The fastest way: System Settings > Notifications

Open System Settings (the gear icon in your dock or Applications folder). Click Notifications in the left sidebar. You will see a list of every app that sends you notifications — Mail, Messages, Slack, Calendar, and so on.

Find the app you want to silence. Click it. Under the "Alerts" section, you will see a dropdown that currently says something like "Banners" or "Alerts". Change it to None. That app will no longer make any sound or show any visual notification at all.

If you want the notification to still appear but without sound, keep the alert style as "Banners" or "Alerts" and instead uncheck the box labeled Sound below it. The notification will pop up silently on your screen.

Key Takeaways

  • System Settings > Notifications lets you control sound for each app individually, not all notifications at once.
  • Unchecking the Sound box keeps visual notifications but removes the noise; changing the alert style to None removes both.
  • Do Not Disturb silences all notifications system-wide but does not change your settings — sounds come back when you turn it off.
  • Focus modes let you create custom notification rules for different times of day or activities without touching individual app settings.

Silencing all notifications at once with Do Not Disturb

If you need quiet right now without changing any settings, click the Control Center icon (usually in the top-right corner of your menu bar — it looks like a rectangle with sliders). Look for Do Not Disturb and click it. Your Mac will stop making notification sounds when ready.

Do Not Disturb is temporary. It turns itself off at a time you set — usually the next morning, or after one hour. You can also turn it off manually by clicking Control Center again and clicking Do Not Disturb a second time. Your notification settings stay exactly as they were; you are just pausing them.

Using Focus modes for different times of day

Focus modes let you create a set of notification rules that turn on and off automatically. For example, you might have a "Work" focus that silences everything except Mail and Slack, or a "Sleep" focus that silences everything after 10 p.m.

Open System Settings > Focus. Click the + button to create a new focus. Give it a name like "Bedtime" or "Deep Work". Under "Allowed Notifications", choose which apps can still send sounds and alerts. Under "Home Screen", you can hide certain apps from view while the focus is on.

Set a schedule so the focus turns on automatically. For example, your Sleep focus could turn on every night at 10 p.m. and turn off at 7 a.m. You can also turn a focus on manually from Control Center whenever you need it.

Turning off sound for a single notification type

Some apps send multiple kinds of notifications — Mail might send alerts for new messages, calendar reminders, and flagged messages. You may want to silence only one type.

Go to System Settings > Notifications and click the app. Scroll down to see if there are separate notification types listed. For example, Mail shows "New Mail Sound", "VIP Mail Sound", and others. You can uncheck the Sound box for just the ones you want to silence, leaving sound on for the rest.

Muting notifications while you work without changing settings

If you are in the middle of something and need quiet for the next hour or two, Do Not Disturb is faster than changing individual app settings. Control Center > Do Not Disturb > set the duration.

If you find yourself doing this every day at the same time, that is a sign to set up a Focus mode instead. It takes five minutes to create, and then your Mac handles the silencing automatically without you having to think about it.

Why your Mac still makes sounds even after you change settings

If you unchecked Sound in Notifications but your Mac still makes noise, check whether Do Not Disturb is actually on — Control Center will show it as highlighted if it is active. Also check whether the app itself has its own sound settings. Some apps like Slack and Discord have their own notification controls that override the Mac system settings.

Open the app, look for Preferences or Settings (usually in the app menu at the top), and search for "notification" or "sound". Turn off sound there as well. The app's own settings take priority over the Mac system settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off notification sounds mean I miss important messages?

No. The notification will still appear on your screen — you just will not hear it. You can still see it in your notification center or when you unlock your Mac. If you need to be alerted to something urgent, use a Focus mode that allows only that app to send sounds, rather than silencing everything.

Can I turn off sound for notifications but keep the visual pop-up?

Yes. In System Settings > Notifications, find the app and uncheck only the Sound box. Leave the alert style set to "Banners" or "Alerts". The notification will appear on your screen without making any noise.

Does Do Not Disturb stop notifications from appearing at all?

Do Not Disturb stops sounds and visual alerts, but notifications still arrive in the background. You will see them in your notification center when you check, and some apps may show a badge with a number. If you want to block notifications entirely, use Focus modes and set "Allowed Notifications" to None.

What happens to notifications when my Focus mode turns off?

Your notification settings go back to normal. Any notifications that arrived while the focus was on will appear in your notification center. Notifications are not deleted — they are just held back from interrupting you while the focus is active.

Can I silence notifications from one person but not others in Messages?

Not through the system settings. You have to mute the conversation in Messages itself. Open the conversation, click the info icon (i) at the top right, and toggle "Hide Alerts" on. That person's messages will still arrive, but you will not hear a sound or see a banner.