When notifications stop showing up on a Mac, it is almost never a hardware problem — it is one of a handful of settings quietly silencing them. Work through these in order. The first three fix the large majority of cases, and none of them require an appointment or a reset.
1. Check Do Not Disturb and Focus first (the 10-second fix)
This is the number-one cause. If a Focus is on, banners and sounds are held back on purpose. Click the Control Center icon in the top-right menu bar (two toggles) and look at Focus. If Do Not Disturb or any Focus (Work, Sleep, Personal) is highlighted, click it to turn it off.
The trap: Focus can turn itself on automatically. Go to System Settings > Focus, open each Focus, and check the Set a Schedule section — a schedule or an automation (arriving at a location, opening an app) may be switching it on without you noticing. If you have an iPhone, Focus also syncs across devices, so a Focus you set on your phone can silence your Mac.
2. Make sure the app is actually allowed to notify you
Go to System Settings > Notifications and click the app that is not alerting you. Confirm Allow Notifications is switched on. If it is off, nothing from that app will ever appear.
With it on, check three more toggles right below it: the alert style (see step 3), Sounds, and Badges. It is common for Allow Notifications to be on while the sound is off — so alerts arrive silently and you never notice them.
3. Fix an alert style set to “None”
Still in System Settings > Notifications > [the app], look at the three alert-style choices: None, Banners, and Alerts. If it is set to None, the app is allowed to notify you but nothing visible appears. Choose Banners (they auto-dismiss) or Alerts (they stay until you act).
4. Notifications stop during screen sharing, mirroring, or presentations
macOS automatically hides notifications when you are mirroring your display, sharing your screen on a call, or when a TV/projector is connected — so you never flash a private message in front of an audience. This is by design. In System Settings > Notifications, scroll down and toggle Allow notifications when mirroring or sharing the display if you want them to come through anyway. If your notifications only vanish while a monitor or dock is connected, this is the cause.
5. Notifications only broken for one app (Messages, Mail, Calendar)
If a single app is the problem, the fix is usually inside that app rather than in system settings:
- Messages / iMessage: if texts land on your iPhone but never your Mac, it is a sign-in or Send & Receive issue, not a notification setting. Walk through iMessage not working on your Mac.
- Mail: Mail has its own VIP-only and per-mailbox notification rules that can override the system. See Mail notification settings on Mac.
- Website / browser alerts: Safari and Chrome each keep their own per-site notification permissions, separate from macOS.
6. No notification SOUND (but banners appear)
If banners show up but you hear nothing, it is a sound problem, not a notification problem. Check that the app’s Play sound for notifications toggle is on (Notifications > app), then confirm your Mac’s output volume and output device are correct — plugging in headphones or a monitor can silently reroute audio. Our full walkthrough is MacBook sound not working.
7. Restart the notification system
If everything looks right but notifications are still frozen, the process that draws them may have hung. A simple restart (Apple menu > Restart) clears it in most cases. If you prefer not to reboot, you can quit and relaunch the notification service, but a restart is faster and safer.
8. Update macOS
Notification bugs — especially Focus not releasing or badges getting stuck — are frequently fixed in point updates. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install anything pending. If your Mac is stuck on an old macOS that no longer receives updates, that itself can be why features misbehave; a newer machine may be the real fix.
When it is not a settings problem
If you have worked through every step and notifications still fail across multiple apps, it is worth ruling out a deeper software issue with a clean setup — see how to factory reset a MacBook before assuming anything is wrong with the hardware. Genuine hardware faults almost never show up as “no notifications”; they show up as no display, no sound, or no power.
Thinking about an upgrade instead?
If your Mac is old enough that it no longer gets macOS updates, quirks like this pile up. A refurbished Apple-silicon MacBook runs current macOS smoothly and comes with a 1-year warranty — the M2 MacBook Air starts at $974.99, and you can often find even lower prices in Apple clearance. Every machine we sell is tested, cleaned, and backed by real support, so the small stuff just works.
FAQ
Why did my Mac notifications suddenly stop?
The most common reasons are a Focus mode that turned on automatically (or synced from your iPhone), the app’s alert style set to None, or a monitor/screen-share that triggered automatic silencing. Check Control Center for an active Focus first.
Why are my notifications not making a sound?
Either the app’s notification sound is turned off in System Settings > Notifications, or your Mac’s audio output was rerouted to headphones or a monitor. Check both — banners can appear while the sound is silent.
Why do I only get notifications for some apps?
Each app has its own Allow Notifications switch and alert style. An app set to None or with Allow Notifications off will stay silent while others work normally. Set the affected app to Banners or Alerts.
Do Focus modes on my iPhone affect my Mac?
Yes. If “Share Across Devices” is on, turning on a Focus on your iPhone silences notifications on your Mac too. Turn the Focus off on either device, or disable sharing in System Settings > Focus.