How to Enable Desktop Notifications for Outlook.com Webmail

Back in the day, we had to check the email messages by logging in to web mail accounts every time we wanted to see the new messages in the inbox. But now modern web browsers allow you to receive desktop notifications even when the web browser has been closed. Using this new feature that is available in all the new web browsers like Chrome and Firefox, you can receive notifications regarding new email messages from Outlook.com inbox on your computer’s desktop. In Windows, the notifications are shown near the system tray when you see the speaker icon and tiny system clock.

Here is how you can enable desktop notifications for Outlook.com webmail:

  1. Open https://www.outlook.com/ in a desktop web browser and sign-in to your Outlook.com account.
  2. Click on the cogwheel icon near top-right to view the quick settings.Outlook.com Desktop Notification
  3. In the quick settings, select Desktop notifications.Outlook.com Desktop Notification
  4. You will see your web browser ask permission to show notifications. Select Allow to give permission.Outlook.com Desktop Notification
  5. Once the permissions are given, Outlook.com will confirm that you will now begin to receive the notifications. You can dismiss this by clicking on Got it.Outlook.com Desktop Notification

This is enough for most people, but if you want to explore more detailed settings regarding, then you can follow these steps:

  1. In Outlook.com web interface, click on the cogwheel icon near top-right to open quick settings.
  2. In quick settings, click on View all Outlook Settings displayed near the very bottom of the quick settings.
  3. In the full Outlook settings, select General, and then select Notifications.Outlook.com Desktop Notification
  4. Now you can manage which notifications are displayed when the Outlook.com website is open in your web browser and whether it should display notifications when Outlook.com is closed. In order to receive the desktop notifications, enable Send me browser notifications when a message arrives.

These settings also require that you have not disabled desktop notifications feature of your web browser or you have not blacklisted Outlook.com from displaying any notifications.

7 comments

  1. How is this not conflict of interest when Microsoft only allow this function to work in Edge?

  2. No desktop notifications there. I constantly miss my appointments after switching to the web mail+calendar client. It just doesn’t do anything when I am at other browser tabs and not constantly checking the Outlook tab. Such a disappointment for the year 2002. Ohh, wait, it’s 2020 already?

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