How To Fix Messenger Bubble/Chat Head Not Showing

Learn Possible Workarounds To Fix Chat Bubble or Chat Head Not Showing/Not Working/Missing On Facebook Messenger!

Overview: Is your Messenger not showing chat bubbles or chat heads? Are you looking for a solution on how to enable chat bubble on your Android phone so that it should show/appear on your device? Well, not to worry! In this article, you will find out solutions that will help you to fix Messenger bubble/chat head not showing, not appearing, missing or not working on Android.

Let’s start with real user practical scenarios!

Practical Scenario 1: Facebook Messenger Chat Head Bubble Not Appearing On Samsung Phone

Facebook messenger chat head bubble not appearing

When I get a FB message, the chat head bubble doesn’t appear.I only receive a notification in the status bar/ notification drawer. I have gone into FB messenger and everything is set up correct. I have also gone into the Samsung Notification settings and enabled bubbles notification, but I still don’t get the chat head.

Any body else have this issue?

*EDIT* I have fixed the issue. I had to into App info > Notifications > show as Bubbles

Source: Samsung Community

Practical Scenario 2: Facebook Chat Bubbles Not Working On OnePlus Phone

Facebook Messenger Chat Bubbles not Working

I use Textra as my main text message app and chat bubbles are working just fine. However, Facebook Messenger chat bubbles won’t work, I just get a normal notification. All the notification settings for chat bubbles are on.

Source: OnePlus Community

So, that were just two practical scenarios, but there are many users reporting this issue.

Different Android phones users of different phone brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, Sony, OnePlus, Moto, Vivo, Realme, Lenovo, Google Pixel, Tecno, etc are complaining about this problem whether their phone is running on Android 14, 13, 12, 11 or 10 operating system.

Also Read: How To Fix “Unfortunately, Messenger Has Stopped” Error on Android

What Is Messenger Bubble/Chat Head Feature?

Facebook Messenger app has Bubble features that allow users to read and reply directly to messages while they are using other apps.

When you receive a new message, a chat head bubble will pop up. The bubble is like a circle with your friend’s profile image.

You can view and directly reply to the messages by just tapping the bubble and you don’t have to leave the screen you are on.

You can also drag the chat head and move around the phone screen.

Why Isn’t Messenger Bubble/Chat Head Not Showing?

There could be a few reasons why your Messenger Bubble/Chat heads is not showing on your Android phones.

Some of the causes can be:

You have not turned on the chat bubble/chat head features.
You have not enabled the feature to show messenger “Appear on top”.
It could be due to the latest Android update.
You have not granted permission to Messenger.
App bugs or glitches.
Might be cache files of the app got corrupted.
You are still using an outdated version of the messenger app.
Maybe you have enabled DND mode.
And so on…

Also, note that the Messenger Bubble has been changed to Chat Heads in the latest version of the Messenger.

Therefore, you have to enable the Chat Heads feature if you don’t see Bubble feature.

Anyway, both features are the same and you can access your chats from the phone’s home screen.

Also Read: If An Error Says “This Person Is Unavailable On Messenger”

How To Fix Messenger Bubble/Chat Heads Not Showing

Follow the below-mentioned solutions in order to fix Messenger Bubble or Chat Head not showing on your phone.

Video Guide: How To Fix Messenger Bubbles or Chat Head Not Showing

Solution 1: Enable Bubble/Chat Head Feature

Check and make sure that you have turned on the Bubble or Chat head feature in Messenger app.

Here follow the steps to enable chat bubbles/chat heads on Messenger:

Step 1: Open Messenger app and go to its Menu.

Step 2: Next to your profile picture tap on Settings icon.

Step 3: Scroll down and then toggle the button next to Chat heads to ON position.

Note: If you see the Bubble feature, then turn it on. If you don’t see Bubbles option, then it means it has been replaced with Chat heads feature.

Also Read: How To Recover Deleted Facebook Messenger Messages From Android Phone

Solution 2: Set Messenger To “Appear on top” & Open a Chat Head

Messenger requires the necessary permission so that it can display over other applications. If it is not allowed, then chat bubbles/heads will not show up.

You have to allow Messenger app to “Display over other apps” or “Appear on top” permission.

Here follow the steps to do so:

Step 1: On your Android phone, go to Settings.

Step 2: Tap Apps > Messenger.

Step 3: Now scroll down and look for “Appear on top” or “Draw over other apps” option, whichever option is showing.

Step 4: Finally, make sure to enable that option.

After this check if the chat head/bubbles are working or not.

If it doesn’t work, then open a chat and then see.

Open Messenger and go to a chat.
Tap and hold the chat and then tap on “Open chat head”.
Now, access the chat head from your phone home screen.

Note: If you don’t want chat head to show up on Home screen, then you can disable it by going to Messenger app > Settings > Chat Heads> Turn it OFF.

Also Read: How To Fix Facebook Account Locked Due To Suspicious Activity

Solution 3: Clear Messenger App Cache and Storage

In some cases, the app’s cache files and data become corrupted due to the accumulation of various temporary files. And therefore, the app does not work properly.

Similarly, if your Messenger app chat bubbles/head is not working or showing up, then you should clear its cache and storage.

Go to Settings > Apps/App Manager.
Look for Messenger app and top on it.
Tap on Storage.
Finally, tap on Clear Cache & Clear Storage.

Also Read: How To Poke Someone On Facebook

Solution 4: Update Messenger App and Android OS

It could be possible that the older version of Messenger app and Android version might have issues related to bubble/chat heads.

So, in order to bring back chat heads/bubbles on Messenger, you need to update both Messenger app and your phone operating system, if any new updates are available.

To update Messenger app: Go to Play store > type messenger in the search box > now see if any update is available or not. If available, then tap on the green “Update” button.

To update Android OS: Go to Settings > System > System Update > You will see the update status. Follow the on-screen steps to update.

Wrap Up

So, those are the top solutions that can effectively help you to fix Facebook Messenger Bubble/Chat heads not showing, not working, not appearing or missing on Android phones.

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