Play sound for incoming Teams messages in open CHat

Question

Play sound for incoming Teams messages in open CHat

ruosi qi 0

I often keep my Teams open on my laptop while working on my desktop.

However, if I have a chat open, Teams will not notify me of a new message from that particular chat (I'm guessing that it assumes that I saw the message since the chat is open).

This also happens if Teams is open, but behind other windows so not fully visible on the screen.

Is there a way to get notified even if the chat is open?

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Vy Nguyen 7,575 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @Ruosi Qi,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum and sharing the details of your issue.

I understand how important it is to stay notified of new messages in Microsoft Teams, especially when you're multitasking across multiple screens. I’d be happy to walk you through a few steps to help ensure you receive sound alerts, even when a chat is open or Teams is running in the background.

Here’s a step-by-step guide that should suit your situation:

1/ Try to check again Teams Notification Settings

Open Microsoft Teams.
Click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
Select Settings, then go to the Notifications tab.
Under Appearance and sound, make sure:
- “Play sound for incoming calls and notifications” is turned ON.
- Notification style is set to Teams built-in (this helps Teams manage sound alerts more effectively).

2/ Sometimes, even if Teams is set up correctly, your system settings may affect sound playback.

On Windows:

Go to Settings > System > Sound.
Ensure your output device (like speakers or headphones) is selected and the volume is up.
Scroll down to Advanced sound options and click App volume and device preferences.
Make sure Microsoft Teams is not muted.

User's image

On Mac:

Open System Settings > Sound.
Confirm that the output volume is audible and not muted.

3/ Try to disable Focus Assist or Do Not Disturb

Sometimes, system-level focus settings can block notifications.

On Windows: Go to Settings > System > Focus Assist and set it to Off.
On Mac: Open Control Center and turn off Do Not Disturb.

4/ You can try to restart Teams and Your Device

Fully quit Teams by right-clicking the Teams icon in the system tray and selecting Quit.
Restart your computer.
Open Teams again and test message notifications.

Moreover, if Teams is open but minimized or behind other windows, it may assume you're actively viewing the chat and suppress the sound. To help with this:

Try switching to Windows notification style in Teams settings and see if that improves behavior.
Keep Teams in focus or on a visible screen when expecting important messages.

Please understand that our initial response may not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment”. User's image Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

ruosi qi 0 Reputation points

2025-09-03T17:50:03.97+00:00

I tired this and did not help :-(
Vy Nguyen 7,575 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-03T19:09:22.0733333+00:00
Hi @Ruosi Qi,

Thank you again for your response and for taking the time to try the initial steps I shared.

To help move things forward, I’d like to suggest a few additional steps that may be helpful. These are based on how Microsoft Teams is intended to function, and I’m doing my best to offer workarounds that could suit your specific setup.

These suggestions are based on how Microsoft Teams is designed to behave, and I’m doing my best to provide workarounds that could work for your setup.

1/ Try to enable all Notifications for Mentions and Chat Messages

Open Microsoft Teams.

Click your profile picture in the top-right corner > Settings > Notifications.

Under Chat and @mentions, make sure all notification options are turned ON.

Also ensure “Play sound for incoming calls and notifications” is enabled.

This helps ensure Teams sends alerts even when the chat is open.

2/ You can try to check Windows Taskbar Settings

Go to Windows Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

Scroll down and look for the Chat option.

Make sure it’s turned ON.

In some cases, Teams integrates with Microsoft Chat and can trigger pop-up notifications directly on your desktop, even if the app is running in the background.

3/ If you're using the new version of Teams, clearing the cache may help reset notification behavior.

Close Teams completely (right-click the icon in the system tray > Quit).

On Microsoft:

Press Windows + R, then type: %userprofile%\appdata\local\Packages\MSTeams_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Microsoft\MSTeams

On Mac: Press Command + Q, type: rm -rf ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.com.microsoft.teams

rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.teams2

Delete all contents in that folder.

Restart your computer and open Teams again.

Moreover, if the issue still persists after trying all the recommended steps, I strongly recommend contacting Microsoft Support directly at:

Visit Phone Number – Microsoft Support

Select your country/region own phone number for support.   

Note: Please understand the scope of support we’re able to provide through this forum. As moderators, our role is to offer general guidance and help troubleshoot common issues. However, we don’t have access to the internal tools or permissions required to resolve certain account-specific or backend problems.

I truly wish I could assist you further, and I appreciate your understanding and patience as we work within these limitations.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment”.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
ruosi qi 0 Reputation points

2025-09-03T20:02:03.1666667+00:00

Looks like I'll have to call, but I believe this is an design issue that can't be solved with changes to my settings. Thank for your help.
Vy Nguyen 7,575 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-03T21:07:07.4366667+00:00

Hi @Ruosi Qi,

Thank you again for your message and for sharing your perspective so clearly. I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to explore the settings and provide thoughtful feedback.

Based on your experience, it does seem that this behavior is part of how Microsoft Teams is currently designed, where sound notifications may not trigger if the chat is already open or the app is running in the background. While we’ve gone through the available settings and workarounds, I understand this may not fully address your situation.

That said, I want to highlight that your idea is genuinely a great one. It’s practical, well thought out, and I believe many other users would benefit from having more control over notification behavior in similar scenarios. I highly encourage you to share this suggestion directly with our product team. You can do this by opening Teams, clicking your profile picture, selecting Help, and then choosing Give feedback.

Go to: Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub →Send Feedback→ Describe your proposal in detail

This is the best way to make sure your idea is seen by the right team. The more feedback we receive on ideas like yours, the more likely they are to be considered in future update. I’ll also make a note of it on my end to help bring attention to it.

Thank you again for your time, your insight, and your kind words. If there’s anything else I can assist you with, I’m always here to help.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment”. Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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Play sound for incoming Teams messages in open CHat

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