Managing Notifications in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft 365 › Teams
🔔 Managing Notifications in Microsoft Teams
A guide for NEO A&M faculty, staff, and students on customizing Microsoft Teams notifications to reduce distractions and stay focused on what matters most.
📋 Before You Begin
  • You must have Microsoft Teams installed and be signed in with your NEO A&M account using the neo domain.
  • These instructions apply to the Microsoft Teams desktop app on Windows and macOS. Mobile steps may differ slightly.
  • Estimated time: 5–10 minutes
  • Requires: Active internet connection, Microsoft Teams desktop or web app

⚙ Global Notification Settings 3–5 min • Desktop App

Use these settings to control how Microsoft Teams notifies you across all activity — messages, mentions, reactions, and more.

  1. Click the three dots (...) (More options) next to your profile picture in the top-right corner of Teams.
  2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
  3. In the Settings panel, click Notifications and activity on the left side.
  4. Under General Activity, choose how you want to be notified:
    • Banner and feed — Shows a pop-up notification and records it in your Activity feed.
    • Only in feed — No pop-up; activity is recorded silently in your Activity feed only.
    • Off — No notification of any kind.
  5. Under Chats, customize alerts for @mentions and replies to your messages.
  6. Under Meetings, manage Mute settings during meetings or for specific meeting chats.
  7. Close Settings when done — changes save automatically.
✓ Tip: If you find Teams too noisy, start by setting General Activity to Only in feed. You will still see all activity — just without constant pop-ups interrupting your work.

🔌 Channel-Specific Notifications 2–3 min • Desktop App

If a specific channel is too noisy or very important, you can set custom notification rules for it without affecting your other channels.

  1. In the left sidebar of Teams, find the channel you want to adjust.
  2. Hover over the channel name to reveal the options.
  3. Click the three dots (...) that appear next to the channel name.
  4. Select Channel notifications from the menu.
  5. Choose your preferred notification level:
    • All activity — Get notified for every post and reply in this channel.
    • Off — Completely mute this channel.
    • Custom — Choose exactly what triggers a notification (e.g., only @mentions).
  6. Click Save to apply your changes.
⚠ Note: Setting a channel to Off means you will not see any notification even if someone @mentions you in that channel. Use Custom if you still want to catch direct @mentions while silencing general activity.

🔒 Using Do Not Disturb 1–2 min • All Platforms

When you need uninterrupted focus time, Do Not Disturb silences all non-urgent pop-up notifications in Microsoft Teams.

  1. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of Teams.
  2. Click your current status (e.g., Available, Busy).
  3. Select Do not disturb from the status dropdown.
  4. Your status icon will change to a red minus symbol, indicating you are in Do Not Disturb mode.
  5. To turn it off, click your profile picture again and select Available or another status.
ℹ Note: Even in Do Not Disturb mode, you can set Priority access to allow specific contacts (such as your supervisor) to still reach you. To configure this, go to Settings > Notifications and activity > Do not disturb > Manage priority access.
✓ Tip: You can also schedule Quiet hours in the Teams mobile app so notifications are automatically silenced outside of work hours.

📧 Managing Email Notifications 2–3 min • Desktop App

By default, Microsoft Teams may send activity summary emails to your Outlook inbox. You can control how often these are sent — or turn them off entirely.

  1. Click the three dots (...) next to your profile picture and select Settings.
  2. Click Notifications and activity.
  3. Scroll down to the Email section.
  4. Click the dropdown next to Missed activity emails and choose your preference:
    • As soon as possible — Sends an email immediately when you miss activity.
    • Every hour — Sends a digest email once per hour.
    • Every 8 hours — Sends a digest email twice a day.
    • Off — No activity emails sent.
  5. Close Settings — changes save automatically.
✓ Best Practice: We recommend setting missed activity emails to Off to keep your Outlook inbox clear. All activity will still be visible in your Teams Activity tab (the bell icon 🔔 in the left sidebar).

🌟 Best Practices & Recommendations Quick Reference

Use the recommendations below to set up Microsoft Teams notifications for a productive work environment:

Setting Recommended Option Why
General Activity Only in feed Reduces constant pop-ups without missing any activity.
@Mentions & Replies Banner and feed Ensures you see messages directed specifically at you.
High-traffic channels Off or Custom (@mentions only) Reduces noise from busy channels you monitor periodically.
Important channels All activity Ensures you never miss critical updates.
Missed activity emails Off Keeps your Outlook inbox clean; check the Activity tab instead.
Focus/deep work sessions Do Not Disturb Silences all pop-ups while still logging activity for later review.
📌 Remember: Your Activity feed (the bell icon 🔔 in the left sidebar) captures all notifications regardless of your pop-up settings. Check it regularly to catch anything you may have silenced.

🎓 Still Need Help?

If you have trouble managing your Microsoft Teams notifications or need further assistance, contact the NEO A&M College IT Help Desk:

📞 Phone (918) 540-6099
📧 Email neosupport@neo.edu
🏢 Walk-in IT Department, Library Administration, 2nd Floor, Room 216
🕐 Hours Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
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