Teams gives you several ways to cut the pings without dropping out of the conversations that matter. This guide starts with the fastest fix, then walks through each control in turn: muting a chat, Do not disturb, quiet time on your phone, channel settings, threads, and sounds.
The quickest way to get quiet
If you need quiet right now, turn on Do not disturb. Type /dnd in the Teams search box and you’re set. Banner notifications stop and calls go to voicemail. Chat messages still arrive, so you can catch up later.
If one noisy chat is the problem, mute just that chat instead. You stay in it, and you still hear about @mentions.
Here’s where each control lives:
| What you want | The control | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Silence one chat | Mute | More options next to the chat; on mobile, swipe left |
| Pause everything for a while | Do not disturb | Profile picture > your status, or type /dnd |
| Quiet hours on a schedule | Quiet time | Mobile app: profile picture > Notifications |
| Fewer pings from a channel | Channel notifications | More options next to the channel name |
| Track only certain threads | Follow thread | Hover over replies or a message in the thread |
| Change the sound | Sound | Settings > Notifications and activity > Sound (Windows, web) |
| Sounds off, alerts on | Play sounds with notifications | Settings > Notifications and activity > General |
Teams runs on Windows, macOS, iPhone and iPad, Android, and in a web browser. Most of these controls work everywhere. Two of them don’t: quiet time is mobile-only, and custom sounds are for Windows and web only.
Mute one chat
Muting is the right tool when a single group chat or conversation won’t stop buzzing, but you don’t want to leave it.
On desktop or web:
- Go to the chat.
- Point to it to reveal More options.
- Select Mute.
To undo it, select More options > Unmute.
On mobile: swipe left on the chat and tap Mute.
A few things happen when you mute a Teams chat:
- You stay in the chat.
- You still get notified when someone @mentions you.
- The chat moves to a Muted section at the bottom of your chat list. It’s out of the way, but easy to find.
This makes mute a good middle ground. Busy chats stop interrupting you, and you still hear about anything aimed at you directly.
Pause everything for a while
Do not disturb is a status. Use it when you need focus time, you’re presenting, or you’re in class or a meeting.
To turn it on:
- Select your profile picture.
- Select your current status.
- Choose Do not disturb.
The shortcut is to type /dnd in the search box.
To make it end on its own:
- Select your profile picture, then your current status.
- Select Duration.
- Under Status, pick Do not disturb.
- Under Reset status after, pick a time, or choose Custom to set your own.
Setting an end time means you won’t forget to switch it off and miss things for the rest of the day.
What still gets through
While Do not disturb is on, chat messages still arrive, just without banner notifications. Calls go to voicemail.
The exception is your priority access list. People on it can still reach you. You manage that list in Settings > Privacy. Add your manager, a key teammate, or anyone else you never want to miss.
Hear only mentions or chosen words
Microsoft’s help pages for Teams don’t describe a setting that limits notifications to mentions or keywords you choose.
The closest documented behavior is muting. A muted chat still notifies you about @mentions, so muting busy chats gets you part of the way there.
Set quiet hours on a schedule
Teams quiet hours are called Quiet time, and they’re only available in the Teams mobile app on iPhone, iPad, and Android. Use quiet time to keep your phone silent at night, on weekends, or on days you don’t work.
To set it up:
- In the Teams mobile app, tap your profile picture.
- Select Notifications.
- Under Block notifications, select Block during quiet hours.
- Turn on Certain hours to choose the hours you want quiet each day, or turn on All Day to choose whole days of the week.
During quiet time, Teams sends no sounds and no push notifications to your phone. Other people aren’t told that your notifications are muted, so you don’t have to explain anything.
Microsoft documents quiet time for mobile only. For the desktop or web app, use Do not disturb with a duration instead.
Change notifications for one channel
In a team with many channels, some matter more than others. Channel notifications let you set each one separately.
To change a channel:
- Select More options to the right of the channel name.
- Select Channel notifications.
- Choose what you want:
- Turn notifications for all new messages or posts on or off.
- Show them in the Activity feed and banner, or only in the Activity feed.
Choosing “only the Activity feed” is a useful in-between. You stop getting pop-ups, but new posts still collect in your feed for when you have time to look.
Extra options for Threads-layout channels
If a channel uses the Threads layout, you get two more choices:
- Include thread replies
- Follow all new threads
Turn these on for channels you need to track closely. Leave them off for channels you only skim.
Follow only the threads you care about
Following a thread is the opposite of muting. You choose the conversations you want to keep up with, instead of getting everything in a channel.
To follow a thread:
- Hover over the existing replies on a thread and select Follow, or
- Hover over a message in the thread and select More options > Follow thread.
Followed threads show up under Followed threads at the top of your chat and channels list.
You also follow a thread automatically if:
- You replied in it.
- You were @mentioned in it.
- Someone started the thread from your message.
So you don’t have to follow every conversation you join. Teams keeps track of the ones you’re already part of.
Change or turn off notification sounds
Sometimes the alert itself is fine and only the sound bothers you. Teams lets you change sounds on some platforms and turn them off in Settings.
Choose a different sound (Windows and web)
- Open Settings.
- Go to Notifications and activity > Sound.
- Select the types of notifications you want to hear sounds for.
- Choose a sound in each drop-down menu.
- Select Play to preview it.
Custom sounds are currently available only in Teams for Windows and on the web. On a Mac, your option is to use the Teams sound instead of the macOS alert sound.
Microsoft’s help pages don’t name or describe the default notification sound. They also don’t describe setting a different sound for one chat or contact, or using your own sound file.
Turn sounds off but keep notifications
To keep notifications but lose the noise:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Notifications and activity.
- Under General, clear the Play sounds with notifications checkbox.
On a Mac, go to macOS System Settings > Notifications and turn off Play sound for notification for Microsoft Teams.
Putting it together
A setup that works for most people:
- Mute the two or three chats that ping the most. You’ll still hear @mentions.
- Set Channel notifications to Activity feed only for channels you skim.
- Follow the threads you need, and let Teams auto-follow the ones you join.
- Turn on Quiet time on your phone for evenings and weekends.
- Use Do not disturb with a duration when you need to focus, and add key people to priority access.
Together, these teams notification settings cut most of the noise and still let the important messages reach you.
FAQ
Will I miss @mentions if I mute a Teams chat? No. You’re still notified when someone @mentions you in a muted chat. The chat moves to the Muted section at the bottom of your chat list.
Do people know when I’ve turned on quiet time? No. During quiet time, others aren’t told that your notifications are muted.
Can anyone reach me while I’m on Do not disturb? Yes, people on your priority access list can. You manage that list in Settings > Privacy. Everyone else’s calls go to voicemail, and their messages arrive without banners.
Can I set quiet hours in the Teams desktop app? Microsoft documents quiet time only for the Teams mobile app on iOS and Android. On desktop, use Do not disturb and set an end time under Reset status after.