How To Show Messages On Lock Screen Iphone 11

iOS allows you a good deal on control over how your notifications are displayed. We show you how to get the most from messages that appear when your iPhone is locked

There are plenty of notifications you can receive on an iPhone. Be it messages, emails, app updates, or a range of other communiques. The apps allowed to send you notifications can be controlled via Settings, and you can also view them even without needing to unlock your iPhone. Here's our quick guide on how to do the latter.

Viewing notifications on a locked iPhone

To be able to see notifications as they come in, you'll first need to ensure that a few settings are enabled. Go to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews, then from the three options select Always. This will mean that whatever mode your iPhone is in (locked or unlocked) you'll be presented with a short version of the alert.

How to view notifications on locked iPhone: Setting up notifications

Staying on the same page and scrolling down, you'll see various apps you have installed. Tapping on one will open up the Notification settings where you can decide whether they are enabled or not.

How to view notifications on locked iPhone: Setting Up App Notifications

Using notifications on the lock screen

Once you've received a notification while your iPhone is locked, it will be displayed on the lock screen. From here you have a few options. The first is simply to tap on the message then unlock your device and you'll be automatically taken to the relevant app.

Swiping left on the notification reveals three options: Manage, View, and Clear. Manage allows you to set the way notifications from that particular app behave. The options include Deliver Quietly, which stops the app from displaying alerts on the lock screen or making a noise when it arrives (perfect if you want to keep the notification private).

There is also the ability to Turn off the alerts completely or go to Settings for even more control.

View opens the notification up in a small window and gives you the ability to answer messages without going to the full app. While Clear will remove the item from the Notification centre and lock screen.

How to view notifications on locked iPhone: Using the View option

Viewing older notifications

Sometimes it's easy to forget where a notification came from, especially if you have multiple messaging apps. Therefore, you might find it useful to recall older alerts on the lock screen. To do this, simply swipe up and your older messages should appear, at least the ones you haven't accessed previously.

Viewing Group notifications

By default, your iPhone will group together all Notifications that arrive. If you prefer, these can be separated into groups per app instead.

To do this, go to Settings > Notifications than select an app that's installed on your iPhone and tap Notification Grouping. Select By App rather than Automatic or Off if you want all notifications to appear in chronological order and without groups.

Now, when you receive new alerts (if you've selected By App) you can tap one and your iPhone will display all the notifications from that particular app.

For more ways to tailor your iOS experience, read iPhone tips & tricks.

Author: Martyn Casserly, Contributor

Martyn Casserly

Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and ChromeOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews.