notification.

To make things easy, I would suggest enable "raise to wake." That way, the screen will turn on and you can check for any notifications by simply raising the phone instead of having to press the power button.

Use Raise to Wake on your iPhone - Apple Support

Learn how to use Raise to Wake or Tap to Wake on your iPhone.

support.apple.com

If you must have a visual indicator when the phone is idle, go to accessibility to enable LED flash alerts. That way the flash on your iPhone will blink when a notification comes in.

Turn on LED flash alerts - Apple Support

Use the LED light on your iPhone for visual notification alerts.

support.apple.com

Hopefully that will help. I think technology should help bridge communications between generations instead of being a stumbling block.

 

[Robert4]

Hi,

All set now !
Much thanks for All the help.

Regards,
Bob

 

[EM2013]

You should give yourself more credit

You’ll get the hang of texting in no time.