Slack notifications not working? Check these in order, Mac first
Slack notifications not working? On a Mac it is usually macOS permission or a Focus, then Slack's pause and mentions-only settings. Phone fixes too.
On a Mac, open System Settings > Notifications, click Slack and turn on Allow notifications. Then click Control Center at the top right of the screen and switch off any Focus or Do Not Disturb. Those two fix most quiet Slacks. If they don't, look inside Slack for paused notifications or a channel set to mentions only. When it's the phone that stays quiet, Slack is usually waiting for your desktop to go idle.
OLL.E, the app we make, can turn one Slack channel into an alarm on your phone. On iPhone it only works with PinG, a small Bluetooth keyring, because iOS won't let one app read another app's notifications in the background, and any reply it writes there is a draft you tap to send.
Why are my Slack notifications not working on Mac?
This is the order I check in, most common cause first.
- Open System Settings > Notifications and click Slack in the app list. "Allow notifications" has to be on. Slack's help page still calls it System Preferences, which is the name on older macOS, and asks you to pick Banners or Alerts as the style rather than nothing at all. While you're in Notifications, check the setting for mirroring or sharing the display, since macOS can hold notifications during a screen share.
- A Focus or Do Not Disturb. Click the Control Center icon at the top right of the screen and look. If you live in a Focus all day, open System Settings > Focus, pick it, and add Slack under Allowed Apps. If your Focus settings sync across your Apple devices, the Sleep Focus you set on your iPhone last night can be the thing muting your Mac this morning.
- Slack itself is paused. Look for a little snooze icon next to your name. Click your profile picture and hover over Notifications to resume them, and check Preferences for a notification schedule, because one set to weekdays 9 to 5 goes quiet at 5:01 every time.
- You're only asking for some messages. In Preferences > Notifications, "What to notify you about" can be Everything or Mentions and direct messages. Each channel can also override that from the notification icon at the top of the channel (All new posts, Just mentions, or muted).
To test without asking a colleague to message you, Slack's preferences have a "Show an example" button next to the sound and appearance settings. If the example banner shows but real messages don't, the problem is in Slack's settings. If nothing shows, go back to macOS.
Why is my Slack notification sound not working?
Check Slack first. Under Preferences > Notifications > Sound & appearance there's a box called "Mute all sounds from Slack", and it's easy to tick by accident. Then check the Mac: System Settings > Notifications > Slack has its own "Play sound for notification" switch. If both look right, the sound may be going somewhere you can't hear. Slack's troubleshooting page sends you to the Sound settings to check which device plays sound effects, that user interface sound effects are on, and that the alert volume isn't at zero. Headphones in a bag or a monitor that's been unplugged are both regulars.
How do I change the Slack notification sound?
In the same Sound & appearance section, use the drop-down next to each notification type. Give DMs a different sound from channel mentions.
Why are my Slack notifications not working on iPhone or Android?
On phones, the usual cause is your computer. By default Slack sends mobile notifications one minute after you lock your desktop screen, or ten minutes after it stops seeing your cursor move. Leave the Mac awake at home and your phone stays silent while you're out, because Slack thinks you're at your desk. Change it under Preferences > Notifications > "When I'm not active on desktop". Slack can notify your phone as soon as a message is sent, as soon as you're inactive, or after an extra delay.
Next, the phone's own permission and quiet modes. On iPhone that's Settings > Notifications > Slack, then Settings > Focus, where you can add Slack to a Focus's allowed apps.
On Android, Slack says power saving modes and "optimization" apps can block its notifications, and that Google Play services must be enabled with its notifications allowed. Menus differ by phone maker, so open Settings and search for "battery", then let Slack run unrestricted. Then run Slack's own test. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture, then Notifications, then Troubleshoot Notifications. If it fails, Slack's advice is to reinstall and run it again; you can also clear the cache from Preferences (on iPhone it's under Debug & Reset Cache).
Can Slack notify me only for certain keywords?
Yes, and keyword notifications are the most useful setting in Slack. They're off until you add words.
