Slack Notifications Not Working? The Usual Causes, Fixed in Order

Slack notifications usually stop because notifications are paused in Slack, your settings only allow mentions, Slack holds phone alerts while you are at your desk, or your browser or operating system blocks them. Check them in that order. If only the alerts for a watched word are missing, read our keyword notification test.

We went through every Slack-side setting below in the Slack web app on October 1, 2026, and copied the labels and options exactly as Slack shows them now. Several menu names changed from what older guides describe.

Check 1: notifications are paused in Slack

Look at your name. A small z means notifications are paused, and nothing banners, buzzes or plays a sound until the pause ends. A pause comes from three places:

• • Your working hours. Slack pauses you outside the hours set in Preferences, Availability, Working hours. In our account it was set to Weekdays, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, so alerts stopped every evening and all weekend. Screenshots and the other causes are in why Slack pauses my notifications.
• • A manual pause. Profile picture, Notifications, then a time such as 1 hour or Until tomorrow. Undo it from the same menu, or type /dnd off in any message box.
• • A pause set for leave. An out-of-office setup often includes a pause with an end date. If you came back early, resume by hand.

What the z next to the dot means is in the green dot with a z.

Check 2: what Slack is set to notify you about

Open your profile picture, Preferences, Notifications. The top of that page has two switches and one menu.


• • How to notify you. If Desktop notifications or Mobile notifications is unticked, that device gets nothing.
• • What to notify you about. The menu has two choices: Everything, or Mentions and direct messages (@you, @channel, @here). With the second, ordinary channel messages never alert you.
• • Also notify you about. Thread replies and New huddles are separate boxes. Messages from VIPs, even if notifications are paused lets chosen people through a pause.

Then check the channel itself, because it overrides your default. Click the bell in the channel header. In our workspace the menu offered All new posts, Just mentions and Mute and hide, which "only badge the channel when someone @mentions you".



Threads alert you only if you started, replied to or follow them; see Slack thread notifications not working. If muted channels vanished from the sidebar, see Slack channels disappeared from the sidebar.

Check 3: the mobile timing rule

This is the cause behind "my desktop gets alerts but my phone stays quiet". Slack holds phone alerts while it thinks you are at your computer. The setting is near the bottom of Preferences, Notifications, under When you're not active on desktop. Our account was on As soon as I'm inactive. The full list of choices:



Pick Immediately, even if I'm active if you often walk away from an open laptop. The Slack desktop app marks you inactive about 10 minutes after your last keyboard or mouse input on the computer, the same timer that turns your dot grey; see how long Slack stays active. If you keep your presence active with any tool, pick Immediately, even if I'm active, or your phone will wait for an inactivity that never comes.

Check 4: Slack in a browser needs permission

Browser Slack can alert you only if the browser allows it and the tab is open. When it is not allowed, Slack shows this bar along the bottom of the window. We saw it in our own browser on October 1:

Click Enable notifications and allow it when the browser asks. If you blocked it before, reset it in the browser:

• Chrome. Settings, Privacy and security, Site settings, Notifications. Allow app.slack.com.

• Edge. Settings, Cookies and site permissions, Notifications, and add Slack to Allow.

• Firefox and Safari. Allow your Slack workspace in the browser's notification permissions.

Your operating system's permission for the browser also applies. If Chrome cannot send notifications on your Mac, no website in Chrome can.

Check 5: your operating system

If Slack is set up correctly and nothing arrives on one device, the device is blocking it.

Mac. Open System Settings, Notifications, Slack and turn on Allow notifications. Set the alert style to Banners or Alerts; None delivers silently to Notification Center. Then check Focus in Control Center. More Mac-only switches are in Slack notifications not working on Mac.

Windows 11. Open Settings, System, Notifications, make sure notifications are on and Slack is enabled. Turn off Do not disturb, and end any Focus session. Slack must be running, including in the system tray.

iPhone. Open Settings, Notifications, Slack and turn on Allow Notifications. Check any Focus mode under Settings, Focus. iPhone-only causes are in Slack notifications not working on iPhone.

Android. Open Settings, Apps, Slack, Notifications and turn them on, including the categories for messages and mentions. Set battery usage for Slack to Unrestricted.

The Slack mobile app also has a built-in test: tap your profile picture, tap Notifications, then Troubleshoot notifications.

Check 6: stale state, cache and updates

Mark everything as read. Press Shift + Esc in the desktop app or browser. A red dot that survives this is covered in Slack red dot won't go away.

Clear the cache. On desktop, open Help, Troubleshooting, Clear Cache and Restart.

Update or reinstall. An old app version can lose its push registration.

Check status.slack.com if notifications fail for everyone at once.

A banner without a sound is a separate setting: in Preferences, Notifications, Sounds & appearance, check that Mute all messaging sounds from Slack is off. Every sound option is in how to change the Slack notification sound.

FAQ

Do notifications keep me active on Slack?

No. Receiving a push notification does not make you active. Only use of the app on screen does, as explained in how Slack decides when you are away.

Why do I get notifications for some channels and not others?

The channel's own setting overrides your default. Open the bell in the header of each silent channel and check it is not on Just mentions or Mute and hide.