How to Fix Mac Notifications Not Showing/Working on Ventura/Monterey?

If you find your Mac notifications not showing, you're not alone. Many users have complained about notifications not working after updating macOS, going to full-screen mode, on external monitors, etc. The notification issue has affected many apps on Mac, including Slack, Mail, Messages, Skype, Safari, etc. Here are some examples of the issues users are searching for solutions to.

Here, we'll help you troubleshoot your notifications issue and fix the problem of Mac not showing notifications.

Why are Mac notifications not showing?

Incorrect settings, system bugs, and software incompatibilities are the most likely reasons that may render macOS notifications not working. Check if the culprit that results in your Mac not showing notifications is one of the following:

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Fix Mac notifications not showing on Ventura, Monterey, Big Sur, or earlier?

It's a hassle that you have to open apps or click the notification center to find out whether a new message has arrived. But worry no more, as we've gathered all the solutions to the "Mac notifications not popping up" issue.

You can apply them to any apps that are having notification issues. Before heading to the solutions, make sure your internet is working and your Mac isn't muted. When you're ready, take the following solutions in order.

• Way 1: Restart your Mac
• Way 2: Ensure the app is given notification permissions
• Way 3: Unhide hidden files
• Way 4: Turn off Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb
• Way 5: Keep apps running in the background
• Way 6: Check the offending app's notification settings
• Way 7: Restart Notification Center
• Way 8: Toggle "Automatically hide and show the menu bar"
• Way 9: Forward messages from your iPhone to Mac
• Way 10: Remove configuration profiles
• Way 11: Disable Content & Privacy
• Way 12: Use macOS's native full-screen mode
• Way 13: Update apps
• Way 14: Update macOS

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Restart your Mac

Like many problems, Mac not showing notifications is probably a temporary issue that a reboot can resolve. So, the first thing you should try is to reboot your Mac, which cleans the troublesome processes and gives you a clean slate to work with.

If that doesn't do the trick, move on with the other solutions below.

Ensure the app is given notification permissions

When noticing your desktop Mac or MacBook notifications not working, you must check the notifications settings and ensure the affected apps are allowed to send notifications. You might have denied the notification permission somehow.

Besides, you need to manually enable notifications on sleep mode, lock screen, and external monitors for them to work properly. Follow the steps below to check if the notifications are correctly configured:

Fix Mac notification not showing up on Ventura:

Fix macOS notifications not working on Monterey, Big Sur, or earlier:

Suppose all the settings are correct but the notifications still don't work. Keep reading the next fix.

Unhide hidden files

Some users may be unable to find the app in Notifications settings, and thus can't manage its notifications. In this case, you can try unhiding the hidden files on your Mac via the Terminal app.

If you want to hide the hidden files again, open Finder and press Command + Shift + Period.

Turn off Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb

Focus Mode is a convenient choice if you need a break from notifications so that you can concentrate on a specific task. When it's enabled, you'll not see or hear notifications as they arrive, which may be what's resulting in your MacBook notifications not working.

It's a good idea to check whether Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb is turned on on your Mac, especially if you have an iPhone. Enabling Focus on it will likely trigger the same function on your Mac. 

Here's how to check and disable Focus Mode on Mac.

Fix Mac notifications not popping up on Ventura & Monterey:

Fix Mac notifications not showing up on Big Sur:

After the Focus or Do Not Disturb is turned off, you might also want to delete the schedule that automatically enables it and blocks your notifications if you have set one. Besides, if you want to receive notifications from some apps while Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb is enabled, you can add them to the exclusion list. Follow the steps below:

On macOS Ventura:

On macOS Monterey or earlier:

Keep apps running in the background

On Mac, you can only receive notifications from open apps. If your app isn't open, it's likely why you're not getting notifications. If you don't want to launch essential apps to get notifications manually, you can add them to the login items (check macOS startup programs). This way, they will automatically open and run in the background.

Check the offending app's notification settings

Some messaging apps like Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc have their own settings where you can disable notifications or block notifications from a specific channel or conversation. If you've done that before, you'll find macOS notifications not appearing even if the app's allowed to send notifications on your Mac.

So, take a look at the app that's causing troubles and ensure its notifications are enabled.

Restart Notification Center

There could be some glitches with the Notification Center, leading to the notification center freezing after upgrading to Sonoma.

To resolve the Mac notification center not working, you can quit the Notification Center process in Activity Monitor, which forces it to restart with no errors. This will also be particularly helpful when encountering macOS Monterey Notification Center not showing.

Toggle "Automatically hide and show the menu bar"

Some users have resolved the "Mac notifications not working" issue by toggling the "Automatically hide and show the menu bar" settings. You can also give it a try.

On macOS Ventura:

On macOS Monterey or earlier:

Forward messages from your iPhone to Mac

If you are not getting message notifications on your Mac for the Messages app, chances are that you didn't enable "Text Message Forwarding" on your iPhone. Here's how to do it:

Remove configuration profiles

Configuration profiles are usually used by administrators to standardize settings for Mac computers. If your Mac belongs to an organization, these profiles may be the culprit stopping you from changing notification settings. Take the following steps to check if your Mac has a profile installed.

If it does, you can remove the profile after consulting the administrator if any. Note that when you delete a profile, all of its configuration and information is deleted.

If your Mac is not showing notifications on Ventura, choose the Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security, and click Profiles. Then select a profile and click the ( - ) button.

If your Mac is not showing notifications on Monterey or earlier, choose the Apple menu > System Preferences.  Then select a profile and click the ( - ) button. If the Profiles preference isn't available, you don't have any profiles installed.

Disable Content & Privacy

Similarly, if you have set up Content & Privacy restrictions in Screen Time on Mac, it will also prevent you from saving changes to the Notifications settings. You can turn it off to see if your notifications work properly.

Use macOS's native full-screen mode

If you experience Mac notifications not showing in full screen, it's possible that you're using the app's own fullscreen mode rather than the Mac's. To fix it, you just need to exit the fullscreen mode, then use the green button at the top-left to reenter the full screen.

Update apps

If the "Mac notifications not working" issue occurs after a recent macOS update, you may need to update your apps for them to work with the updated release. Depending on where you downloaded it from, you can update it from the App Store or the app's official website.

Update macOS

The notification issue could also result from software bugs. Consider updating to the latest macOS available to your Mac. Hopefully, the newer release contains the necessary patches for the problem.

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FAQ about Mac notifications not showing