Push Notifications & Counters

Notification Types

The app sends notifications in the following cases:

• a new message in chats, channels, or from bots;
• a message was edited or deleted by another participant;
• an incoming call;
• a missed call;
• an event in a Smart App.

Unread Event Counter

If an event has not been viewed, a numeric badge (counter) is displayed on the app icon in the operating system.

Notification Security

Push notifications do not contain message text. When a notification is received, the app establishes a secure connection with the server, downloads the message content, decrypts it, and only then displays it to the user.

When Notifications Are Not Received

Notifications are not delivered if you are active in any of the app sessions. For example, if you are reading messages in the web version on a computer, the mobile device will not receive notifications.

Enabling and Disabling Notifications for Chats, Tags, or the App

To manage notifications:

• in chats and channels — open the context menu or the chat/channel properties;
• in tagged chats (web/desktop) — go to Settings → Tags;
• for the entire app — open Settings in the mobile app (Android) or on PC. For iOS and Android, notifications can also be configured via the OS system settings, and for the web version — via the site settings in a browser.

Checking Notifications in the Admin Panel

Corporate server administrators can check a user's notification status via the admin panel:

1. Find the user in the Users section.
2. Open Activations and select the session on the desired device. In the Device Meta section, check the parameters:
   • permissions.notifications — notification status in the browser (web) or mobile OS (iOS/Android);
   • pushes — Push notification status in the desktop version or mobile app (except iOS, where management is handled by the OS).
3. The value false means notifications are disabled, true — enabled.

The following servers are responsible for delivering notifications:

• Regional Transport Server (RTS), if users are registered on it or on the Corporate Server (CTS).
• Enterprise Transport Server (ETS), if users are registered in a special ETS client application.
  
  

  For notifications to work in a special branded ETS client application on Huawei and Honor devices, the administrator must:

  • Configure the HMS push service in the App Gallery developer console
  • Configure the HMS push service on ETS

❓Related Topics:
• Notifications are not working on multiple devices en masse

Notification Settings in the Mobile App

To manage notifications, go to Settings > Notification settings. Here you can:

• enable or disable sounds when receiving/sending messages;
• hide or display notification text using the Show message preview setting.

Configuring Notifications for a Chat or Channel in the App

To configure notifications for a specific chat or channel:

• long-press the chat or channel, then select Notifications;
• or open the chat/channel properties and toggle the Notifications switch.

Configuring App Notifications in Android OS

For notifications to work correctly, enable them in system settings:

• Settings > Notifications > select the app > ensure notifications are allowed.

For notifications to work on Bluetooth devices (Android 12+), grant the app the Nearby devices permission.

On Android 8 and above, notification channels are available. When the app is first installed, channel settings are configured automatically:

• notifications are enabled in the eXpress and Voex channels;
• sound is disabled in the Sync, Media, and Other channels — otherwise, duplicate notifications may occur (e.g., when playing voice messages).

Example of correct channel configuration on Samsung devices

1. Settings > Lock screen > Notifications > Enabled, and also disable Hide content.
2. Settings > Apps > select the app > Notifications > first channel:
   • Show notifications — enabled;
   • Alert — enabled;
   • Show as pop-up — disabled;
   • Badges — enabled.
3. Second channel:
   • Show notifications — enabled;
   • Alert — enabled;
   • Show as pop-up — enabled;
   • Badges — enabled.
4. Voex channel:
   • Show notifications — enabled;
   • Alert — enabled;
   • Show as pop-up — enabled;
   • Badges — disabled.

❓ Related questions:
• Notifications on Android aren't working despite being configured

Configuring App Notification Sounds in Android OS

Notification sounds can only be changed on Android 8 and above:

• Settings > Notifications > select the app > Notification channels > change the sound for the first two channels.
• On Samsung: Notifications > Advanced settings > enable Manage notification categories for apps.

Configuring App Icon Badges in Android OS

Managing app icon badges depends on the Android version and device manufacturer. Possible configuration paths:

• Settings > Notifications & status bar > App icons;
• Settings > Notifications > Notification badge on app icon;
• Settings > Notifications > App icon badges.

