It is good to have a bit of help once in a while. As we focus ourselves on work and try to accomplish everything we need to do, receiving a notification sound effects that you have a new message in Microsoft Outlook can prevent missing out on important emails. A sound alert will remind us to check our emails when they arrive in case there are urgent messages we need to see.
While sound notifications help keep us productive, there are times when it encounters errors. You may have not heard any alerts from Outlook for hours because your mail audio notification is not working or has no sound at all. If you experience the same issue with your Microsoft email client, you can try to troubleshoot the problem and fix the cause of the issue with the solutions below.

Tips to Troubleshoot Email No Sound Effects or Notification Not Working Issue in Microsoft Outlook on Windows PC
There are different ways to resolve the issue on your Outlook mail notification using Windows 10/11 PC. It depends on the reason why it is not working on your computer in the first place. Try to follow each solution below one at a time and check if it is working or not.
#1 – Restart your Computer
- Exit Outlook and close all running applications.
- Power off your computer and wait for at least 3 minutes.
- Now, turn it back on and relaunch Outlook.
#2 – Check Notifications Settings on your Windows PC
- Navigate to the Settings menu of your computer.
- Select Notifications & Actions.
- Go to Notifications.
- Toggle the button to On under Get notifications from apps and other senders.
- Scroll down and look for Outlook.
- Make sure the button is On. Otherwise, turn it On.
#3 – Disable Focus Assist
- Launch the Settings menu of your computer.
- Go to System.
- Scroll down and select Focus Assist.
- Make sure to select Off.
- Check for conflicting settings under the Automatic rules.
#4 – Turn On Play a Sound Option in Outlook
- On your Outlook, click File.
- Select Options.
- Navigate to Mail.
- Scroll down and go to the Message arrival section.
- Look for the Play a sound option and check the box next to it.
- Click the OK button.
#5 – Enable Sound Notifications on your Settings
- Launch the Control Panel.
- Navigate to Sound. You can also use the Search box to look for the Sound setting.
- Go to the Sounds tab.
- Scroll down and look for the Program Events.
- Double click Windows.
- Select New Mail Notification.
- Now, choose the audio file that you want for your notification.
- Check the box next to Play Windows Startup sound.
- Click Apply.
- Click OK.
#6 – Set an Inbox Rule in Outlook

- On your Outlook app, go to File.
- Select Manage Rules & Alerts.
- Click the New Rule button.
- Scroll down and select Play a sound when I get messages from someone.
- Click Next.
- Select on this computer only.
- Next, go to the Step 2 box and click play a sound.
- Click Next.
- Click Finish when done.
What else did you do to restore the sound notification in your Outlook? You can share your solutions with us below.