Viewing notification previews on lock screen

I have my lock screen customized so that some app previews will show when it's unlocked and others always show. I'm still new to iOS but I've found that the only want to unlock and see the app previews while staying on the lock screen is by clicking on notifications that are grouped. Is there way to do that with single notifications like in the image below?

Posted on Mar 24, 2025 4:20 PM

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8 replies

Mar 24, 2025 7:30 PM in response to Skolvikings09

So please bear with me as I try to understand the situation. So you simply want to see what (for example) the Voice notification is? Do you want to see what the notification says, before or after entering your passcode?


If you want to see the notification’s contents before entering your passcode, find the app in Settings > Apps > Notifications > Show Previews > Select “Always”


If you want to see the notifications for individual apps after unlocking, simply select “When Unlocked (Default)”


Please let us know if you have more questions.

Mar 24, 2025 5:02 PM in response to H1290

No, I am trying to view that notification or any notification that isn't grouped but has the preview hidden. Grouped notifications when you click on them prompt you to enter the phone's passcode. Once you enter the passcode, you can then see what the grouped content is on the lock screen. Is it possible to do the same with a single notification like on the image shown above?

Mar 24, 2025 5:31 PM in response to H1290

To see what the notification says. If I swipe up on the lock screen and enter my passcode it goes to my home screen. If I click on the grouped notifications it stays on the lock screen and I can see those notifications as well as other notifications from other apps if they are there. I am trying to stay on the lock screen, click on said Google voice or any other notification that doesn't show a preview and be prompted to enter my passcode so that I can see what the notification says and stay on the lock screen.

Mar 24, 2025 8:15 PM in response to H1290

No it's not that. I know how to do that.


Let's go with an example. My phone is locked and I get an email (it could be any app that's set this way). But due to the settings that I purposely made to only show previews when unlocked I can't view what it says other than it is an email notification. In order to view what it says, I have unlock my phone. But I just want to see what the preview is (i.e. who it's from, the subject and possibly a short body of text). If it was multiple emails, I could just click on the grouping, enter the passcode and unlock to see what all the previews say while staying on the lock screen. But because it's one email, I have to unlock my phone by swipping up and then on my home screen I have to either enter the email app or swipe down to see the notification. All I want to do is see what the notification says to see if I need to respond.

Mar 24, 2025 9:07 PM in response to Skolvikings09

Ok I understand. Is this happening for all single notifications, or just for certain single notifications?


Is Settings > Notifications > Show Previews set to “When unlocked” and also, the single app that’s not showing the preview when unlocked, are they also set to “When Unlocked” in Settings > Apps > (your app) > Notifications > Show Previews?


Can you confirm that those apps that don’t show a preview when they’re single, but show a preview when they’re grouped?

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Viewing notification previews on lock screen

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