A bell with a line through it next to a text conversation on your iPhone means that conversation is muted. Hide Alerts is turned on for it, so new messages still arrive but they do not play a sound or show a notification. To fix it, open Messages, swipe left on the conversation, and tap the bell button. Older versions of iOS showed a crescent moon in the same spot for the same setting.
These steps follow Apple’s current iPhone User Guide for iOS 27. Other recent iOS versions use the same Hide Alerts setting, although buttons can look slightly different. You do not need any special settings or an internet connection to change this, and nothing is deleted when you mute or unmute a conversation.
What the bell and the moon mean
The two icons are easy to confuse because both are about silenced alerts. The difference is how much of your iPhone they affect.
- Bell with a slash next to one conversation: that single conversation is muted with Hide Alerts. Every other conversation still alerts you normally.
- Crescent moon next to one conversation (older iOS): the same thing as the crossed-out bell. Apple changed the icon in later versions, so an iPhone that is up to date shows the bell instead.
- Crescent moon in the status bar or on the Lock Screen: Do Not Disturb is on. Do Not Disturb is one of the iPhone’s Focus modes, which are settings that silence notifications from everyone except the people and apps you allow.
- A note that someone “has notifications silenced” inside a conversation: this is about the other person, not you. Their iPhone is sharing its Focus status, and you cannot switch it off from your phone.
How to unmute a text conversation on iPhone
Apple explains both of these methods in its Stop, mute, and change message notifications guide. Use whichever is easier.
Option 1: Swipe the conversation
- Open the Messages app so you can see your list of conversations. If a conversation is open, go back to the list first.
- Find the conversation with the crossed-out bell (or moon) icon.
- Swipe left on that conversation. A short swipe is enough to reveal the buttons.
- Tap the bell button that appears on the right.
The icon next to the conversation disappears right away. On some iOS versions you may also be able to touch and hold the conversation and choose Show Alerts from the menu, but Apple’s guide lists only the swipe and the switch below.
Option 2: Use the conversation details
- Open Messages and tap the conversation.
- Tap the contact or group icon at the top of the screen. A details screen opens.
- Find Hide Alerts and turn the switch off. It is off when the switch is gray instead of green.
- Go back to the conversation list.
This method is helpful when you are not sure whether a conversation is muted, because the switch shows the setting in plain words.
How to confirm it worked
Look at the conversation list. A conversation that can alert you has no bell or moon beside it. The next message from that person or group should show a notification and play your text tone, as long as your iPhone is not silenced in some other way. If you change your mind, repeat either method to turn Hide Alerts back on.
How to mute a conversation on purpose
Follow the same steps and turn Hide Alerts on, or swipe left and tap the crossed-out bell. You keep receiving every message, and you can read them whenever you open the conversation. Our guide on how to mute a text conversation on iPhone walks through that process in more detail.
Know these points before you mute someone:
- Muting is not blocking. Messages are still delivered to your iPhone.
- Apple’s guide includes a note that senders receive a note indicating that you have notifications silenced, so do not assume muting is invisible to the other person.
- The setting stays on until you turn it off, so a forgotten mute is a common reason for this icon.
- In a group chat, Apple says a person who is mentioned by name may still be notified even with the conversation muted, depending on their settings.
If you want to stop the messages completely, muting is the wrong tool. Apple documents how to block a specific person or number and how to leave a group conversation. Be careful with blocking: Apple notes that a contact blocked in Messages is also blocked in Phone, FaceTime, Mail, and other apps. Leaving a group is only offered when the conversation has at least three other participants. Our guide to starting, naming, and leaving a group text on iPhone covers those options.
Still not getting text notifications?
If no conversation has the bell icon but messages are still silent, the cause is somewhere else. Check these in order:
- Focus or Do Not Disturb: A moon icon in the status bar or on the Lock Screen means Do Not Disturb is on. Open Control Center, tap Focus, then tap the Focus that is on to turn it off. Apple covers this in Turn on or schedule a Focus. See also where to find Do Not Disturb on iPhone.
- A scheduled Focus: If the moon keeps coming back, a Focus may be set to turn on at certain times. Go to Settings > Focus, tap the Focus, and review its schedule.
- Message notifications: Go to Settings > Notifications > Messages and make sure Allow Notifications is on.
- Text tone: On that same screen, tap Sounds. If it is set to None, messages arrive without a sound.
- Silent mode: Make sure the Ring/Silent switch or Action button is not set to silent, and that the volume is turned up. See how to silence or unsilence your iPhone.
- A blocked contact: If one person’s messages never arrive at all, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts and check whether they are on the list.
For a longer walkthrough of these checks, see how to fix notifications silenced on iPhone.
Want extra reminders for texts you have not read? Here is how to get repeat text message alerts on iPhone.
If the alerts you want to quiet are coming from your iPad rather than your iPhone, see how to stop text messages from going to your iPad.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the bell appear when I did not mute anyone?
A conversation is only muted when Hide Alerts is turned on for it, so it was switched on at some point. The bell button sits in the swipe menu next to the delete button, so it is easy to tap by accident. Someone else who used your phone could also have turned it on. Either way, unmuting takes a few seconds and nothing is lost.
Does the bell mean the other person muted me?
No. The crossed-out bell in your conversation list shows a setting on your own iPhone. It tells you nothing about how the other person has set up their phone.
Did I miss messages while the conversation was muted?
No. Apple states that you stop getting notifications for a muted conversation while you continue to receive its messages. Open the conversation to read anything that came in.
Why do I see a moon instead of a bell?
If the moon is next to a conversation in the Messages list, your iPhone is likely running an older version of iOS that used the moon for muted conversations. Unmute it with the same steps. If the moon is at the top of the screen, it is the Do Not Disturb icon, which Apple lists in its status icons guide.
Can one person get through while Do Not Disturb is on?
Yes. In a Focus you can choose people whose notifications are allowed. Apple also documents an Emergency Bypass option under a contact’s Text Tone setting, which lets that contact’s messages override a Focus. See how to set a text tone and Emergency Bypass for a contact.
Next step
Scroll through your conversation list once and look for other crossed-out bells. Unmute the ones you still want to hear from, and leave the rest muted.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.