Telegram Notification Basics: Sound, Vibration and Previews

Three settings to decide first

Telegram's notification screen has a lot of switches, but only three matter on day one. Set these and leave the rest at their defaults until something actually bothers you.

Setting	What it decides	Change it when
Sound	The alert tone	Telegram sounds like another app, or you want it silent
Vibrate	Whether and how the phone vibrates	You spend a lot of time in meetings or classes
Message previews	Whether the text of a message shows in the notification and on the lock screen	Other people often see your screen

Each of these is set separately for private chats, groups and channels. Channels post a lot and rarely need an instant reaction, so many people switch their notifications off from the start and read them when they have time.

Where to change notifications

On Android the screen opens with a switch for each kind of chat. The switch turns that kind on or off; tapping the name opens its details.

The details for one kind of chat

Tap Private Chats and Android shows the master switch, Show Message Previews and Sound. Vibration and the rest are folded under More Options; open it to see them all.

• Show Message Previews: switched off, the notification still arrives, but without the message text. This is the setting that protects you from people reading your lock screen.
• Sound: pick a tone, or none to get silent notifications.
• Vibrate: off, default, short, long, or only when the phone is on silent.
• Popup Notification and Priority: how loudly Android presents the alert. Leave them unless notifications arrive late or not at all.
• Add Exception: a different rule for one chat, such as sound on for family while other private chats stay quiet.

On a computer, the same screen sets desktop notifications, whether to play a sound, the volume, and Show message preview. If you use several accounts in Telegram Desktop, the All accounts switch decides whether you hear from all of them or only from the one you are looking at.

Quieting a single chat

When one noisy group is the problem, do not change the global settings; mute that chat. Open it, tap the menu at the top right and choose Mute.

Option	What happens	Good for
Disable sound	Notifications still appear, silently	A chat you want to see but not hear
Mute for...	No notifications for the time you choose, then back on by itself	A busy evening, a trip, a group in a different time zone
Customize	Its own sound, vibration and preview settings	The one chat that should always get through
Mute Forever	No notifications until you unmute it	Channels and large groups you read on your own schedule

A muted chat still collects its messages, and its unread count turns grey in the chat list. You can also mute from the list: press and hold a chat and choose mute from the bar at the top. For a list that is getting out of hand, taming a cluttered chat list covers archiving and folders as well.

When notifications do not arrive at all

If everything is switched on in Telegram and nothing arrives, the phone is usually the one holding them back. Check, in this order:

1. The phone's own notification settings for Telegram (on Android: Settings › Apps › Telegram › Notifications).
2. Battery saving or battery optimisation for Telegram, which can stop it working in the background.
3. Do Not Disturb or a focus mode on the phone.
4. Whether the chat itself is muted.

Next step: changing Telegram's theme and text size.