Outlook Notifications Not Working? Fix the Problem Quickly

Does your Outlook receives emails but forgets to notify you? If this is the case, you can very well miss important emails. You may find Outlook notifications not working because of various reasons, like disabled notifications on your Outlook app. It may also occur in Windows 10 because of the same reason. Most people find this problem when they open their Outlook and see the inbox filled with emails about which they didn’t receive any notifications. However, there are many ways by which you can fix this issue. In this article, you’ll read about some effective troubleshooting techniques that’ll make your Outlook notifications work properly.

Fixes for Outlook Notifications Not Working Problem

You may find Outlook Desktop notifications not working if there are incorrect alert settings and rules in the Outlook app. The fixes for this problem range from enabling notifications and disabling and clashing Windows 10 features. Try out the various fixes once before moving on to the next one.

1. Restart your computer

Sometimes, when you don’t receive an alert for an email in Outlook, it can be due to a temporary glitch. A simple fix for this issue is to restart your computer. Here are the steps that Windows and Mac users can follow to restart their devices.

Windows

Tap the ‘Windows’ icon. Then tap the ‘Power’ button from the ‘Start’ menu. Lastly, choose ‘Restart.’

macOS

macOS users should tap the ‘Apple’ Menu at the top-left part. After that, choose ‘Restart’ from the drop-down. Lastly, tap ‘Restart’ when you see the message asking you to confirm this action.

2. Check and configure the notifications settings in your Outlook app.

You should first start by checking the notifications settings in your Outlook app. As Outlook gives a huge number of settings for customizing the way your emails can be managed, it can be confusing to understand them. You can follow these stepwise instructions for configuring the email notification settings on the desktop app of Outlook.

• Launch the Outlook desktop application.
• Tap ‘File’ on the upper-left part.
• Now choose ‘Options.’
• Choose ‘Mail’ in the popup window.
• Now see that both ‘Play a Sound’ and ‘Display a Desktop Alert’ are checked.
• Hit ‘OK.’

3. Turn on the notifications settings on the PC

A prominent cause of Outlook notifications not working in Windows 10 is the disabled system settings. So, the push notifications that Outlook sends get blocked by the push notifications system of your computer. You must resolve the misconfigured settings on your PC to fix this problem. Here are the stepwise instructions that Windows and Mac users should follow.

Windows 

Launch the Settings app. You can also input ‘Settings’ on the search bar and open the result.

• Choose ‘System.’
• Navigate to ‘Notifications and Actions.’ Check that you have turned on the option ‘Get notifications from apps and other senders.’
• Now scroll to ‘Get notifications from these senders’ and locate Outlook in the list. Turn on the switch beside it.
• First, check that ‘Notifications’ is turned on for Outlook. Similar settings like ‘Show notification banners’, ‘Play a sound when a notification arrives, and ‘Show notifications in action center’ are enabled.

macOS

macOS users should first tap on the ‘Apple’ icon on the top-left part. After that, follow these steps.

• Select ‘System Preferences’ followed by ‘Notifications.’
• You will find a list of applications in the left column. Choose ‘Outlook’ from them.
• Now ensure that you have switched on ‘Allow Notifications from Outlook.’

4. Check whether the alerts and rules are interfering.

Misconfigured rules and alert settings can also cause the Outlook notifications not working problem. To resolve it, you need to ensure that you have correctly configured ‘Rules and Alerts’ in your Outlook application.

• Launch Outlook on your Windows computer system.
• Tap the ‘File’ menu.
• Navigate to ‘Manage Rules and Alerts.’ Here, tap the option of ‘Rules and Alerts.’
• You will see a new window opening. Here, you should check whether any other alerts and rules are not disturbing the usual arrival of email messages in the Outlook inbox.
• To save the settings, tap ‘OK.’

5. Switch off the Focus Assist

Windows 10 has a built-in Focus Assist. If you have accidentally enabled it, you won’t be able to receive any new email notifications as it doesn’t allow it. Many people have found Focus Assist to be the main reason behind them finding Outlook notifications not working in Windows 10. You can check if you have enabled this option by going to the ‘Action Centre’ present on the taskbar.

• Launch the ‘Settings’ menu.
• Tap ‘System.’ Navigate to ‘Focus Assist.’ It is there on the left-side panel.
• Tap ‘Off’ and ensure that you have not selected ‘Priority Only and Alarms Only.’
• Also, check if there’s any setting below ‘Automatic Rules’ that’s incorrect. If needed, you should disable it.

macOS

macOS has the Do Not Disturb feature in place of the Focus Assist. You can access it by following these steps.

• Tap the Apple icon. It is present on the top-left part of the menu bar.
• Now, choose ‘System Preferences.’
• After that, choose ‘Notifications.’
• Now, choose ‘Do Not Disturb.’
• Lastly, ensure that Do Not Disturb is turned off. It will resolve the problem with your device.

6. Switch off the battery saver

In Windows 10, you can find a battery saver. This setting can easily interfere with Outlook app notifications if you are not mindful of it. This option is disabled by default or graded out on desktop computers. You will find it disabled in the Action Centre. The battery saver feature conserves power or battery usage on your computer or laptop. It dims the screen and minimizes the resource consumption of applications running in the background. So, it implies that you won’t get any notifications if you have enabled this mode. That’s why to resolve the problem of Outlook notifications not working in Windows 10, you must disable this mode.

Given below are the instructions for Windows and Mac users.

Windows

This mode gets activated automatically when your Windows laptop’s battery becomes low. So, you must plug your laptop into a source of power in order to turn off the feature. Apart from that, you can also inspect if this mode is enabled by navigating to the Action Center.

• Hit the chat bubble icon on the bottom-right part of your taskbar.
• Now tap to expand.
• Now ensure that you have turned off the battery saver. It must not be highlighted in blue.

macOS

macOS users should first tap the ‘Apple’ menu. After that follow these instructions.

• Select ‘System Preferences.’
• Now tap ‘Battery’ or ‘Energy Saver.’
• In the configuration menu, you can select between various options based on if your Mac is plugged in.

7. Update your Office apps.

Out-of-date software can result in different kinds of issues. If you have missed any automatic updates or have an outdated Outlook version, it can be the reason you are not getting the notifications. So, it’s best to think of updating your Office apps. Along with that, you should also update Outlook.

• Launch the Outlook application and tap ‘File.’
• Now, choose ‘Office Account.’
• Lastly, tap ‘Update Options’ and choose ‘Update Now’ to begin the process of downloading updates.

Final Words

Now you know the exact measures to take when you find Outlook notifications not working. Use every method and see which one gets you rid of the problem. If you need further assistance, connect with professional Outlook customer support services. The experts will provide the needed troubleshooting guidance after diagnosing the root cause of the problem.