NotiRewind

Windows 11 notifications not showing? What to check

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When notifications don't show up in Windows 11, start in Settings > System > Notifications and check three things: the notifications switch, the app's own notification settings, and do not disturb. For a website opened in Chrome or Edge, also check that the browser allows notifications from that site.

Check that notifications are on

Open Settings > System > Notifications and check that the Notifications switch is on. If it's off, turn it on (Microsoft Support).

Check that the app's notifications are on

On the same page, under Notifications from apps and other senders, check that the switch for the app is on. Select the app to check these settings too (Microsoft Support):

If you hear a notification sound but see nothing, Windows plays a notification sound but nothing shows? explains how to find the app.

Check that do not disturb is off

While do not disturb is on, notification banners don't appear, except for what you allow in priority notifications. Notifications go straight to the notification center (Microsoft Support).

Press Windows key + N to open the notification center, and select the bell icon with zZ on it to turn do not disturb on or off.

If you didn't turn it on yourself, check Settings > System > Notifications > Turn on do not disturb automatically. It can turn on by itself when playing a game, when using an app in full-screen mode, during certain times of the day, and in a few other cases. How to see Windows notifications you missed while away or gaming lists every condition and explains how to let some apps show banners during do not disturb.

Starting a Focus session also turns on do not disturb. Focus is in Settings > System > Focus (Microsoft Support).

Check that the browser allows the site's notifications

In Chrome and Edge, you allow notifications site by site. If a site's notifications don't arrive, check that the browser allows them.

Chrome (Chrome Help)

  1. Open Chrome's Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications
  2. Next to "Allowed to send notifications", select Add, enter the site's address, and select Add

Edge (Microsoft Support)

  1. In Edge's Settings, open Site permissions > All sites
  2. Select the site and set Notifications to Allow

To stop notifications from sites you don't know, see How to see and stop Chrome and Edge website notifications on Windows.

Check the settings inside the app

Some apps have their own notification settings besides the ones in Windows. For example, if notifications from the new Outlook for Windows don't arrive, check that your status in Teams isn't set to Do not disturb (Microsoft Support).

On a work or school PC where you can't change the notification settings, your administrator may have turned notifications off. Ask your administrator (Microsoft Support).

Check that the app can run in the background

Some apps let you choose whether they run in the background. An app set to Never sends no notifications (Microsoft Support).

  1. Open Settings > System > Power & battery > Battery usage
  2. For the app, select More options, then Manage background activity
  3. Under Let this app run in the background, choose Always or Power optimized (recommended)

Read notifications that didn't show

A notification that showed no banner can still be read in the notification center (Windows key + N) if it reached it. The notification center is not a history, though. Notifications leave it within 3 days at most (see Where is notification history in Windows 11?).

NotiRewind saves the notifications that reach the notification center as a history on your PC. Notifications that arrive during do not disturb, or from apps with banners turned off, are saved too if they reach the notification center, so you can read them later in the history. From a notification's details you can open that app's Windows notification settings.

Only notifications that reach the notification center can be saved. When notifications are off in Windows or in the app, when the browser doesn't allow the site's notifications, or when the app doesn't use Windows notifications, nothing reaches Windows, so there is nothing to save. Installing NotiRewind doesn't make missing notifications arrive.

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