Managing Notifications in Microsoft Teams

• 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
• Channel-Specific Notifications
• Using Do Not Disturb
• Managing Email Notifications
• Best Practices & Recommendations
• Still Need Help?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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