Facebook Marketplace notifications not working on Android

On Android, the thing that silently kills Facebook Marketplace notifications is battery optimization: the phone decides Facebook is using too much in the background and stops it from waking up to show a notification, and it tells you nothing. Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus and Huawei phones are the worst for it. Fix that first, then the notification categories, then Facebook's own switches, then the saved-searches category inside Marketplace. If everything is on and the alerts still arrive after the listing sold, that is Facebook's saved-search notifications behaving normally; the last section covers what to do about it.

1. Battery optimization

1. Settings → Apps → Facebook → Battery (on some phones: App battery usage, or Battery → Background usage limits).
2. Choose Unrestricted (or "Don't optimize", or "Allow background activity"). "Optimized" is the default and is the problem.
3. On Samsung, also check Settings → Battery → Background usage limits: make sure Facebook is not in Sleeping apps or Deep sleeping apps, and consider turning off "Put unused apps to sleep".
4. On Xiaomi, OnePlus and Huawei, look for Autostart or App launch and allow Facebook to start in the background.

The menu names differ by maker and Android version; the setting is always under the app's battery or background-usage controls.

2. Notification categories

1. Settings → Apps → Facebook → Notifications. The master switch on.
2. Under it, Android shows Facebook's notification categories. Make sure the Marketplace-related ones are on and set to Alerting, not Silent. A category set to Silent shows in the shade with no sound and no pop-up, which reads as "not working".
3. Check the notification's importance if your phone shows it; Low or Minimum hides it from the status bar.

3. Do Not Disturb, Bedtime and Focus modes

Settings → Notifications → Do Not Disturb (or Sound → Do Not Disturb). Check the schedule; a bedtime mode set years ago is a common culprit. Either turn it off or add Facebook under Apps that can interrupt.

4. Data Saver and background data

Settings → Network & internet → Data Saver. If it is on, allow Facebook unrestricted data, or the app may not fetch notifications on mobile data. Also Settings → Apps → Facebook → Mobile data & Wi-Fi → Background data on.

Sources: Google's Android Help on managing notifications, battery optimization and Data Saver; Samsung's support pages on Sleeping apps. Checked October 26, 2026.

5. Facebook's own notification settings

In the Facebook app, tap Menu (top right) → Settings & privacy → Settings → Notifications → Marketplace, and use the toggle beside each notification type. Make sure push is on, not only email.

Source: Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off". Checked October 26, 2026.

6. The saved-searches category inside Marketplace

Open Marketplace → your Marketplace profile → Settings → Notifications, and turn on the Saved searches category. Then make sure the search itself is saved: run it and tap the bell or Notify me next to the search bar.

7. Update, clear cache, re-register

Update Facebook in Google Play. Then Settings → Apps → Facebook → Storage → Clear cache (not Clear data, which logs you out), restart the phone. If still nothing, log out, restart, log in; that re-registers the app for push.

Everything is on and the alerts still come late

This is the normal case, and it is not your phone. Facebook does not publish how often it re-checks a saved search. In our use the notification lands hours after the listing and sometimes a day or more, after the good ones have sold. The filtering is loose, so one saved search buzzes for every lookalike. And saved searches turn themselves off with no warning; re-saving sometimes restarts them for a while. No Android setting changes any of that.

Deal Scanner is an Android app on Google Play that watches Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist for a search you set, on our servers, around the clock, and buzzes your phone when a listing is posted. Every alert shows when we found it. A low price limit and a relevance filter keep the junk out; a Deal Score on each find says how far under the typical price near you it sits. No Facebook login. $3.99 a month for three searches, cancel anytime. Set its battery setting to Unrestricted once, same as above, and it is done.

FAQ

Why am I not getting Facebook Marketplace notifications on Android?

Most often battery optimization: Settings → Apps → Facebook → Battery → Unrestricted. Then the notification categories (Alerting, not Silent), Do Not Disturb schedules, Data Saver, Facebook's own Marketplace toggles, and the saved-searches category inside Marketplace.

Why do my Facebook notifications only show up when I open the app?

That is battery optimization or background data restriction stopping the app from waking. Set Facebook to Unrestricted battery and allow background data.

Samsung: Facebook Marketplace notifications stopped. Why?

Samsung's Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps lists put Facebook to sleep after a few days unused in the foreground. Remove it from those lists under Settings → Battery → Background usage limits, and set its battery to Unrestricted.

Everything is on and the alerts are still hours late. Why?

Because that is how Facebook's saved-search notifications behave. Facebook does not publish how often it re-checks, and in our use the notification arrives hours to days after the listing. Deal Scanner watches for you and buzzes you when the listing is posted.

Sources checked

Google's Android Help on notifications, battery optimization and Data Saver; Samsung support on Sleeping apps; Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off". Checked October 26, 2026.