Why is my email notification sound not working?
There could be many reasons your email notification sound is not working in the Outlook desktop app. We have listed some of these reasons below.
You have disabled the Play a sound option in the Outlook app.You have restricted your apps to use your speaker from playing sound on Windows.You have turned on the Focus assist to avoid distractions while working on the computer.The sound settings on your system are incorrectly configured or disabled for New Mail Notifications.
In this article, we have explained some methods that may help you get rid of this problem.
Email notification sound is not working in Outlook
If the email notification sound is not working in Outlook on your computer, try the following solutions to fix it: Let’s have a look at these solutions in detail.
1] Check if Play a sound setting is enabled in Outlook
Outlook will not play the notification sound if the Play a sound setting is turned off in Outlook. Check if you have disabled this setting by mistake. We have listed the steps for the same below:
2] Check Notifications & action settings in Windows 11/10
If despite enabling the Play a sound option in Outlook settings, the problem still persists, check Notifications & sound settings in Windows 11/10. Outlook does not play a sound if you have disabled the app in Windows 11/10 Settings. Below, we have explained the steps to check this for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems.
Windows 11
Windows 10
Now, check if the issue is fixed or not.
3] Turn off the Focus assist (Quiet Hours)
Focus assist is a feature in Windows 11/10 that helps users stay focused on their work by muting the notifications. Focus assist was called Quiet Hours in the earlier version of Windows 10. It gets activated automatically when you play a game, use an app in full-screen mode, etc. If you want, you can also enable this feature manually from Windows 11/10 Settings. Outlook notifications will not work if you have enabled this feature manually. You can check it in Settings. If it is enabled, consider disabling it. Below, we have explained the process to turn off Focus assist for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 users.
Windows 11
Windows 10
4] Check your sound settings in Windows 11/10
Check if you have allowed your applications to use your speaker. This setting is available in the Control Panel. Here, the instructions are the same for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 users.
If the issue still persists, try the next solution.
5] Check New Mail Notification and Desktop Mail Notification settings in Windows 11/10
In Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can set different sounds for different events, like Calendar Reminder, Critical Battery Alarm, sound to be played at the time you connect a device, New Mail Notification, Desktop Mail Notification, etc. Windows 11/10 lets users disable all these sounds with a single click or for some particular events only. Check if you have disabled this feature by mistake. The instructions are written below:
6] Create an Inbox Rule in Outlook
If none of the above solutions work, you have to create a new Rule in Outlook to play notification sounds on receiving a new email. Follow the instructions below: Launch Microsoft Outlook desktop app and go to “File > Manage Rules & Alerts.”
In the Rules and Alerts window, click on the New Rule button. Select Play a sound when I get messages from someone. After that, click Next.
By default, the “from people or public group” checkbox is selected. Deselect it. Now, scroll down the list and select the “on this computer only” checkbox. In the Step 2 box, click on the play a sound link to select the sound that you want Outlook to play at the time of receiving new emails. Click Next until you reach the Finish rule setup screen. Here, you can activate the rule for all email accounts on Outlook (this option is helpful if you have added more than one email account on Outlook). For this, enable the checkbox that says Create this rule on all accounts. Now, click on the Finish button.
How do I turn on email notifications in Outlook?
To turn on the email notifications in Outlook, open the app and go to “File > Options > Mail.” Now, enable the Display a Desktop Alert checkbox under the Message arrival section. Click OK to save the changes. If you want, you can also enable sound on receiving every new email by enabling the Play a sound checkbox. Hope this helps. Read next: How to get notifications for selected contacts in Microsoft Outlook.
