Having your contacts receive a notification on their birthday can be a thoughtful way to let them know you are thinking of them on their special day. Most phones and social media platforms like Facebook include options to set up birthday notifications and reminders. Here are some quick answers on how to turn on birthday notifications on an iPhone, Android, and Facebook.
On iPhone
Enabling birthday notifications on an iPhone is simple if you use the Contacts app and have birthdays added for your contacts. Here are the steps:
- Open the Contacts app
- Tap on a contact’s name to open their contact card
- Scroll down and tap “Add Birthday” if needed to add their birthday
- Tap “Done” to save the birthday
- Go to Settings > Calendar > Accounts
- Under your iCloud account, tap on “Birthdays” to enable the birthday calendar
Once you have birthdays entered for contacts and have enabled birthday notifications, you will see a notification on their birthday. You can also see an indicator in the Contacts app on their birthday.
On Android
The process is very similar on Android devices to enable birthday notifications from your contacts:
- Open the Contacts app
- Tap the contact and edit their info
- Enter their birthday details if not already added
- Tap “Done” to save
- Open the Calendar app
- Tap the 3-line menu button
- Tap Settings > Events from Contacts
- Turn on “Birthdays” and “Notifications”
After following these steps, you will start receiving notifications on your Android device on each contact’s birthday if you have their birthday entered.
On Facebook
Facebook also lets you get notifications for friends’ birthdays. Here is how to turn those on:
- Go to your Facebook News Feed
- Click the arrow in the top right > Settings & Privacy > Settings
- Click “Notifications” on the left side
- Under the “Birthdays” section, turn on notifications
Once you have enabled birthday notifications, Facebook will add your friends’ birthdays to your notifications. You can also see upcoming birthdays on the Facebook sidebar or News Feed.
Conclusion
Getting birthday reminders can be a nice way to reach out to friends and family on their special day. By enabling birthday notifications on your iPhone, Android, and Facebook, you’ll never miss sending a quick birthday message again. Just make sure to have birthdays entered correctly for each contact you want to receive notifications for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why am I not getting birthday notifications on my iPhone?
If you are not getting birthday notifications on your iPhone, here are some things to check:
- Make sure you have added birthdays for your contacts in the Contacts app
- Check that the Birthdays calendar is enabled in your iCloud account settings in Settings > Calendar > Accounts
- Verify notifications are turned on for the Birthdays calendar by going to Settings > Notifications > Calendar > Birthdays
- Check your notification settings to confirm banners are enabled
How do I add birthdays to my Android contacts?
To add birthdays to contacts on Android:
- Open the Contacts app
- Tap the contact
- Tap Edit contact at the top
- Tap Add another field > Birthday
- Enter the contact’s birthday
- Tap DONE at the top
Why am I not getting Facebook birthday notifications?
If Facebook birthday notifications are not showing up, try these troubleshooting tips:
- Make sure birthday notifications are enabled in Settings & Privacy > Settings > Notifications
- Check that the birthday entered on the friend’s profile is correct
- Confirm that notifications are turned on for Facebook in your device settings
- Try reloading the Facebook app and website to refresh the settings
- Make sure your Facebook app and OS are updated to the latest versions
How to Customize Birthday Notifications
While having the default birthday notifications turned on can be useful, you may want to customize them to your liking. Here are some options for customizing birthday alerts:
Customize Notification Sounds
You can change the sound that plays when you receive a birthday notification:
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Sounds to change notification sounds
- On Android, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications > Advanced > Ringtone
- On Facebook, click the arrow > Settings & privacy > Settings > Notifications > Sounds to change the tone
Create Custom Birthday Calendars
Both iPhone and Android let you create separate birthday calendars for different groups of contacts:
- Make a new contacts group for “Close Friends” or “Family”
- Go to Calendar settings and add their birthdays to a new calendar
- Customize notifications for each calendar
Prioritize Certain Birthdays
You can star or favorite certain contacts so their birthdays stand out:
- On iPhone Contacts, swipe left on a contact and tap “Add to Favorites”
- On Android Contacts, tap the star icon at the top to favorite a contact
- Their birthdays will then appear at the top of notifications
Use Facebook Lists
Organize your Facebook friends into lists like Close Friends or Family. You can then prioritize birthdays from certain lists.
Third-Party Calendar Apps
If you want even more customization for contact birthdays, third-party calendar apps provide more options:
Calendar Apps for iPhone
| App | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Fantastical | Color code events, customize alerts by calendar |
| Calendars 5 | Advanced calendar views, themes and charts |
| Timepage | Beautiful visuals and typography |
Calendar Apps for Android
| App | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Business Calendar 2 | Integrations and productivity features for work |
| aCalendar | Customize views and event colors |
| Today Calendar | Easy gestures and navigation |
Conclusion
With the ability to fully customize your calendar and the notifications you receive, you can stay on top of birthdays and other important events. Take advantage of calendar integrations, contact groups, and advanced settings in third-party apps to build the perfect notification system for you.
