Outlook: Enable or Disable Mail Alert Box

We show you how to enable or disable the email notification box that appears in the Windows Taskbar whenever you receive a new message in Microsoft Outlook.

Note: This post is to enable or disable the notification box. For the sound notification, see our post Turn Mail Notification Sound On/Off in Outlook

Contents

1 Fix 1: Outlook Setting
2 Fix 2 – Windows Notification Settings
3 Fix 3 – Check Notifications & Action Settings
4 Fix 4 – Disable Focus Assist

Fix 1: Outlook Setting

In Outlook, select the “File” menu.
Select “Options“.
Choose the “Mail” option in the left pane.
Scroll down to the “Message arrival” section. Check the “Display a Desktop Alert” box if you want a notification box to appear when you receive an email. Uncheck it if you don’t want a notification box to appear. You can also choose “Show an envelope icon in the taskbar” if you wish.

Fix 2 – Windows Notification Settings

Right-click a blank area on the taskbar, then select “Taskbar settings“.
Scroll down to the area that says, “Notification area” and choose the “Select which icons appear on the taskbar“.
Look for “Microsoft Outlook” entry. There may be several but look for the one that says “Microsoft Outlook – You have new unread e-mail messages.” and toggle it to the “On” position to enable it. Turn it “Off” to disable it.

Fix 3 – Check Notifications & Action Settings

Select the Start button then type “notification“.
Select Notifications & Action Settings.
In the Notifications & actions section, ensure that Outlook is turned On or Off as desired.

Fix 4 – Disable Focus Assist

At certain times, the Windows Focus Assist feature may suppress certain notifications.

Select the Start button and type “focus assist“.
Select Focus Assist to open the settings.
If you wish to have notifications displayed at all times, turn everything Off on this screen. Otherwise, you can leave the settings alone.

I hope one of the above fixes has helped you figure out your problems with Outlook notifications. Let me know if something worked for you in the comments section below.