I am using Google Messages on a Samsung A54 equipped with the latest versions of Android (v.14) and Google Messages. I've been missing a lot of text messages because of no Sound Notifications. After a lot of frustrating troubleshooting, up to and including a full "factory reset," I have come to realize that the problem is that Google Messages only provides a Sound Notification on the first message in a conversation. On subsequent messages, you get a near-silent sound you would only hear in a very quiet room with your phone a few inches from your ear.
I think this accounts for the huge number of complaints from users who say they are missing texts because they aren't getting Sound Notifications from Google Messages. It's pretty difficult for the average person to figure out what the problem is. Google apparently thinks this is a feature, not a bug, because this avoids frequent Sound Notifications during a rapid-fire text conversation. But if you haven't exited the conversation and you aren't looking at your screen, or if your screen goes dark after 30 seconds of "no-touch" (the default), you won't get a Sound Notification to let you know that the other party has texted you back. I missed many critical text messages from work because of this.
Man, it took me hours and hours to figure this out. I think this accounts for most of the complaints about not getting Sound Notifications in Google Messages. Most people have no idea that this is the problem, because users don't know how to describe it. And Google doesn't provide a user manual, so users don't know this is the way the software is supposed to operate.
OK, here's my question. Google AI says I can solve this problem by setting Google Messages to "alert for every message." But this option is not present where it is supposed to be. Where do I find this setting? I do not find it under Google Messages/Profile Settings/Notifications/Alert for New Messages. I don't find it ANYWHERE in Settings. Where do I find this option? Or is this an option that doesn't exist? -- Erik Smith/ Olympia, WA
Here is what Google AI has to say about it:
To receive sound notifications for every message in a Google Messages conversation, ensure your notification settings are set to "Alert for every message" within the app settings; you can usually find this option under "Notifications" when accessing your profile settings within the Google Messages app.
How to access and change notification settings:
Open Google Messages:Launch the app on your phone.
Access profile settings:Tap your profile picture or icon in the top right corner.
Go to Notifications:Select "Notifications" from the settings menu.
Choose notification type:Under "Alert for new messages," select "Alert for every message".
Key points to remember:
Check your phone settings too:
Sometimes, your phone's overall notification settings may override the app settings, so ensure your phone is set to allow notifications for Google Messages.
Consider "Priority Conversations":
If you want specific conversations to always get sound notifications, you can set them as "Priority Conversations" within the Google Messages app, which may provide additional notification options.
Do you have Manage Notification categories turned on in Notification settings. If you don't, go to settings, notifications advanced settings, turn on Manage notification categories.
Then long press on Google Messages, there will be the info icon, there you will find all the settings for notification.
Yes, Manage Notification Categories for Each App is toggled on in Settings/Notification.
Then I opened Google Messages, pressed the "profile button," clicked on Messages settings/Notifications and found the list of notifications settings.
I do not see a header for "Alert for new messages" or an option for "Alert for every message."
I also "long-pressed" on Notification categories and got a Notification categories submenu. One of the options there was "incoming messages." I did a "long press" on that and got to an Incoming Messages submenu. One of the options on that menu is "minimize notifications," but that is turned off, so that likely has nothing to do with this issue.
There are a number of ways to get to this Notifications page and I don't think it matters how I get to it. But I also went the route you described, by going to Settings/Apps/[Google] Messages (long press)/ Notifications ... and got to the same page, no difference.
So nope, no solution. But thanks. So far it is looking to me like there is no way to set an "Alert for every message."
Under general settings in Google messages, do you see sounds for incoming and outgoing messages? Make sure that radio button is on. Check your app notification settings and ensure you have Google messages on. That's strange, though.
I'm actually not getting notifications here, so I keep having to check manually. Maybe it's the update?
I don't know what you are talking about. I get a sound alert for every single text that comes in, whether it's a new conversation or ongoing. I've been using Google Messages since it's inception -- 20+ years.