If the app is not in the list, try changing the badge mode from numbers to dots.

❓ Related Topics:
• The app icon shows an unread message badge even though all messages have been read

Note that notifications arrive without chat text if the chat was created while the app was closed or immediately after the mobile device was turned on.

Configuring Notifications in the Mobile App

To configure sounds for incoming and outgoing messages, go to Settings > Notification Settings in the mobile app.

Configuring Notifications for a Chat or Channel in the App

1. Press and hold the chat or channel, then select the notifications button.
2. Alternatively, open the chat/channel properties and toggle the Notifications switch.

Configuring App Notifications in iOS

1. Open Settings > Notifications > select the app.
2. Here, you can disable Show Previews to prevent message text from appearing in notifications.
3. Ensure at least one display method is selected (Lock Screen, Notification Center, or Banners). Otherwise, the sender will not receive delivery confirmation.

❓Related Topics:
• Notifications on iOS are not working despite being configured correctly
• Messages appear as undelivered even though the iOS recipient receives them
• All notifications on iOS arrive as “New message”

Configuring App Notification Sounds in iOS

1. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Default Alerts.
2. To disable sounds in Do Not Disturb mode, in the mode settings, select Silence > Always.

Configuring App Icon Badges in iOS

1. Open Settings > Notifications > select the app.
2. Enable the Badges option.

❓Related Topics:
• The app icon shows an unread message badge even though all messages are read

⚠️ Notifications in the Aurora app are only received when the app is active. This feature is currently being improved.

Configuring Notifications for Chats and Channels in the App

To enable notifications for a specific chat or channel:

1. Open the settings of the desired chat or channel.
2. Find the Notifications parameter.
3. Toggle the switch to the active position.

To receive the web app's notifications in your browser, check the following items.

Web App Notification Settings

To turn message sounds on or off within the app, go to Settings > Notifications.

Configuring Notifications for a Chat or Channel in the App

To enable notifications for a specific chat or channel:

• Right-click the chat or channel and click the notifications button.
• Or open the chat or channel properties and toggle Notifications.

Allow Notifications for the Web App in Your Browser

Grant the web app site permission to send notifications:

Browser	How to allow notifications
Apple Safari	Safari menu > Preferences > Websites > web app address > Notifications > Allow Safari menu > Preferences > Websites > Auto-Play > Allow All Auto-Play Also: Apple menu > System Preferences > Notifications > web app address > Show Notifications, and disable the Do Not Disturb feature there
Chromium and Google Chrome	Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings > Notifications
Microsoft Edge	Settings > Cookies and Site Permissions > Notifications
Mozilla Firefox	Settings > Privacy & Security > Permissions > Notifications
Opera	Settings > Site Settings > Notifications
Vivaldi	Settings > Privacy > Notifications
Yandex	Settings > Sites > Notifications > From Other Sites

❓Related Topics:
• The web app stops sending notifications after some time

Badges on the Progressive Web App Icon

If the web app is installed as a progressive web app (PWA), its icon displays an unread events counter.

Desktop App Notification Settings

Right-click the app icon in the notification area (system tray) and check the Notifications box. Alternatively, in the app, open Settings > Notifications and toggle Notifications on. Here, you can also configure in-app message sounds.

Configuring Notifications for a Chat or Channel in the App

To enable notifications for a specific chat or channel:

• Right-click the chat or channel and click the notifications button.
• Or open the chat or channel properties and toggle Notifications.

Allow Notifications for the Desktop App in the OS

Grant the desktop app permission to send notifications in the operating system settings:

OS	How to allow notifications
macOS	Apple > System Preferences > Notifications > find the app > Allow Notifications. Also disable Do Not Disturb if needed.
Linux	Ubuntu: Applications > Settings > Notifications. Astra Linux: System Settings > Personalization > Notifications > Application Settings > find the app > Enable Notifications.
Windows (10, 11)	Settings > System > Notifications & actions (Notifications) > find the app > On. To hide notification content on the lock screen: Settings > System > Notifications & actions > select the app > enable Hide notification content on the lock screen.

