To set a stock-price alert, add the security to a watchlist if you want to follow it, open its quote or chart, and use the app’s alert control to choose a threshold and delivery method. Exact controls vary by brokerage, app version, region, and account eligibility. The US examples below show how Robinhood and Schwab Mobile handle the process; check your broker’s current help for the app you use.
Build a watchlist before setting alerts
A watchlist is a way to track securities; it does not mean you own them. Keep watched securities distinct from holdings in your account so you can follow a possible investment without mistaking it for a position you have bought.
Create a list and add securities
Search for each security by its name or ticker symbol, then add it to a named watchlist if the app supports lists. In Robinhood’s US help flow, go to Investing > Lists > Create watchlist. You can reorder items by holding and dragging them. See Robinhood’s watchlist instructions.
List features and limits differ. Fidelity’s cited “Using Watch Lists” help page describes lists that can include stocks, mutual funds, money markets, options, annuities, and indexes, and states a limit of 15 self-created watchlists with up to 50 securities in each. The page is not a confirmed current mobile walkthrough, so check Fidelity’s current interface and limits before relying on those figures.
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Choose an alert that matches what you want to know
Set the threshold to answer a specific question: “Has the price reached this level?” or “Has it moved enough to make me check in?” If the app offers event alerts, those can flag a scheduled event such as an earnings report. Availability and alert types vary by provider.
- Target price: A notification when a security crosses a price you specify, typically above or below that level.
- Percentage movement: A notification after a stated move. Robinhood’s US help describes 5% (the default) and 10% movement thresholds, as well as optional 52-week high or low notifications.
- Event alert: A notice tied to an event such as an earnings report, where supported. Schwab Mobile documents earnings-report alerts.
Robinhood’s US price-alert instructions cover assets held or watched and custom stock or ETF alerts above or below a set price. Watchlist price alerts are off by default. Its movement thresholds and labels are specific to that US product documentation; do not assume another broker or region uses the same settings. See Robinhood’s price-alert help.
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Set an alert in Robinhood or Schwab Mobile
Robinhood (US app)
- Open the security’s chart.
- Select the bell or Notifications control, then choose Price alerts.
- Choose an above- or below-price alert and enter the threshold, then save it.
To manage general price-movement push settings, Robinhood’s documented path is Account > Menu > Settings > Notifications and messages > Push Notifications. The exact labels can change with app updates.
Schwab Mobile
- Open Markets, search for a symbol, and select the security.
- Choose Set an Alert, then Target price.
- Select the price type and direction, enter the target, and save.
For an earnings-report alert, Schwab’s guide directs users to News and events. Schwab says alerts can also be created from quote details, a watchlist, the profile menu, and other entry points. Its guide’s labels and flow are specific to Schwab Mobile. See Schwab’s alert guide.
Make sure notifications can reach your phone
Saving an alert and receiving its notification are separate steps. Enable the relevant delivery option in the brokerage app and allow notifications for that app in your phone’s operating-system settings. Where the brokerage offers a choice of channels, select the one you want; Schwab’s product page says text can be used instead of or alongside push notifications. See Schwab Mobile.
Robinhood warns: “Robinhood Financial LLC can’t always guarantee delivery of push notifications.” Service availability and phone settings can affect delivery, so do not rely on a push alert as a guaranteed or time-critical signal.
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Review, edit, and remove alerts
Revisit alerts when the reason for tracking a security changes. A target that made sense before an earnings report or a change in your plans may no longer be useful afterward.
Robinhood
Robinhood’s US help says you can remove an alert by swiping left in the app. Watchlist price alerts are disabled by default, so check their setting if you expected an alert but did not create or enable one.
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Schwab Mobile
Open Profile > Stock Alerts to review and edit open alerts. The Triggered alerts tab shows alerts that have fired; Schwab says successfully triggered alerts are available for review for up to 30 days. Schwab Mobile alerts do not sync with thinkorswim or Schwab.com, so an alert created on one platform should not be assumed to exist on another.
Use alerts as prompts, not trading instructions
A price notification tells you that a condition occurred; it does not tell you what to do next. Robinhood states: “Notifications are provided for informational purposes only, and aren’t a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security.” Review the security and your own plan before making a decision, and check your brokerage’s current disclosures for its alert service.
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