Facebook Messenger Notification Won’t Go Away? Here is the Fix

Facebook Messenger is considered to be one of the most popular messaging apps. It helps people to connect and communicate very conveniently. Its app notifications give very helpful reminders to stay in touch with friends and family.

But, sometimes Facebook Messenger notification won’t go away even when there are no unseen messages. Whether it is the Messenger app or the browser, users on both platforms are facing this problem very often. 

When anyone sends you a message, Messenger will show the notification icon to inform you about a new message. You can easily click and read the new message. But, it becomes very annoying when you click on the Messenger icon and see that there are no unread messages within the app. Sometimes, this notification icon disturbs users by popping up every 15 minutes.

So, what actually causes this problem? What is the solution? There are many factors that may cause Facebook Messenger notification problem. Solutions for the same rely on the reasons causing it. Here is a complete guide on the Facebook Messenger notification problem. 

Factors causing the Facebook Messenger notification problem. 

• You actually have some unseen messages. 
• App notifications for Messenger are disabled. 
• There’s an issue in your device or its memory that causes a problem in managing notification channels. 
• A new update for the Messenger app is available on the Play Store or App Store. 
• Bugs or glitches within the app are causing the problem. 

To solve this issue, there’s no definite solution available. You need to try different solutions until you get your problem fixed. The solution depends on the reason causing the issue. Let us have a look at all the solutions available. 

Solution 1: Check for Unseen Messages

Sometimes, there may be actual unseen messages causing the problem. So, let us first check if there are any unread messages. 

• Step 1: Open a browser on your desktop and navigate to the Facebook site. If you are using a mobile device, switch to the desktop site. 
• Step 2: Log in to your Facebook id.
• Step 3: Navigate to your messages by clicking the Messenger icon.
• Step 4: Check for any unread messages. 
• Step 5: Click and open all the unread messages or mark them as read. 
• Step 6: Open the Messenger app and you will find no annoying unread message badge.

If your problem persists, you can try marking all your messages as read.

Solution 2: Marking all messages as read

• Step 1: Open Facebook in your browser and Log in to your account. (for mobile device switch to a desktop site) 
• Step 2: Click on the Messenger icon. 
• Step 3: Click on the “Mark All as Read” option. 

This will most likely solve your problem as you have marked all the messages as read. But, if your problem does not get solved, another solution is to check the Archived Message list.

Solution 3: Archived Messages

Some messages are automatically archived by Facebook and are not present in the main inbox. These archived messages may be the reason behind the unread message icon. 

• Step 1: Open the settings option in Messenger. 
• Step 2: Click on the “Archived Threads” option. 
• Step 3: Check for any unread messages within the list. 
• Step 4: Open the message or mark it as read.

Like archived messages, we also get messages from people that are not in our friend list. Facebook stores all these messages in a different section called “Message Requests”. 

Solution 4: Message Requests

Unseen messages in the Message Requests can also lead to the Messenger notification that won’t go away.

• Step 1: Open your Messenger app. 
• Step 2: Click on the options menu and select the “Message Requests” option. 
• Step 3: Check for unseen messages in both the “You may know” and “Spam” sections. 
• Step 4: Open all the message request chats or mark them as read. 

If your problem persists, you can try another solution that fixes the problem by messaging yourself. 

Solution 5: Messaging Yourself

• Step 1: Open your Messenger app and text someone. 
• Step 2: Wait for the reply or message yourself by using someone else’s phone. 
• Step 3: You will now have an unread message. Click and open it. 

This trick has worked for many users. However, if you still find an unread message icon, there may be some other reason causing the issue. The Messenger app notifications may also be the culprit. 

Solution 6: Messenger App Notifications

You can disable the notifications within the app to solve the issue. 

• Step 1: Open your Facebook Messenger app. 
• Step 2: Click on the options menu in the top left corner. (You may find your profile picture instead of the options menu in the older versions of the app.) 
• Step 3: Click on the settings option. 
• Step 4: Select the “Notifications & sounds” option. 
• Step 5: You will find an option for “Customize notifications” or “Manage notifications”. Click on it. 
• Step 6: Turn off the notifications by using the toggle button. 

Disabling app notifications may help you get rid of this problem. But, if these steps do not solve your issue, you can try the below method on your mobile device. 

Solution 7: Using the Clear Badge Option

This method is only applicable to mobile devices. 

Method for iOS users

• Step 1: Open Settings on your device. 
• Step 2: Click on Notifications. 
• Step 3: Find the Messenger app and turn off the Badge App Icon. 

Method for Android users

• Step 1: Tap and Hold the Messenger app icon. 
• Step 2: Select the Clear Badge option. 

Clear badge option is one of the quick and easiest ways to solve this problem. Even after trying all of these methods, you might end up having the same problem. This may be because of the bugs or glitches within the app itself. Newer versions of the app may have these problems fixed. 

Solution 8: Updating the Messenger App

New updates not only introduce new features but also fix problems within the app. Updating the app to its latest version may solve your problem. 

• Step 1: Update your Messenger app from the Play Store or App Store. 
• Step 2: Open the Messenger app and log out from your account. 
• Step 3: Log in again and check if the notification icon goes away. 

If your Messenger app was already updated to the latest version, reinstalling the app may do the work. 

Solution 9: Reinstalling the Messenger App

If all the above methods do not solve your problem, reinstalling the app may work for you. It is by far one of the most useful methods of solving this issue. 

• Step 1: Hold and Press the Messenger app icon and select Uninstall option. 
• Step 2: Open Play Store or App Store and install it again.

Reinstalling the app will most probably solve the issue as the entire app data and its settings are reset to default. Hence, any problems within the app or its settings may get automatically resolved. 

Conclusion

Facebook notifies its user about any new or unseen messages. However, sometimes it displays the Messenger notification icon without any unread messages. Following the above-mentioned steps will help you get rid of the Facebook Messenger notification problem. 

However, if you still have the notification without any unread messages, it may be due to some glitch or bug in Facebook. For now, this guide has included each and every solution for getting rid of the annoying Messenger notification icon, from checking for each and every unseen message to reinstalling the app.