On desktop: profile picture > Preferences > Notifications, then scroll to Channel keywords and type the words. On mobile: profile picture > Notifications > Add channel keywords.
Put in a client's name, your product's name, "invoice", "down". Then switch "What to notify you about" to Mentions and direct messages, and most of the noise goes while the words you care about still reach you. The catches, from Slack's page: keywords aren't case-sensitive but need an exact match, they only work in channels you've joined, and a keyword in a thread you're not following won't notify you.
On a paid plan you can also add people as VIPs (Preferences > VIP). Their DMs and mentions go to the top of your sidebar, and you can let their notifications through even when you've paused Slack.
Slack's own away and auto-reply options
Slack's help pages don't describe a built-in auto-reply for direct messages. What it has is a set of signals. You can set a status (profile picture > Update your status) with a time it clears, or schedule up to five ahead for a holiday. You can set yourself as away; Slack does it anyway after ten minutes without desktop activity. Pausing notifications puts a snooze icon by your name, and anyone writing you a DM can push one urgent notification through per day. There's also Automated Messages, under Tools & settings > Customize workspace. It replies when someone types a keyword, which makes it good for FAQs in a channel. Slack is clear that it doesn't post in DMs with other people, so it won't cover you while you're away.
Slack email notifications
When you're not active, Slack can email you mentions, DMs and replies to threads you follow, bundled every 15 minutes or once an hour. You turn them on in Slack's notification preferences, and you can reply to a message from the email itself.
| What you want | Slack's built-in option | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Tell people you're away | Status, scheduled status, set yourself as away | Nobody gets a reply |
| Answer a common question | Automated Messages | Channels and your own DM only, not DMs with others |
| Let one person through | VIPs, or the sender's urgent override | VIPs need a paid plan |
| Hear only certain words | Channel keywords | Exact match, channels you've joined |
| Catch up away from the app | Email notifications | Mentions, DMs and followed threads, every 15 or 60 minutes |
Getting an alarm for one Slack channel
Every fix above still ends in an ordinary notification. OLL.E reads Slack's notifications on your phone, Android directly and iPhone through PinG, and you describe the messages that matter in a sentence: anything in your client's channel, the word "urgent", your name from your manager. For those it calls you or sounds an alarm. On Android it can also answer through the notification's reply button with something like "On it, back in 10". It never touches your Slack account and doesn't watch the Slack app on your Mac, so Slack still has to be sending notifications to your phone; fix the phone checklist above first.
If the messages you're worried about are outages and P1s, the on-call post covers that setup. How the replies work is on the auto-reply page.
Fix the Mac and phone settings first; most quiet Slacks come back that way. If you still want one channel to wake you, OLL.E watches Slack's notifications on your phone and rings for only the messages you described. On Android it can send your holding reply for you. On iPhone it needs the PinG keyring, and replies are drafts you tap to send. One client channel fits easily in the free plan.
Questions people ask
Why are my Slack notifications not working on Mac?
Most often macOS has stopped them: check System Settings > Notifications > Slack and make sure Allow notifications is on, then check that no Focus or Do Not Disturb is running. If those are fine, look for a snooze icon by your name in Slack and check whether the channel is set to Just mentions.
How do I set up an auto reply in Slack?
Slack's help pages don't describe a built-in auto-reply for direct messages. You can set a status or schedule one, set yourself as away, or pause notifications so senders see a snooze icon. Automated Messages answer keywords in channels and your own DM, but not in DMs with other people.
How do I change the Slack notification sound?
Open Preferences > Notifications > Sound & appearance and pick a sound from the drop-down for each notification type. The same section has the Mute all sounds from Slack box, which is worth unticking if you hear nothing at all.
Can Slack notify me only for certain keywords?
Yes. Add words under Preferences > Notifications > Channel keywords (Add channel keywords on mobile), then set What to notify you about to Mentions and direct messages. Keywords are not case-sensitive, need an exact match and only work in channels you've joined.