How to silence the bell notification when a chat appears?

Dear @Clayton Whitfield,

Thank you for contacting the Microsoft 365 Q&A Forum Community Support team. I understand that the notification sounds (the "bell") for incoming chats can be disruptive, and you are looking for a way to silence them or ensure they do not trigger when your computer is asleep. 

To resolve this and customize your notification experience, I recommend the following steps: 

Step 1: Disable Notification Sounds in Teams 

You can turn off the audible alert for every incoming message while still receiving visual banners. 

• Click on the three dots next to your profile picture at the top right of Teams app and select Settings. 
• Go to the Notifications and activity tab. 
• Under the Sound section, toggle the switch for Play sounds with notifications to Off and Mute all notification to Off. 

For more details, refer to: Manage notifications in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support 

Step 2: Manage notifications during inactivity 

Regarding your concern about notifications while the computer is asleep, Teams is designed to follow your system's power state. However, if you are receiving mobile "echo" notifications or want to ensure silence during specific times: 

• For Mobile: In the Teams mobile app, go to Settings > Notifications > Quiet time. You can set specific hours or "Quiet days" to silence all alerts. 
• For Desktop: Ensure your Windows or macOS Focus Assist / Do Not Disturb mode is configured to activate when the screen is off or during scheduled hours. Teams will respect these system-level settings. 

Step 3: Silence Specific Chats 

If the noise is only coming from a few high-traffic group chats or individuals: 

• Right-click the specific chat in your Chat list. 
• Select Mute. This allows you to check the messages at your convenience without any sound or banner alerts. 

I hope this helps you achieve a quieter workspace. Please let me know if you have any further questions or if the problem persists after trying these solutions. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.  

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

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To silence notifications in Microsoft Teams, you can adjust your notification settings directly within the app. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click on your profile picture at the top right corner.
3. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
4. Navigate to the Notifications tab.
5. Here, you can customize your notification preferences, including turning off sound notifications for chats.

If you want to ensure that notifications are suppressed when your computer is asleep, you may want to enable the "Do Not Disturb" mode in Windows. This can be done through the Action Center or by adjusting the Focus Assist settings, which allows you to define periods during which notifications are suppressed.

For more detailed instructions on configuring Focus Assist, you can refer to the relevant documentation.

References:

• Notifications don't show in the action or notification center
• Focus assist