Notifications Not Showing on Your Mac? How to Fix It

Notifications stopped appearing on your Mac — no banners, no sounds, nothing in the corner — even though the apps are open and working.

Why: On a Mac, a notification can be silenced in three places: a Focus (including Do Not Disturb) is turned on, the display state blocks them (sleeping, locked, or mirroring), or notifications are simply turned off for that one app. Checking these three in order solves nearly every case.

Fix 1: Turn off Do Not Disturb or any active Focus

A Focus left on is the most common cause. When one is active, its icon shows in the menu bar near the clock.

1. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar (top-right of the screen).
2. Click anywhere in the Focus section to open it.
3. If a Focus is highlighted, click it once to turn it off — its icon stops being highlighted.

If you want a Focus to stay on but stop hiding everything, you can set how long it runs (for example, For 1 hour) so it switches off on its own.

Fix 2: Check when notifications are allowed to appear

Your Mac can pause notifications based on what the screen is doing — this catches people who never see banners while working.

1. Open Apple menu > System Settings > Notifications.
2. Under Show Notifications, review these three options and turn on the ones you want:
   • when display is sleeping
   • when screen is locked
   • when mirroring or sharing the display

If you present or screen-share often, the mirroring option is frequently the culprit.

Fix 3: Turn notifications back on for a specific app

If only one app is silent, its notifications are likely switched off.

1. In System Settings > Notifications, scroll to Application Notifications and click the app.
2. Turn on Allow notifications.
3. Choose an Alert style — Banners disappear on their own, Alerts stay until you dismiss them.
4. Turn on Show in Notification Center and Show in Lock Screen if you want them in those places too.

FAQ

How do I know if a Focus is on? Look at the menu bar near the clock — an active Focus shows its icon (for example, a moon for Do Not Disturb). Open Control Center to see and turn it off.

Why do notifications still get collected even when I don’t see them? When a Focus or Do Not Disturb silences alerts, they aren’t deleted — they’re gathered in Notification Center, which you can open by clicking the date and time in the menu bar.

I allowed the app but still get nothing. Re-check that no Focus is on (Fix 1) and that the display-state options (Fix 2) aren’t blocking them — those override per-app settings.

Sources: Apple Support — Change notifications settings on Mac · Apple Support — Turn a Focus on or off on Mac