How to Turn Off Teams Notification Sounds
Teams has one switch for notification sounds, and it sits in the General part of its notification settings. Turning it off silences the chime without changing your status, so you still show as Available to colleagues.
- Open Teams settings. Select Settings and more (the three dots next to your profile picture), then Settings.
- Go to Notifications and activity. Choose Notifications and activity from the list on the left.
- Find the sound option. In the General section, look for Play sounds with notifications. Menu wording can shift slightly between Teams releases.
- Untick it to turn sounds off. Untick the box to silence Teams notification sounds, or tick it to turn them back on. The change applies straight away and there is no Save button.
- Check your system sound setting. If a sound still plays, the operating system may be producing it. On Windows open Settings, System, Notifications, Microsoft Teams, and turn off Play a sound when a notification arrives. On a Mac open System Settings, Notifications, Microsoft Teams and turn off Play sound for notifications.
That one checkbox covers more than chat messages: incoming call alerts, requests to join and meeting-start alerts share it. You cannot keep call ringing and drop chat pings from this setting alone, which is why some people tweak the operating system setting instead.
Teams Notification Sound Settings by Device
| Device | Where to change the sound |
|---|---|
| Teams desktop (Windows, Mac) | Settings and more, Settings, Notifications and activity, Play sounds with notifications |
| Windows system | Settings, System, Notifications, Microsoft Teams, Play a sound when a notification arrives |
| Mac system | System Settings, Notifications, Microsoft Teams, Play sound for notifications |
| Phone | Phone Settings, Notifications, Teams: banners, sounds and badges |
Why You Hear (or Don't Hear) a Teams Sound
Sounds ride on banners. A message that only lands in your Activity feed makes no sound. If you hear nothing for chats, set Chat message notifications to Show in banner under Notifications and activity, and read our fix guide for Teams notifications not working if the banners themselves are missing.
Your status matters too. Do Not Disturb and Focus mute sounds on purpose.
Muting Teams Without Looking Away
The tidy way to get a quiet desk is to switch the sound off and leave your status alone. Do Not Disturb does silence everything, but it also changes the dot colleagues see. If your real worry is the status, not the noise, the bigger issue is the five-minute Away timer, which flips you to Away whether or not you muted anything.
Pick the setting that matches what you actually want to change. Sound off keeps the green dot. Do Not Disturb protects your focus but tells everyone you are unavailable.