Why am I not getting Teams notifications even though they're turned on?

Everything in Teams says notifications are enabled, but nothing shows up — no banners, no sounds, nothing in Notification Center. This is a frustrating problem, and it's almost always caused by macOS overriding Teams' preferences. For a broader look at Teams notification sounds on Mac, see our hub page.

Why Teams settings aren't enough

Teams on Mac relies on macOS Notification Center to deliver notifications. Teams can request to show a notification, but macOS has the final say. If macOS is configured to block or hide Teams notifications, Teams' own settings don't matter.

Step 1: Check macOS notification permissions

1. Open System Settings → Notifications.
2. Find Microsoft Teams in the app list.
3. Make sure Allow Notifications is toggled on.
4. Set the notification style to Banners or Alerts. If it's set to "None," notifications are technically allowed but invisible.
5. Enable "Show in Notification Center" so you can see missed notifications.

Step 2: Check Focus mode

Focus mode is the most common hidden cause of missing notifications. Even if you didn't turn it on manually, some Focus modes activate automatically based on time, location, or app usage.

1. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar (top-right corner).
2. Check if any Focus mode is active (Do Not Disturb, Work, Personal, etc.).
3. If a Focus is active, either turn it off or go to System Settings → Focus → select the active Focus → Allowed Apps → add Microsoft Teams.

Step 3: Verify inside Teams

Open Teams → Settings → Notifications. Check that your notification preferences match what you expect. Look for:

• Chat notifications — Should be set to "Banner and feed" for reliable delivery.
• Channel notifications — Only channels set to "Banner and feed" or "Custom" with sound enabled will produce audible alerts.
• Status-based silencing — If your Teams status is set to "Do Not Disturb," notifications are suppressed within Teams itself, independent of macOS settings.

Step 4: Test and confirm

Use the "Test notification" button in Teams → Settings → Notifications. If the test notification appears and plays a sound, your setup is working. Ask a colleague to send you a message to confirm real notifications come through.

Make notifications more useful with Chirpy

Once notifications are working, the next challenge is telling them apart. Chirpy adds per-sender and per-channel sound rules to Teams on Mac. Assign a short chime to your team channel and a distinct tone to your manager. No more checking every notification to see if it matters.