Windows 11 has moved the notifications to the calendar, which might’ve needed some getting used to. However, what didn’t change was the frequency of notifications. If you’re annoyed by the constant pinging from notifications for updates and apps you never use, here’s how to get custom Windows 11 notifications to smooth out your workflow.
Getting Started With Global Notification Settings
In Windows 11, pretty much every option related to notifications will be found in the Settings. From there, you can work to get your custom Windows 11 notifications.
Step 1. Click the Start menu and select Settings (or press “Windows + I”).
Step 2. Select “System” from the left sidebar.
Step 3. Click on “Notifications” to access all notification options.
Step 4. If you want to make the notification button more noticeable (as opposed to clicking the time), check the “Show notification bell icon” option.
Step 5. Additionally, you can remove the notifications from the lock screen, as they’ll most likely be censored anyway and just show that you have notifications rather than what they are.
Turning Off Unwanted Notifications
Once you’re in the Notifications section, you can select apps or system subsections that you don’t want to get notifications from. To mute all notifications, you can toggle “Notifications” off.
Alternatively, you can keep notifications on but customize which apps can send them.
Step 1. Scroll down to see a list of all apps capable of sending notifications.
Step 2. Toggle individual apps on or off based on your preferences to mute all notifications from them.
Custom Windows 11 Notifications by App
You can also play around with different notification settings for each program individually.
Step 1. Still in the Notifications section, click on any app name in the notifications list to access detailed settings. Let’s use Slack as the example.
Here are the options you will most likely have.
- Choosing whether to show notification banners.
- Enabling or disabling sounds for notifications.
- Setting the priority level for notifications (Top, High, Normal), which dictates where exactly the notifications appear on the bar rather than how often.
- Determining if the notification content appear on the lock screen (which does nothing if you remove that option from global settings like we did).
Focus for Distraction-Free Work or Play
If you want to remove notifications for a specific amount of time, then get back to them when you’re available, “Focus” mode might be just the thing.
Step 1. Scroll down in the Notifications settings and choose “Focus.”
Step 2. Set the rules for what the function will do to your notification settings.
Step 3. Change the “Session duration” as needed and press the “Start focus sessions” button.
Step 4. If you just want to start a Focus session once you’ve set it up, you can do so by clicking on the clock app on the taskbar, changing the timer and pressing the play button for “Focus.”
Using Do Not Disturb
Previously known as Focus assist (which can be confusing a bit as the “Focus” mode exists) the “Do not disturb” mode allows you to automatically block or silence notifications when working with full-screen apps or at specific times of the day. Prior to Windows 11 build 22557, Focus assist combined silencing and preventing notifications on the fly and automatically.
Step 1. If you want to turn on the “Do not disturb mode,” you can click on the small bell icon on the top-right of the notification toolbar.
Step 2. To customize the function, go to “Settings,” then to “System” and “Notifications,” then expand “Turn on Do not disturb automatically.”
Step 3. Change the settings how you need them.
Step 4. To ensure you get vital notifications, select “Set priority notifications” below.
Step 5. Click on “All apps” to add an app that you need to be notified by, then select it from the list that pops up.
Customizing Stock Windows Notification Sounds
You can also change the beeps and clicks you receive when your system sends notifications or does anything that might warrant your attention.
Step 1. Go to “Settings,” then to “System” and select “Sound.”
Step 2. Scroll down to “Advanced” and select “More sound settings.” This opens a new Sound menu.
Step 3. Go to the “Sounds” tab.
Step 4. In the list of “Program Events,” choose what you want to customize (for example, Calendar reminder).
Step 5. For the sound itself, choose it from the dropdown list below or click on “Browse” to use a custom sound. It needs to be in the .wav format.
Step 6. Test the sound with the play button.
Step 7. Repeat the process for all the events you want to change, then click on “Save As” and enter a name for your custom sound notification schematic.
Step 8. Click on “Apply” and close the menu.
This option allows you to get custom Windows 11 notifications to pretty much whatever you want, so long as you can get them into the .wav format.
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