Can't clear notifications icon on Teams App on iPhone and iPad

Unfortunately, the suggested solutions did not work.

Hi @Bob Arrington 

Thank you for reaching out with your question. 

In certain cases, chat requests or invitations that have already been blocked or deleted do not correctly synchronize, which causes the notification badge to remain visible on iPhones and iPads. This does not appear on the Surface laptop because the desktop client calculates unread counts differently and is not affected by this behavior. 

I recommend trying the following steps on your iPhone/iPad, in this order: 

Option 1: Force Teams to re‑sync the cache 

On iPhone / iPad: 

1. Open Settings 
2. Go to Teams 
3. Toggle Background App Refresh > OFF 
4. Force‑close Teams: Swipe up > swipe Teams away 
5. Restart the device 
6. Turn Background App Refresh back ON 
7. Open Teams and leave it open for ~1–2 minutes on Wi‑Fi 
8. This forces a clean state refresh. 

Option 2: Clear Teams cache (iOS in‑app) 

1. Open Teams 
2. Tap your profile photo 
3. Go to Settings > Data and storage 
4. Tap Clear app cache 
5. Close and reopen Teams 
6. This does not delete chats or files. 

Option 3: Sign out & back in 

1. Teams > Profile photo 
2. Settings > Sign out 
3. Close Teams completely 
4. Reopen and sign back in 
5. Leave Teams open until sync completes 
6. This resets badge counters tied to your account session. 

Optional: Prevent future spam chats 

If you’re getting lots of unsolicited requests: From Teams (desktop or web): 

1. Settings > Privacy 
2. Adjust:  Who can start chats with you  Who can add you to groups 

If your org allows it, this significantly reduces junk attempts. 

However, I strongly recommend submitting your feedback through the Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub.This is the most effective way to ensure your voice reaches the product team and can be considered for future improvements.   

Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’ll be happy to upvote it to help bring more visibility.   

Additionally, since many other users have expressed similar concerns but may not know where to submit feedback, if my response has helped you better understand the situation and guided you toward a possible next step, please mark it as the "Accepted Answer". Your action will help pin this post to the top, making it easier for others in the community who are experiencing the same issue to find your feedback and support it.   

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern.     

On iPhone and iPad, Teams mobile notifications and badges are controlled separately from the desktop app, so the badge can stay “stuck” even when nothing shows on the Surface.

Use these steps to clear or reduce the notification badge on iOS:

1. Verify Teams mobile notifications and categories
   1. Open the Teams app on the iPhone/iPad.
   2. Tap the profile picture (top left).
   3. Tap Notifications.
   4. Under General activity, Meetings, and other sections, adjust or disable notification types that are not needed.
   5. If getting too many alerts while also active on the Surface, under Block notifications, turn on When active on other devices so the mobile app stops counting those as new.
2. Use iOS notification settings to reset the badge
   1. In Teams, go to profile picture → Notifications.
   2. If available, tap Open settings to jump into the iOS Settings for Teams.
   3. In iOS Settings → Notifications → Teams, toggle Allow Notifications off, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. This often forces iOS to recalculate the badge count.
3. If still seeing an incorrect badge count The documentation notes that incorrect notification counts on iOS are a known issue under investigation. In that case:
   1. Confirm that there are no unread chats, calls, or activity in the Teams mobile app.
   2. If the badge still shows a number, send feedback from the app: profile picture → Settings → Help and feedback → Send feedback.

If the unsolicited chats continue and cannot be stopped, one practical option is to turn off or greatly reduce Teams mobile notifications (especially chat) so the badge does not keep accumulating for unwanted messages.

References:

• Troubleshoot notifications in Microsoft Teams mobile apps
• Manage your notifications in Microsoft Teams Free