Mobile app
First-run setup
Section titled “First-run setup”After you sign in, the app opens Notification setup once. You can open it again from Settings → Notification setup. Each step shows its status; Turn on next to a missing one takes you to the right settings screen.
- Notification permission: needed to show notifications.
- On Android, also:
- Emergencies break through Do Not Disturb: emergency notifications ring even in Do Not Disturb.
- Full-screen emergency alerts: when the phone is locked, an emergency notification opens full screen.
- Battery optimization: exempt PushBell. Some manufacturers also restrict background apps; the link on the screen opens a guide for your phone’s brand (Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Realme…).
- Use Send a test notification to check everything.
Emergency notifications on the phone
Section titled “Emergency notifications on the phone”- Android: rings with the alarm sound and keeps ringing until you open the notification or someone taps Acknowledge. It also rings when the phone is on silent or vibrate. To ring in Do Not Disturb, grant the permission in setup. If the phone is locked it opens full screen.
- iPhone and iPad: arrives as a time-sensitive notification. To see it during a Focus, allow PushBell in Settings → Focus → (your Focus) → Apps, or turn on Time Sensitive Notifications there.
- When someone acknowledges, the alarm stops on the other devices too. Details: Emergency notifications.
Apple Watch
Section titled “Apple Watch”The Apple Watch app installs together with the iPhone app. Notifications already reach the watch from your iPhone; the watch app also lists the last 20 notifications and shows one in full when you tap it. If you have a widget value, it appears at the top.
- Emergency notifications: open one and press Acknowledge. The acknowledgement goes through the PushBell app on your iPhone; if the iPhone isn’t nearby, it goes once it’s back in range. The watch then shows “Acknowledged”.
- Complication: add PushBell to a watch face (circular, corner, rectangular or inline). It shows your widget value, or the unread count if there is none.
- The watch gets its data from PushBell on your iPhone: the list updates while the app is open on the iPhone (the notifications themselves always reach the watch). Signing out clears the list on the watch too.
Wear OS
Section titled “Wear OS”On a Wear OS watch connected to an Android phone, install PushBell from the watch’s Play Store. Notifications already reach the watch from your phone; the watch app also lists the last 20 notifications and shows one in full when you tap it.
- Emergency notifications: open one and press Acknowledge. The acknowledgement goes through PushBell on your phone; if the watch is away from the phone, it goes once they reconnect.
- Tile: add PushBell to your watch’s tiles to see your widget value, or the unread count, in large type.
- Complication: add PushBell data to your watch face (short or long text).
- The watch gets its data from PushBell on your phone: the list updates while the app is open on the phone. The Wear OS app doesn’t work when the watch is paired with an iPhone.
Keyboard shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard shortcuts”These work on iPad, Chromebooks and tablets with a keyboard. iPad uses ⌘; other devices use Ctrl.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌘ F | Search |
| ⌘ R | Refresh |
| ⌘ , | Settings |
| ↑ / ↓ | Previous / next notification (wide screens) |
| Delete | Delete the selected notification (wide screens) |
| Esc | Close the detail |
Right-click a notification with a mouse or the iPad pointer (two-finger tap) to open it, mark it read, copy it or delete it.
Accessibility
Section titled “Accessibility”The app follows the system text size (screens don’t overflow even at twice the size) and works with screen readers (VoiceOver, TalkBack): unread, emergency and encrypted notifications are announced too.