❓Related Topics:
• No app notifications in Manjaro Linux
• No app notifications in Windows 10/11 despite correct settings

Configuring Desktop App Icon Badges

OS	How to allow notifications
macOS	Apple > System Preferences > Notifications > find the app > Allow Notifications > enable Badge application icon.
Windows (10, 11)	Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Show badges on taskbar buttons. Note: badges are not displayed on small taskbar buttons.

❓Related Topics:
• Unread message badge on the app icon despite all messages being read

Additional Desktop App Icon Indicators

OS	Additional desktop app icon indicators
macOS	When a new message arrives, the app icon in the Dock bounces.
Windows (10, 11)	When a new message arrives, the app button on the taskbar flashes.

To disable additional animations, in the desktop app select Settings (avatar button) > Notifications and turn the Highlight taskbar button switch off (app version 3.37 and above).

If notifications and labels are configured according to the instructions above but issues still persist.

Notifications Massively Not Working on Multiple Devices

If a mass notification issue is observed for you and your colleagues:

• When using the eXpress app, contact eXpress support to check RTS.
• When using a branded ETS client app, contact your organization's support team to check ETS.

For Administrators: Diagnosing Mass Notification Failures on ETS

Possible causes of mass notification failures when using a branded ETS client app can be found in the logs of the ets_push_service on ETS.

The push service certificate must not be expired or contain errors.

Also, ensure that ETS can correctly transmit data to push services like Google, Huawei, APNS, etc. For example, if push notifications for calls on iOS have stopped being sent:

• Check the push_service container logs. If they contain the following: 2022-02-18T07:37:53.487661695Z 2022-02-18 07:37:53.486 [error] skip push notification because adapter is not connected to APNS 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486935118Z 2022-02-18 07:37:58.485 [warn] Push timeout! (ios voex)2022-02-18T07:37:58.486957488Z Token information: 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486972168Z token id: 280338 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486976091Z phone: 79067247309 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486979331Z user_huid: "2a768e92-a182-5efd-93c9-0a578b815a0e" 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486982654Z udid: "d3e604e3-40a3-4aea-9c36-272d49eb6e34" 2022-02-18T07:37:58.486985939Z platform: "ios_voex" — this means there is no connection to APNS. The entry skip push notification because adapter is not connected to APNS indicates that in the state of the APNS adapter sending the push, conn == nil.
• Check the validity of certificates in the admin panel (the Push Service section on ETS). If the certificates have expired, reissue and upload them.
• Check the connection to APNS: nc -v api.push.Apple.com 443. If there is no connection, check the network. If everything is fine, restart push_service on the active node of the ETS backend cluster.
• Also, ensure that the kafka and zookeeper services are running.

For assistance, contact eXpress support.

Notifications on Android Are Not Working Despite Proper Configuration

For notifications to work, ensure that no other session is open simultaneously. For example, if you are currently reading messages in the web app on a computer, notifications will not be duplicated to the mobile device.

Check the push service parameters in the engineering menu of the Android app and perform diagnostics if necessary: details.

Install the app from the device manufacturer's store! If the device lacks Google services, install the mobile app from the "native" app store; otherwise, notifications will not work. For Huawei and Honor devices, the app must be installed from Huawei App Gallery. Notification delivery via the RuStore service is supported.

If the app is installed on a Huawei device via App Gallery and notifications arrive with significant delays, try clearing the cached data of the "Push Message Service": Settings > Apps & Services > Apps > four-dot menu in the top-right corner > Show system processes > find Push Message Service > Storage > Clear.

Some device manufacturers add non-standard notification and power-saving settings. These must also be checked if notifications do not work in the background. If the app process was manually terminated, notifications will not arrive at all. On some devices, background app activity may be terminated due to manufacturer settings, preventing notifications and incoming calls. To avoid this:

• Configure standard Android battery optimization functions for the app, add it to the exceptions for these functions.
• Pin the app in the recent list to prevent it from being unloaded from memory after minimizing.
• Exclude the app from third-party optimizations or disable optimizations altogether.
• Disable restrictions in manufacturer optimization apps or disable/uninstall these optimization apps.
• Disable background data saving or add the app to exceptions—allow background data access.

