6 Best Ways to Fix Notifications Not Working on Mac

With macOS Monterey running on your Mac, you’d look forward to receiving notifications in Action Center. However, if the app’s notifications aren’t working on Mac, it could land you in soup if you miss an important email or meeting invitation.

When notifications don’t work on Mac, you need to open apps to get messages and updates. This is not an ideal option. You would like notifications to work as expected on Mac. Without further ado, let’s get app notifications working on Mac again.

1. Grant notification permission

Whenever you open an app for the first time on Mac, it will ask for notification permission (if needed). If you have denied the startup notification permission, you need to enable the permission in the System Preferences menu.

Step 1: Click on the little Apple icon in the upper left corner.

2nd step: Open the System Preferences menu.

Step 3: Go to the Notifications and focus menu.

Step 4: Select an app you’re having trouble with notifications.

Activate the Allow notifications option and close the menu. You are ready to receive notifications from the app. In the same menu, you can also customize the notification experience. Select Alerts and make sure the latest messages arrive in the action center.

2. Disable focus mode

Following the macOS Monterey update, Apple has integrated Do Not Disturb Mode into Focus on the Mac. If you’ve enabled Focus mode on your Mac, it will turn off all notifications and calls on the device.

You need to open Control Center and turn off Focus mode. You can also add apps as exceptions to a Focus profile and continue to receive notifications from them even when Focus is enabled.

Here is what you need to do.

Step 1: Open the System Preferences menu.

2nd step: Go to Notifications and focus.

Step 3: Select the Focus profile that you use frequently on Mac.

Step 4: Select Applications and click the + icon.

Step 5: Select an app from which you want to receive notifications during Focus mode and close the menu.

You are now ready to receive notifications from your favorite apps.

3. Disable sharing on multiple devices

This applies to users living in the Apple ecosystem. When you activate Focus on iPhone, it is automatically activated for your iPad or Mac using the same account.

Enabling Focus on iPhone can trigger the same function on Mac. You need to turn off the Share to multiple devices toggle on iPhone. and iOS will not share Focus status with other devices.

Open the Settings app on iPhone and go to the Focus menu. Turn off sharing on multiple devices.

4. Open applications during startup

Unlike the iPhone, you have to keep apps open in the background to receive instant push notifications.

This means you need to open apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams to get the latest updates. It works slightly differently on desktop than it does on mobile.

A middle way is to open essential apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams when Mac starts up. That way, you’re ready to get the latest updates right from the start. Here’s how you can open your favorite apps at startup on Mac.

Step 1: Go to the System Preferences menu.

2nd step: Select Users and Groups.

Step 3: Click Login Items.

Step 4: Select the + icon at the bottom and add apps from the Apps menu.

Don’t go overboard with this practice. If you leave 4-5 applications open during startup, you might experience a lag.

5. Check the application settings

This tip applies to instant messaging (instant messaging) apps and solutions like Slack and Teams. If you have muted a specific conversation in WhatsApp or Telegram, you will not receive a notification.

Likewise, there is an option to block notifications for a specific amount of time in Teams and Slack. Turn on the sound for channels, groups, personal chats and you are ready to receive notifications from them.

6. Update Mac applications

Unlike the iPhone, there is no way to automatically update apps on the Mac. You need to open the App Store and install the new updates.

Not many people like this routine and continue to use outdated apps on Mac. This can result in notifications not working on Mac. Open the Mac App Store and update problematic apps to the latest version.

Get notifications that work on Mac

When notifications stop working on Mac, things can get confusing. Before tinkering with the installed apps, use the methods mentioned above to fix the problem and get notifications on Mac.