Alex Ruben
How To Remove the Bell Icon with a Line Through It in iPhone Text Messages
If you’ve ever noticed that little crossed out bell icon sitting next to some messages in your iPhone’s Messages app, you’re not alone. It’s basically telling you that notifications for those chats are turned off or muted. Not exactly ideal if you wanna stay in the loop, right? Sometimes, you just want that icon gone so you can get alert pings again without digging through endless settings. This guide is supposed to help you clear that icon and get your notifications back on track.
Most of the time, it’s just a simple toggle or a quick swipe that does the trick. But, sometimes, it’s a bit more stubborn and needs some digging into Settings. Either way, knowing how to fix this can save you from missing important messages — especially if a group chat or important convo gets muted accidentally.
How to Remove the Crossed Out Bell Icon from iPhone Messages
Make sure you’re looking at the right conversation with the icon
First, open up Messages and scan for the chats with that crossed out bell. It’s usually a small icon right next to the message thread — a bell with a line through it. If you see it there, it’s obviously muted. Sometimes, it’s helpful to see which conversations are muted to decide what needs fixing.
Method 1: Swipe to Unmute the Conversation
This one is pretty quick and often the first step. On some setups, this is enough to reactivate notifications. Here’s what to do:
- Find that muted chat in Messages.
- Swipe from right to left on that chat.
- Tap the blue bell icon that appears. It should turn into a regular bell — not crossed out.
This method is kind of weird, but on many newer iPhones, a simple swipe to unmute restores notifications immediately. Sometimes, the icon won’t disappear until you do this.
On some machines, though, this just doesn’t work the first time, or the icon flickers back the next day. Restarting the Messages app or your phone can sometimes clear it out too, because of course, Apple has to make it a tiny bit annoying.
Method 2: Tweak Notification Settings for the Chat
If the quick swipe doesn’t do the trick, or if the icon stays stubborn, the next step is more detailed. Go into the chat’s individual settings:
- Open the conversation with the crossed out bell icon.
- Tap the contact’s name or group title at the top of the screen — that’s the Contact Info section.
- Scroll down to find Mute or Notifications options. If it’s toggled on, switch it off — usually a toggle button.
Sometimes, this control is set to mute notifications without an obvious icon change—so checking here can fix lingering issues. Also, double-check if it’s set to Hide Alerts; turning that off should re-enable notifications and remove the icon.
This way, you get a bit more control, especially with group messages or chats that have custom settings. Sometimes, muting from iMessage settings takes precedence over swipe controls.
Checking iPhone Notification Settings Globally
In case those individual settings are fine but notifications are still silent, it’s worth checking the general notification setup:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Notifications.
- Find and tap Messages.
- Make sure Allow Notifications is toggled on. Also, verify that alerts are enabled in Lock Screen, Notification Center, Banners.
- Check that the Sound toggle is on — sometimes, notifications may appear silently with no sound, which is kinda confusing.
If a setting here isn’t right, notifications might be suppressed, and the icon could stick around even if your chat isn’t muted.
Quick tricks if nothing else works
Sometimes, these icons behave weirdly because of bugs or glitches. Try these quick fixes:
- Close and reopen the Messages app.
- Restart your iPhone — it’s a classic, but often it clears minor bugs.
- Update iOS if possible — bugs and glitches tend to get fixed in newer versions.
If you’re really stuck, toggling Do Not Disturb or Focus modes off and on might also help reset alert states.
Summary
- Check for the crossed out bell icon directly in Messages.
- Swipe from right to left on the chat and tap the bell to unmute.
- Visit Settings > Notifications > Messages to make sure notifications are enabled system-wide.
- Inspect individual conversation settings for muted alerts and disable them if needed.
- Restart and update your device if the icon still hangs around.
Wrap-up
Clearing out that crossed out bell isn’t always straightforward, but generally, toggling the mute settings either on the chat or in the main notification menu will fix it. On some setups, you might need to restart the phone or check for software updates because, let’s face it, Apple’s iOS isn’t exactly perfect at all times. Still, once everything’s set right, those notifications should come back, and no more mysterious icons blocking your alerts. Fingers crossed this helps someone save a few minutes — or hours — of frustration.