Whisker app: Push notifications not working

If you are not receiving push notifications from the Whisker app, follow this guide to check your phone settings, your app settings, and your account connection.

Common symptoms:

Push notifications that stopped arriving suddenly
Notifications missing for specific event types
Notifications arriving for one household member but not another
Notifications appearing in the app, but not in your phone's notification center
Notifications that stopped after an app update, phone upgrade, or account change

Note: We recommend using the latest version of the Whisker app for the best experience.

How Whisker app notifications work

Push notifications depend on two separate settings working together:

Your phone must allow notifications from the Whisker app.
The notification types you want must be turned on inside the app.

Important: Push notifications are not sent while you are actively using the Whisker app on your phone. Notifications are sent only when the app is running in the background or closed.

Check your phone's notification settings

Your phone must allow notifications from the Whisker app before any notifications can arrive.

iPhone

Open Settings.
Tap Notifications.
Select Whisker.
Turn on Allow Notifications.
- Note: Alert style should be set to Banners or Alerts (not Off)
Confirm the notification style is not set to Off.

Android

Open Settings.
Tap Apps.
Select Whisker.
Tap Notifications.
Confirm notifications are enabled.

Note: Some Android manufacturers include battery optimization settings that can limit background notifications. If notifications are enabled but still not arriving, check your battery or background usage settings and confirm Whisker is not restricted.

Successful: Notifications are allowed for the Whisker app and begin arriving. You can stop here.

Unsuccessful: Notifications are allowed but still are not arriving. Continue to Check notification settings in the Whisker app.

Check notification settings in the Whisker app

The Whisker app controls which notification types are sent to your phone.

Open the Whisker app.
Tap Account.
Tap Notifications.
Select the Whisker device that you want to configure notifications for.
Turn on the notification types you want to receive.

Successful: Your preferred notification types are on and notifications begin arriving. You can stop here.

Unsuccessful: Your notification types are already on and notifications are still not arriving. Continue to Confirm your Whisker device is online and reporting activity.

Confirm your Whisker device is online and reporting activity

Push notifications are generated from the activity your device reports to the Whisker app. If your device is not online, no notifications will be sent.

Open the Whisker app.
Select your device and confirm that the device card says Ready.
Tap History.
Scroll to Device Activity to confirm that a recent device event has been recorded, such as a clean cycle or a meal being dispensed.

Successful: Recent activity appears in Device Activity. Continue to Test notifications from the Whisker app.

Unsuccessful: Recent activity is missing or outdated. Make sure your device is connected before continuing with notification troubleshooting.

Test notifications from the Whisker app

Let's make sure your notifications are working. You can send a command to your device and check for a notification right away instead of waiting for the next device event.

Before you start:
Close the Whisker app after sending the command. Push notifications won’t come through while the app is being used.
Make sure notifications for the command you’re testing are turned on. See Check notification settings in the Whisker app for help.

Open the Whisker app.
Select your device.
Tap Controls.
Select a command for your device:
- Litter-Robot: Manual Cycle
- Feeder-Robot: Give a Snack
Close the Whisker app.
Wait for the command to complete.

Successful: A push notification for the command appears on your phone. Your notifications are working and you can stop here.

Unsuccessful: The command completes and appears in your device history, but no push notification arrives on your phone. Continue to Reinstall the Whisker app.

Reinstall the Whisker app

Reinstalling establishes a new notification connection between your phone and Whisker services.

Note: Your account, devices, and notification preferences are stored with your Whisker account and remain available after you sign back in. You will need your sign-in credentials.

Delete the Whisker app from your phone.
Reinstall the app from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Sign in to your account.
Allow notification permissions when prompted.

Successful: Notifications begin arriving after reinstalling. You can stop here.

Unsuccessful: Notifications are still not arriving. Continue to Need more help?

Troubleshoot notifications for multiple household members

Notification settings in the Whisker app are tied to the account, not individual people. That means everyone signed in to the same account shares the same notification preferences. If one person changes a setting, it changes for everyone.

On the phone that is not receiving notifications, confirm notifications are allowed for the Whisker app. See Check your phone's notification settings.
Confirm that phone is signed in to the same Whisker account.
Sign out and back in on the affected phone.

Note: If a notification type is turned off in the Whisker app, it is off for everyone signed in to the account.

Successful: All household members receive notifications based on the account's notification preferences. You can stop here.

Unsuccessful: One or more household members are still not receiving notifications. Continue to Need more help?

Need more help?

If push notifications are still not arriving after you have confirmed your phone settings, confirmed your app notification settings, verified device activity, tested a command from the app, updated the app, and reinstalled it, please contact Whisker Customer Experience for assistance.

Please include: