iPhone SE (2016) Slow to receive notifications (Whatsapp, mail)

[dantastic]

I've a pretty old iPhone SE and I used to get notifications in a timely manner but notifications are often delayed these days. I think this started happening around iOS11 or so.
I have a brand new battery fitted and I've also gone through all setting and I've tried all suggestions posted online.

I'm curious to see if other people on other devices are seeing similar things.

Mail for instance is set up for push but it could be half an hour before my phone 'pings' after having received an email.
If you set an alarm the alarm sounds several seconds after the countdown has finished.
Whatsapp notifications can be slow to arrive at times. By slow I mean 10-15 minutes after the message has been received.

The phone is otherwise snappy so I'm not sure why notifications are not working as reliably as they used to.

 

[internetrando]

Could be your cellular service provider...

 

[dantastic]

Really? The operator you recon?
I'm with Three, they are on the cheaper end of the spectrum here.

 

[internetrando]

Really? The operator you recon?
I'm with Three, they are on the cheaper end of the spectrum here.

I cannot think of another reason as to why multiple data connected and reliant applications (both native and installed) would all start having problems simultaneously.

Maybe try resetting your network settings first and see if it helps any. If not that, try resetting all settings or a full wipe.

 

[nburwell]

I agree with @internetrando in that it could be the OP's cell provider, not the device itself.

Resetting your network settings first is definitely a good start to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Nerdyaf]

1) this happens to alarm, so it should be more than just the operator

2) what email are you using? gmail? there is no push for gmail on the default mail app.

 

[dantastic]

Using a paid email provider other than gmail. They are pretty solid in my experience.

When you set a timer for, say 10 minutes. Put the phone down on a table. Does the alarm sound after 10 minutes or 10 minutes and a couple of seconds?

 

[Nerdyaf]

a paid email provider may not allow push services. you have to check on that.

it should sound off immediately

 

[now i see it]

I use two email apps: iOS Mail and Spark. Both apps receive the same emails. When an email is sent to me, I instantly get a notification from Spark, but iOS Mail shows nothing. I'll then go into iOS Mail and refresh the incoming list - and still nothing. Then......... much much later (could be 20 minutes or longer) iOS Mail will get the email no matter how many times I've refreshed the incoming list (all settings for iOS Mail are set as fast as possible).

 

[Nerdyaf]

yes that does make sense. for example gmail do not offer push services for mail app, but does for 3rd party ones and their own gmail app

although im not sure about how soon will you get the updated emails for fetch (which should be the mode for retrieving emails if push is not available)

 

[dantastic]

I will try the carrier theory this week. I've put my sim in an android phone and I will use that for the week to see if things get any better. If the carrier is at fault I should experience a similar delay on this phone as well. If not then I know it's something to do with my phone.

 

[Nerdyaf]

I will try the carrier theory this week. I've put my sim in an android phone and I will use that for the week to see if things get any better. If the carrier is at fault I should experience a similar delay on this phone as well. If not then I know it's something to do with my phone.

i have doubts about the carrier theory because 1) other apps that needed 4g worked fine, 2) the alarm is faulty too. so even if the carrier theory is proven right, there should be other problems too. so i will also trying resetting the entire phone.

 

[dantastic]

So far today my Android phone seems snappy but I also spoke with a colleague about this and he's having the same problem and he's on the same carrier. Much newer phone than I. Not sure which model exactly but it has a notch so reasonably recent.

 

[dantastic]

Update on this. The Android phone was a bit snappier for sure over the much older SE but notifications were still delayed.
I changed carrier to Vodafone (from Three Ireland) and immediately saw a huge improvement. Notifications appear to come through without any delay.
Yay!

 

[internetrando]

Update on this. The Android phone was a bit snappier for sure over the much older SE but notifications were still delayed.
I changed carrier to Vodafone (from Three Ireland) and immediately saw a huge improvement. Notifications appear to come through without any delay.
Yay!

Let us know if it continues to solve the issue. Otherwise, glad it seems to have helped.

I know that the carrier idea sounds weird, but I think that there’s something to it. I think that some carriers either limit bandwidth for certain applications or just don’t have the same network capacity as others do; similar to how some of our lovely ISPers in the US knock bandwidth and streaming capabilities for Netflix and Hulu.