Turn off Outlook notifications in three places

Outlook notifications come from three separate sources, and you need to control each one to actually stop the interruptions. The notification settings inside Outlook itself control what pops up on your screen. Windows notification settings control whether those popups appear at all. And if you use Outlook on your phone, the mobile app has its own notification controls. Most people need to adjust at least two of these to get the quiet they want.

The fastest way is to use Outlook's built-in focus modes, which silence notifications for a set time without turning them off permanently. But if you want notifications gone entirely — or gone only for certain folders — you'll need to dig into the full settings. This guide covers both approaches.

Key Takeaways

  • Outlook's Focus Assist feature silences all notifications for a set time without changing your settings permanently.
  • To turn off notifications for specific folders or senders, go to Settings > Mail > Notifications inside Outlook and uncheck the boxes next to the types you don't want.
  • Windows also has notification settings that can block Outlook popups even if Outlook itself is set to show them, so check both places if notifications still appear.
  • Phone notifications are controlled separately in the Outlook mobile app under Settings > Notifications, and turning them off there does not affect your desktop version.
  • You can silence notifications for a single conversation by right-clicking the email thread and selecting Mute, which stops alerts for that thread only.

Use Focus Assist to silence notifications temporarily

The quickest way to stop notifications without changing your settings is to turn on Focus Assist. This feature mutes all Outlook alerts for as long as you need, then turns them back on automatically. Open Outlook and look at the top right of the window. You'll see a circle icon with a line through it — that's the Focus Assist button. Click it.

A menu appears with three options: Focus, Important, and Off. Click Focus to silence all notifications. The button turns blue to show Focus Assist is active. Notifications will stay muted until you click the button again and select Off, or until you close Outlook. This is the right choice if you need quiet for the next hour or two but don't want to permanently change how Outlook works.

Turn off notifications in Outlook settings

To permanently change which notifications you see, open Outlook and go to File > Options (on Windows) or Outlook > Preferences (on Mac). In the left sidebar, click Mail, then scroll down and click Notifications. You'll see checkboxes for different notification types: New mail notifications, Sound, Desktop alerts, and others depending on your version.

Uncheck any box next to a notification type you don't want. For example, if you want to see new mail alerts but not hear a sound, uncheck Sound but leave New mail notifications checked. If you want no notifications at all, uncheck everything. Click OK to save your changes. These settings apply only to Outlook itself — Windows may still show notifications, so check the next section if popups still appear.

Check Windows notification settings

Even if you turn off notifications in Outlook, Windows can still show them. Open Windows Settings by pressing the Windows key and typing Settings, then click the Settings app. Go to System > Notifications. Scroll down to find Outlook in the list of apps.

Click Outlook and you'll see options to turn off notifications entirely or to change how they appear. Toggle off "Show notifications for this app" to block all Outlook popups from Windows. If you want to keep some notifications but hide others, you can also change the notification style — for example, turning off sound but keeping visual alerts. Make your choice and close Settings. The change takes effect immediately.

Mute individual conversations

If you want to keep notifications on overall but silence them for one specific email thread, right-click the email in your inbox. A menu appears with several options. Click Mute to stop getting alerts for that conversation. Outlook will still receive new messages in that thread, but you won't see notifications for them. The thread stays in your inbox — muting only affects alerts, not the email itself.

To unmute a conversation, right-click it again and select Unmute. This is useful when you're part of a long email chain that generates many notifications but you don't need to see every reply right away.

Control notifications on your phone

Outlook on your phone has separate notification settings from your desktop. Open the Outlook mobile app and tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom. Go to Settings > Notifications. You'll see options for Mail notifications, Calendar notifications, and others. Toggle off any notification type you don't want.

You can also turn off notifications for specific accounts if you have multiple email addresses set up in the app. Scroll down in the Notifications menu and you'll see each account listed separately. Tap an account to control notifications for just that email address. Changes here do not affect Outlook on your computer — you need to adjust both separately.

What to do if notifications still appear

If you've turned off notifications in Outlook and Windows but they still pop up, check whether you have multiple versions of Outlook running. Some people have both Outlook desktop and Outlook web open at the same time. Notifications from the web version won't be controlled by your desktop settings. Close the web version or turn off notifications there too by clicking the gear icon in the top right, then Settings > Mail > Notifications.

Another common cause is that Windows notifications are set to show on your lock screen even when the app itself is muted. Go back to Windows Settings > Notifications and scroll to the bottom. Look for "Show notifications on the lock screen" and toggle it off if you don't want alerts there. You should also check whether you have Outlook set to show notifications in the system tray — in Outlook Settings > Mail > Notifications, look for an option about the system tray and uncheck it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn off notifications for one sender but keep them for everyone else?

Outlook doesn't have a built-in rule to silence one sender while keeping notifications on for others. Your best option is to mute individual conversations from that sender as they arrive, or to create a rule that moves their emails to a folder and then turn off notifications for that folder. To do this, right-click an email from that sender, select Rules > Always Move Messages From [Sender], and choose a folder. Then mute notifications for that folder in Settings.

Will turning off notifications stop emails from arriving?

No. Turning off notifications only stops the alerts — Outlook will still receive and store all your emails normally. You just won't see a popup or hear a sound when they arrive. You can still check your inbox anytime to read new messages.

How do I turn notifications back on after using Focus Assist?

Click the Focus Assist button (the circle with a line through it) in the top right of Outlook and select Off. Notifications will resume immediately. If you turned off notifications in Settings instead, go back to File > Options > Mail > Notifications and check the boxes you want to turn back on.

Why do I still hear notification sounds even though I turned them off?

Check three places: Outlook Settings > Mail > Notifications (uncheck Sound), Windows Settings > Notifications > Outlook (toggle off sound), and your phone if you have Outlook mobile installed (Settings > Notifications). The sound could be coming from any of these. Also check whether you have Outlook open in a web browser — web notifications have separate controls.

Can I schedule notifications to turn off at certain times?

Outlook doesn't have a built-in scheduling feature for notifications. However, Windows has a Focus Assist schedule you can set up. Go to Windows Settings > System > Focus Assist and click "Automatic rules" to set times when Focus Assist turns on automatically. This will silence Outlook notifications during those hours.