If all the above Android settings are enabled but notifications still do not arrive, try disabling and re-enabling notifications in the OS settings. If this does not help, reinstall the app (this may resolve Push notification delivery issues if, for example, the app was migrated from an old phone to a new one).

Notifications on iOS Are Not Working Despite Proper Configuration

For notifications to work, ensure that no other session is open simultaneously. For example, if you are currently reading messages in the web app on a computer, notifications will not be duplicated to the mobile device.

If the engineering menu of the iOS app lacks apnsPushToken and/or voexPushToken, try restarting the app.

Check if the "Focus" mode is enabled on the device. Add the app to the allowed notifications list in Focus: Settings > Focus > select the active mode > add the app to the Allowed Notifications list.

Try fully restarting the app by swiping it away from the app list, then reopening it.

If notifications do not work in all apps on the device, there is an APNS issue on the device. In this case, contact Apple support.

All Notifications on iOS Arrive as "New Message"

Restart the device. After this, notifications should arrive with message text.

Unread Message Badge on App Icon Despite All Messages Being Read

Check that no unread chats or discussions remain in the app. Restart or, as a last resort, reinstall the app. If these measures do not help, contact your organization's support team to reset the incorrect counter.

For Administrators: How to Reset the App Icon Counter in the CTS Console

• Log in to the messaging console on the corporate server (CTS/ECTS): dpl --dc exec messaging ./bin/messaging remote_console or: docker exec -it {messaging_container} ./bin/messaging remote_console
• Paste the code below and press Enter: defmodule ClearCounters do @connection :message_counters_api def execute(huid) do with {:ok, hset} <- Redix.command(:message_counters_api, ["HGETALL", huid]) do counters = Enum.chunk_every(hset, 2) for [key, _] <- counters do Redix.command(:message_counters_api, ["HSET", huid, key, 0]) end end end end
• Finally, execute the command: ClearCounters.execute("user_huid") Then ask the user to restart the app.

Web App Stops Sending Notifications After Some Time

In some browsers, you can prevent the inactive tab with the web app from "sleeping" after some time, so notifications continue to arrive. In some browsers, this can only be disabled for all tabs at once—avoid doing this if the computer has limited RAM.

Browser	How to Disable Automatic Tab Unloading
Chromium and Google Chrome	Settings > Performance > Memory Saver > add the web app URL to the Sites that are always active list
Microsoft Edge	Settings > System and Performance > Optimize Performance > add the web app URL to the Never put these sites to sleep list
Opera	Settings > Features > User Interface > uncheck Put inactive tabs to sleep to save memory
Yandex	Settings > System > Performance > uncheck Unload unused tabs from memory

No App Notifications in Manjaro Linux

If the desktop app installed in Manjaro Linux does not display notifications for new messages and calls, try installing the notification-daemon package and configuring the notification service: cat /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.Notifications.service [D-BUS Service] Name=org.freedesktop.Notifications Exec=/usr/lib/notification-daemon-1.0/notification-daemon

No App Notifications for Windows 10/11 Despite Proper Configuration

Check if Windows "Focus Assist" is enabled: Settings > System > Focus Assist > Off (also disable automatic rules) or configure it so that notifications from the desktop app still arrive:

• Windows 10: Settings app > System > Focus Assist > Priority Only > Customize Priority List > Apps > click Add an App and select the desktop app.
• Windows 11: Settings app > System > Notifications > Set Priority Notifications > click Add Apps and select the desktop app.

Try finding the app in the "Notifications & Actions" list ("Notifications" on Windows 11) in Windows settings. In rare cases, the desktop app may be missing. For this scenario, there is a PowerShell script that restores the app to the Windows notifications database, allowing notifications to be enabled. The script requires an internet connection as it downloads an SQL module.

Instructions:

1. Download the script express.desktop_Notifications.ps1.
2. If using a branded ETS app, open the script in a text editor and replace express with your app's name.
3. Run Command Prompt as administrator and execute: powershell Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
4. In File Explorer, right-click the script file and select Run with PowerShell.
5. In Command Prompt, execute: powershell Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted
After this, the app should appear in the list.