Mute notifications in Teams without turning them off completely

You can mute Teams notifications in three ways: silence them for a specific conversation, turn them off for your entire account during certain hours, or disable them for a particular channel. Each method keeps the messages coming to Teams — you just stop getting the alerts on your screen, in your taskbar, or on your phone. The fastest route is muting a single chat or channel, which takes one click and lasts until you unmute it again.

The difference between muting and turning off notifications matters. When you mute a conversation, Teams still stores the messages and marks them as unread, so you can catch up later. When you turn off notifications entirely, you risk missing something urgent because you have no alert at all. Muting lets you control which conversations interrupt you and which ones wait.

Key Takeaways

  • Mute a single chat or channel by right-clicking it in your conversation list and selecting "Mute" — this stops alerts for that conversation only.
  • Set quiet hours in your status settings so Teams stops sending notifications during times you choose, like evenings or weekends.
  • Muting a channel silences notifications from that channel but not from direct messages or @mentions in that channel.
  • You can unmute any conversation at any time by right-clicking it again and selecting "Unmute" — there is no time limit on a mute.
  • Muted conversations still show new messages; they just do not trigger alerts or badges on your Teams icon.

Mute a single chat or channel

Right-click the conversation name in your chat list on the left side of Teams. A menu appears with several options. Select "Mute" from that menu. The conversation stays in your list but no longer sends you notifications — no sound, no badge, no popup on your screen.

The mute stays active until you unmute it. There is no time limit. You can mute a conversation for a day, a week, or permanently. When you are ready to see notifications from that chat again, right-click the same conversation and select "Unmute."

Muting works the same way for direct messages, group chats, and channels. The only difference is where you find them in your list — direct messages appear at the top, channels appear under their team name.

Turn off notifications during specific hours

Click your profile picture in the top right corner of Teams and select "Set status message." A panel opens on the right side. Look for the option that says "Set do not disturb" or a clock icon. Select it and choose the time range when you want Teams to stop sending notifications.

Teams offers preset options like "Until 9 AM tomorrow" or "Until I turn it off." You can also set a custom time range if you want notifications silenced only during your lunch break or after work hours. During this time, messages still arrive in Teams and stay marked as unread, but you get no alerts.

This setting affects your entire Teams account, not just one conversation. Every chat, channel, and direct message goes silent during the hours you choose. When the time ends, notifications turn back on automatically.

Mute notifications from a channel but keep @mentions

Right-click a channel name and select "Mute." This stops notifications from regular messages in that channel. However, if someone types your name with the @ symbol — like @Marcus — you still get an alert even though the channel is muted. This is useful for channels where lots of people post but you only need to know when someone is asking for you directly.

If you want to mute @mentions as well, right-click the channel again and look for "Channel notification settings" or "Notification settings." A menu opens with more detailed options. You can choose to mute everything, including @mentions, or keep @mentions active while silencing regular messages.

Mute notifications on your phone

Open the Teams app on your phone and find the conversation you want to mute. Press and hold the conversation name until a menu appears. Select "Mute" from the options. On iPhone, the menu appears immediately. On Android, you may see a bell icon with a slash through it instead of a text menu — tap that icon to mute.

Phone notifications work separately from your desktop. You can mute a conversation on your phone but still get alerts on your computer, or vice versa. This is useful if you check Teams on your phone during work but do not want it buzzing in your pocket all evening.

Mute all notifications except priority contacts

Click your profile picture and select "Settings." Go to "Notifications" in the left menu. Scroll down to find "Focus assist" or "Do not disturb." Turn this on and then select "Priority only." Teams will now send notifications only from people you have marked as priority contacts.

To add someone as a priority contact, open a direct message with that person. Click the three dots at the top of the conversation and select "Mark as priority." Now even when focus assist is on, you will get alerts from that person. This is helpful when you need to silence most notifications but stay reachable for your manager or a specific team member.

Unmute a conversation you muted earlier

Right-click the muted conversation in your chat list. Select "Unmute." Notifications from that conversation turn back on immediately. You will start seeing alerts, badges, and popups again.

If you cannot remember which conversations you muted, look for a speaker icon with a slash through it next to the conversation name. That icon shows the conversation is currently muted. Hover over it or right-click to unmute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I miss important messages if I mute a conversation?

No. Muting only stops the alert — the messages still arrive in Teams and stay marked as unread. When you open that conversation later, you will see all the messages that came in while it was muted. You just did not get interrupted by notifications.

Can I mute a conversation on my phone but not on my desktop?

Yes. Mute settings are separate for each device. You can mute a chat on your phone and still get desktop notifications, or mute it on your computer and keep phone alerts active. This gives you control over where you want to be interrupted.

What happens to @mentions when I mute a channel?

By default, @mentions still send notifications even when a channel is muted. If you want to mute @mentions too, right-click the channel, select notification settings, and choose "Mute all." This silences everything from that channel, including direct mentions of your name.

Does muting a conversation hide it from my chat list?

No. Muted conversations stay in your list so you can still find and read them. They just do not send alerts. If you want to hide a conversation completely, you can hide it from your list instead — right-click and select "Hide" — but that is different from muting.

Can I set different mute times for different days?

The do-not-disturb feature does not repeat on a schedule. You set it once for a specific time range. If you want notifications silenced every weekday evening, you would need to set do-not-disturb each day, or use focus assist with priority contacts instead, which stays on until you turn it off.