Android: How to Turn On Squadd Notifications (Step-by-Step)

If your coach sent you a Squadd notification but you didn't see anything on your phone, this guide will get you sorted in under 5 minutes. It's written for Android phones — there's a separate guide for iPhone if you're on iOS.

Don't worry if some of the menu names look slightly different on your phone — Samsung, Google Pixel, OnePlus, Xiaomi and Motorola all word the menus slightly differently. The steps are the same shape.

Step 1 — Make sure you have the latest Squadd app

Open the Google Play Store on your phone, search Squadd, and tap Update if you see one. If the button says Open, you're already on the latest version.

This matters because we shipped a fix in May 2026 that gets push notifications working properly on Android. Older versions of Squadd can't show them.

Open the Squadd app from your home screen. If it asks you to sign in:

Sign in with the email address and password you used when you signed up.
If you signed up with an invite code from your coach, that was only for joining the team — your login is still the email + password you chose at signup.
Forgotten your password? Tap "Forgot password" on the sign-in screen and follow the email link.

Important: stay in the app for at least 10 seconds and navigate to at least one screen (e.g. tap the Fixtures tab). This gives Squadd time to register your phone for notifications.

Step 3 — Allow notifications when asked

On Android 13 and newer (most phones from 2023 onwards), the first time you open Squadd your phone asks:

"Allow Squadd to send you notifications?"

Tap Allow.

Don't remember seeing a prompt? That's normal — either you've already used Squadd before (so the prompt won't come up again), or your phone is on Android 12 or older (no prompt, notifications are on by default). Either way, skip to Step 4 to check the setting directly.

Tapped "Don't allow" earlier? Step 4 fixes it.

Step 4 — Turn notifications on in Android Settings

If you already missed the prompt, you'll need to enable notifications manually. Do this:

Open your phone's Settings app (the cog icon)
Tap Apps (on some phones: "Apps & notifications" or "Application Manager")
Find and tap Squadd in the list
Tap Notifications
Make sure Allow notifications is on (toggle should be green/blue)
Below that, you may see a list called notification categories — these are different types of Squadd notification (fixture reminders, training reminders, team chat, match-day pushes, etc.). Make sure they're all turned on, otherwise some types will stay blocked even though the main toggle is on.

Not sure what brand of phone you have? Open Settings → About phone — the model name is at the top. Then jump to the matching section below.

On a Samsung Galaxy phone

The path is: Settings → Apps → Squadd → Notifications → Allow notifications (on)

Samsung also has an extra setting that can block notifications even when the toggle is on. This menu is buried fairly deep — don't worry if you have to tap around a bit to find it.

Go to Settings → Battery and device care → Battery → Background usage limits → Sleeping apps
If Squadd is in this list, tap the minus (−) next to it to remove it
If Squadd isn't in the list, that's actually good news — you can skip this and move on. Samsung isn't sleeping the app for you.

This stops Samsung from "sleeping" Squadd in the background and blocking notifications.

On a Xiaomi / Redmi / Poco phone (MIUI)

Xiaomi phones are notorious for blocking notifications by default. Two extra steps:

Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Squadd → Autostart → On
Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Squadd → Battery saver → No restrictions

Without these two, Xiaomi kills background apps aggressively and notifications never arrive.

On a OnePlus phone (OxygenOS)

Settings → Apps → Squadd → Notifications → Allow notifications (on)
Settings → Battery → Battery optimisation → Squadd → Don't optimise

On a Google Pixel or stock Android phone

The shortest path:

Settings → Apps → Squadd → Notifications → Allow notifications (on)

Pixels follow Android's defaults — usually no extra battery tweaks needed.

Step 5 — Check Squadd's own notification settings

Once you've allowed notifications at the phone level, double-check inside the app:

Open Squadd
Tap Settings (cog icon, usually bottom-right)
Tap Notifications

The status card at the top should be green with a tick — "Notifications are on."

If it's red — "Notifications are off" — tap the button to open device settings again and re-enable them.

Step 6 — Make sure Do Not Disturb isn't blocking Squadd

If your phone is on Do Not Disturb mode (sometimes called Focus or Bedtime mode), notifications can still arrive but stay silent — so you wouldn't see or hear them.

Swipe down from the top of the screen and look for a "Do Not Disturb" icon (a crescent moon or "DND" badge). If it's on, you've got two options:

Better long-term fix: tap and hold the DND icon → Exceptions (or "Allowed apps") → add Squadd. This keeps DND on for everything else but lets Squadd notifications through.
Quick test: tap the icon to switch DND off entirely. Re-test, then turn DND back on if you usually use it.

Step 7 — Test it

Ask your coach to send you a test notification. They've got two easy ways to do this — either works:

Option A (best): Coach opens Squad → long-presses your child's name → Player ratings → Send test notification. You should get a notification within a few seconds saying "🔔 Test notification — if you see this, Squadd notifications are working."

Option B: Coach sends a team chat message. New chat messages fire push notifications to everyone in the team, so this is a quick alternative if Option A isn't available.

Option C (if you've not yet responded to a fixture): coach opens any fixture you haven't replied to and taps Nudge unresponded. You'll get the availability reminder push. (This only works if you haven't already answered the fixture.)

If the test arrives, you're sorted. If it doesn't, move to the troubleshooting section below.

Still not working? Try this

Restart the Squadd app

Swipe Squadd out of your recent apps (force close), then open it again from your home screen. This forces it to re-register with notification services. Wait 30 seconds.

Sign out and back in

Open Squadd → Settings → Sign out
Sign back in with your email and password
Allow notifications if prompted

Reinstall as a last resort

If nothing else works:

Press and hold the Squadd icon on your home screen
Tap Uninstall (or drag to the bin)
Open the Play Store → search Squadd → Install
Sign in
Allow notifications when asked

Your data is safe in the cloud — nothing is stored only on your phone. Reinstalling just resets the notification registration.

Still nothing?

Ask your coach to email support@squadd.co.uk with your name and email address. We can check the database directly to see whether your phone has registered with our system, and tell you exactly what's wrong.

Why does Android make this so hard?

Honest answer: this isn't really a Squadd-specific problem. Phone manufacturers (especially Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and OnePlus) add their own battery-saving rules on top of stock Android, and those rules can block apps from receiving notifications even when you've allowed them. WhatsApp, your bank app, your school messaging app — they all run into the same thing on the same phones. iPhone users almost never see it because Apple controls the whole stack.

The good news: you only need to do this setup once. Once you've turned everything on, your phone remembers and notifications will arrive every time. Future season, future fixture, future child in the same team — all of it just works.