No more IOS push notification since July 2024

[GuillaumeDebernard]

Quick description

I have NTFY running with docker-compose, behind an nginx reverse-proxy with https (certbot).
Since mid-July, I no longer receive notifications on IOS, which used to work fine.

The requests I send look like : curl -d Hello https://ntfy.myDomain.com/myTopic.

Note that reverse-proxy is used for other services and work perfectly fine for them.

I didn't see any trace log about usage limits.

What's still working

• Notifications on Android phones
• Notifications on WebApp (Chrome & Safari at least)
• Notifications arrives on IOS if you refresh the app (by pulling down)
• Push notification to IOS with https://ntfy.sh/myTopic

What I tried, and didn't work

• Run a previous ntfy version
• Prune docker image and rebuild it
• Switch from server.yml to env variables for configuration
• Switch from https://myDomain.com/services/path/to/MyTopic to subdomain : https://ntfy.myDomain.com/myTopic (It allow me to acces webapp by the way)
• Uninstall/reinstall the app + remove app from Icloud backup
• Restart Iphone
• Unsuscribe/resuscribe to topics
• A lot of nginx configuration for the redirections

My configurations

• NTFY_BASE_URL match exactly the default server I set up in my app.

docker-compose.yaml file

ntfy:
  image: binwiederhier/ntfy:latest
  container_name: ntfy_container
  command:
    - serve
  environment:
    TZ: "Europe/Paris"
    NTFY_BASE_URL: https://${SUB_NTFY}
    NTFY_LISTEN_HTTP: :${NTFY_PORT}
    NTFY_CACHE_FILE: /var/cache/ntfy/cache.db
    NTFY_ATTACHMENT_CACHE_DIR: /var/cache/ntfy/attachments
    NTFY_UPSTREAM_BASE_URL: https://ntfy.sh
    NTFY_LOG_LEVEL: warning
    NTFY_LOG_FORMAT: text
    NTFY_LOG_FILE: var/ntfy/logs.log
    NTFY_KEEPALIVE_INTERVAL: 45s
    NTFY_BEHIND_PROXY: true
    NTFY_WEB_ROOT: /app
  volumes:
    - ./utils/ntfy/cache:/var/cache/ntfy
    - ./utils/ntfy:/var/ntfy
  ports:
    - "${NTFY_PORT}:${NTFY_PORT}"
   # Work the same if using port 80
  networks:
    - main

Nginx default.conf.template file

server {
  listen ${HTTPS_DEFAULT} ssl http2;
  listen [::]:${HTTPS_DEFAULT} ssl http2;

  server_name ${SUB_NTFY};

  ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/fullchain.pem;
  ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/privkey.pem;

  set $upstream_ntfy "ntfy:${NTFY_PORT}";

  resolver 127.0.0.11 valid=1m;

  location / {

    rewrite /(.*) /$1 break;
    proxy_pass http://$upstream_ntfy/$1$is_args$args;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;

    proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

    proxy_connect_timeout 3m;
    proxy_send_timeout 3m;
    proxy_read_timeout 3m;

    client_max_body_size 0;
  }
}

What i really don't understand is why it stopped working. I should have read a hundred times all the configuration page from ntfy.sh without finding any problems in my configuration.
Since I didn't see any new post about that issue I assumed it was an nginx configuration issue, but every other services I host, and ntfy usage (webapp, android) are still working.
I upgrade recently IOS 17 to 18 without any improvement.

I'm running out of ideas, if anyone is facing the same issue, join the club ;)

I'd also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your great work!

[a1ad]

Yeah, same here

[plittlefield]

I’ve just installed the docker ntfy behind a Traefik proxy with password user logins and a topic called with an API.

It all works but I’m not getting any iOS notifications - UNLESS I go in to the app and pull down to refresh.

What am I doing wrong or is this a deal breaking bug?!

Thanks.

[wunter8]

In general, notifications to iOS are tricky. I haven't heard anything specific about updates to iOS 18 or Nginx causing problems, though. It's definitely strange that things were working and then stopped (at least for OP).

You'll have better luck with notifications on iOS through the PWA. You'll need to set up web push keys on your self-hosted server (and have the server behind a domain with a TLS cert that is publicly trusted (e.g., not self-signed)), but it's easy to set up. With the PWA, notifications should arrive reliably, and you'll have more features than the native iOS app (like markdown formatting and embedded image previews).

Here's the list of things I tell people to do to get iOS notifications working, so you can double-check that everything is in order (but again, if it was working and stopped without any sort of config change, I don't know what would cause that):

1. open a browser to the web app of your ntfy instance and copy the URL (including "http://" or "https://", your domain or IP address, and any ports, and excluding any trailing slashes)
2. put the URL you copied in the ntfy base-url config in server.yml or NTFY_BASE_URL in env variables
3. put the URL you copied in the default server URL setting in the iOS ntfy app
4. set upstream-base-url in server.yml or NTFY_UPSTREAM_BASE_URL in env variables to "https://ntfy.sh"

[plittlefield]

Wow, very detailed reply many thanks.

I will try that tomorrow and report back.

[plittlefield]

Hi @wunter8 I have news.

The addition of the variable NTFY_UPSTREAM_BASE_URL to my docker-compose.yml now makes a Notification appear in the Notification Centre of my iPhone.

However, this is still not quite good enough for me, because I need it to appear on the Lock Screen ... just like Pushover does.

Also, what is PWA ?

[plittlefield]

OK, I take that back!

I have just received a ntfy notification on my lock screen and my watch!

Happy days!

[a1ad]

@plittlefield with the app from the store? Mine is still not working

@wunter8 can we use "server.yml" and the docker ENVs at the same time?

[plittlefield]

@a1ad yes.

Here is my redacted docker compose file ...

https://pastebin.com/raw/TjEiyaZs

[wunter8]

@a1ad I think it's okay to use server.yml and env variables simultaneously, but I'm not certain which would take priority if there were conflicts. Probably the env variables. I'd recommend just using one or the other, though, to avoid complicating things

The PWA (Progressive Web App) allows you to install the web app as a standalone app on your phone. It can still receive notifications in the background (on iOS >= 16.4), has more features than the native app (like markdown support), and has more reliable notifications. To self host the PWA, you need to configure web push keys (https://docs.ntfy.sh/config#web-push)

[plittlefield]

OK, I might try that tomorrow.

What do I have to install on the phone for this work or does it just use the existing iOS app?

[wunter8]

After setting up the web push keys, load the self-hosted web app in Safari and then go to Share > "add to homescreen"

[plittlefield]

Blimey, I did not know about that and I've had an iPhone for 5 years :-)

[plittlefield]

Oooo, will that give me nice count badges?!

[wunter8]

Background notifications for PWAs on iOS have only been supported since iOS 16.4 (March 2023).

I'm not sure about the count badges 🤷‍♂️ (I don't use iOS)