How to Silence Notifications Automatically with Do Not Disturb in Windows 11

What automatic Do Not Disturb does

The notifications themselves are not deleted — they go quietly into Notification Center instead. Notification Center is the panel that opens when you click the date and time at the right end of the taskbar 🖥️. You can read your messages there whenever you are ready.

You can switch Do Not Disturb on by hand at any time. Automatic rules do the same thing without you having to remember. Each rule switches Do Not Disturb on when its condition starts and off again when it ends.

Windows 11 offers these automatic rules:

• During these times runs Do Not Disturb on a daily or weekly schedule.
• When duplicating my display covers the moments you mirror your screen to a projector or second display.
• When playing a game covers full-screen games.
• When using an app in full-screen mode covers any app you run full screen, such as a slideshow or a video.
• For the first hour after a Windows feature update keeps post-update prompts quiet while Windows settles in.

Before you start: check your 🪟 Windows 11 version

Older Windows 11 builds call it Focus assist and put it in a separate page under System. The rules are similar, but the layout differs.

If you see Focus assist and no Do not disturb toggle on the Notifications page, run Windows Update first. Then follow the steps below.

Turn on automatic Do Not Disturb

This section opens the page where the automatic rules live. Do the first four steps once, then pick the rules you want in the sections that follow.

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.

   

2. Click System in the left pane.

   

3. Click Notifications. You should see a list that starts with a Notifications toggle, followed by a Do not disturb toggle.

   

4. Click the Turn on do not disturb automatically row to expand it. A list of rules with tick boxes appears.

Leave the main Do not disturb toggle off if you want the rules alone to control it. That toggle is the manual switch. If you turn it on, Do Not Disturb stays on until you turn it off yourself.

If the Turn on do not disturb automatically row is missing, see the troubleshooting section below.

Silence notifications on a schedule

Use this rule for fixed quiet hours, such as overnight or during a regular meeting block.

1. In the expanded Turn on do not disturb automatically list, tick During these times.

   

2. Set the start time and end time. Use the hour and minute pickers shown for each.
3. Choose how often the schedule repeats, for example every day or on certain days only.

When the clock reaches your start time, Do Not Disturb switches on without any prompt. At the end time it switches off, and banners and sounds return.

Two points about schedules:

• A schedule that crosses midnight (for example, 22:00 to 07:00) treats the whole period as one unbroken quiet time.
• Windows follows the time and time zone set on your PC. If your schedule fires at the wrong hour, check the time settings under Settings > Time & language > Date & time.

Silence notifications when you present

Use this rule so a message from a colleague does not pop up on a projector or shared screen.

1. In the same expanded list, tick When duplicating my display.

This rule works with display mirroring only. It does not work with screen sharing in a meeting app. To trigger it, press Windows key + P and choose Duplicate. If you present by sharing a window in a video call app, Windows does not count that as duplicating your display. Use the full-screen rule below, or switch Do Not Disturb on manually before the call.

Silence notifications while gaming

Use this rule so chat and mail banners do not cover a game.

1. Tick When playing a game.

Windows decides that you are playing a game from how the game runs. It works best with full-screen games. A game in a window may not trigger it. If a windowed game keeps showing banners, switch it to full screen or turn on the full-screen rule below.

Silence notifications in full-screen apps

This rule is broader than the gaming rule. It covers any app you run full screen, such as a slideshow, a video player or a browser in full-screen view.

1. Tick When using an app in full-screen mode.

To test it, open a video or a browser and press F11 to enter full screen. Then trigger a notification, for example by sending yourself a message. No banner should appear. Press F11 again to leave full screen, and the quiet period ends.

Silence notifications after a Windows feature update

Use this rule if you do not want post-update prompts to interrupt the first session after an update.

1. Tick For the first hour after a Windows feature update.

This rule only matters after a feature update, which is the large, twice-a-year-or-less kind of update, not a monthly security patch. Until the next feature update, it does nothing.

Check that Do Not Disturb is running

You can confirm the state at any time without opening Settings.

1. Click the date and time at the right end of the taskbar, or press Windows key + N, to open Notification Center. The notifications panel opens.
2. Look at the bell icon at the top of the panel. When Do Not Disturb is on, the bell appears changed or crossed out. When it is off, the bell looks normal.

The same bell icon is a quick manual toggle — click it to turn Do Not Disturb on or off instantly. Click it to turn Do Not Disturb on or off on the spot. This is useful for a one-off quiet period that does not fit any rule.

While a rule is active, missed notifications wait in Notification Center. Open it after your meeting or game to catch up.

Let important notifications through

Automatic Do Not Disturb silences everything by default. On current Windows 11 versions, you can allow certain notifications to break through Do Not Disturb.

1. Open Settings > System > Notifications.

   

2. Look near the Do not disturb toggle for a link named Set priority notifications. Click it if it is there.

   

3. Choose the items that should still break through, such as calls, reminders, or specific apps.

If you do not see Set priority notifications, your build does not include it. The only option on those builds is to treat Do Not Disturb as all or nothing.

Silence only one app instead

If one app causes most of the interruptions, you do not need Do Not Disturb at all. A per-app switch is quieter and permanent.

1. Open Settings > System > Notifications.
2. Scroll to the list of apps under Notifications from apps and other senders.

   

3. Switch off the toggle next to the app that is causing the problem.

That app stops showing notifications at all times, not only during a rule. Use this for apps you never want to hear from, and keep Do Not Disturb for times when you want everything quiet.

If the automatic options are missing or greyed out

These are the usual causes, with what you will see for each.

• You see Focus assist, not Do not disturb. Your build is older. Run Windows Update, restart when prompted, then open the Notifications page again.
• The rules are greyed out and a message says some settings are managed by your organization. A work or school policy controls this page. You cannot override it on a managed PC. Ask your IT team if you need a different schedule.
• The main Notifications toggle is off. When all notifications are switched off, there is nothing for Do Not Disturb to hold back. Switch Notifications on at the top of the page.
• A rule seems not to fire. Check that its tick box is still selected. Then test it directly. For example, enter full screen and send yourself a message. Rules apply as soon as the condition starts. No restart is needed after you change a rule.

If a banner still gets through

Do Not Disturb silences notifications that apps send through Windows. Some banners come from elsewhere. A browser tab can show its own pop-up, and an app can draw its own alert window inside its interface. Those do not go through Notification Center, so Do Not Disturb does not hold them back. Turn off the alert in that app or site instead.

Also check the priority list. An app you allowed in Set priority notifications will still show banners while a rule is running.

Turn automatic Do Not Disturb off

You can undo any rule at any time, and nothing is lost when you do.

1. Open Settings > System > Notifications.
2. Expand Turn on do not disturb automatically.
3. Clear the tick box next to each rule you no longer want.

If Do Not Disturb is on right now, click the bell icon in Notification Center, or switch off the Do not disturb toggle on the same Settings page. Banners and sounds return straight away.

What to do next

If a rule you set still does not fire, confirm your Windows build is current, then check whether a work policy is controlling the page. If you want quiet time that starts when you choose, rather than on a rule, look at focus sessions in the Windows 11 Clock app. Open it from the Start menu and look for Focus sessions. On current builds a session also mutes notifications while it runs.