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Customize notifications and quick settings windows

How to Customize Notifications and Quick Settings in Windows 11 for a Tailored Experience

Windows 11 offers a refined way to manage your alerts and system toggles through its separate Notification Center and Quick Settings panels. Taking the time to customize notifications and Quick Settings in Windows can significantly improve your productivity by reducing distractions and providing faster access to the functions you use most. This guide will walk you through the customization options available in Windows 11.

Why Customize Your Notifications and Quick Settings?

Personalizing these elements allows you to:

  • Reduce clutter: See only the notifications that matter to you.
  • Improve focus: Minimize interruptions during work or leisure.
  • Increase efficiency: Quickly access essential system settings and tools.
  • Personalize your workspace: Make Windows 11 feel more like your own.

Let’s explore how to customize notifications and Quick Settings in Windows 11.

Customizing Notifications in Windows 11

The Notification Center (accessed by pressing Windows key + N or clicking the date/time on the taskbar) is where all your app alerts and system messages accumulate. Here’s how to manage them:

Accessing Notification Settings

  1. Open Settings (you can press Windows key + I).
  2. Navigate to System in the left sidebar.
  3. Click on Notifications.

General Notification Controls At the top of the Notifications settings page:

  • You can toggle Notifications globally on or off for all apps.
  • Expand this top section (by clicking the down arrow if it’s collapsed) to find more options:
    • Show notifications on the lock screen.
    • Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen.
    • Allow notifications to play sounds. 
  • Do Not Disturb / Focus: While “Focus” (previously Focus assist) has its own detailed settings (often found under System), its core function is to suppress notifications. You can quickly toggle “Do Not Disturb” from the top of the Notification settings or from Quick Settings to temporarily silence most alerts.

Per-App Notification Settings This is where you gain fine-grained control:

  1. Scroll down to the “Notifications from apps and other senders” list.
  2. Here, you can quickly toggle notifications on or off for each individual app listed.
  3. For more detailed control, click on an app’s name. This will open a dedicated page where you can adjust:
    • Notification banners: Whether a pop-up appears on your screen.
    • Show notifications in notification center: Whether the alert appears in the list when you open the Notification Center.
    • Hide content when notifications are on the lock screen: For privacy.
    • Play a sound when a notification arrives: App-specific sound toggle.
    • Number of notifications visible in notification center: How many recent notifications from this app are shown.
    • Notification priority in notification center: (Top, High, Normal) To make certain app notifications more prominent.

Clearing Notifications To clear notifications from the Notification Center:

  1. Open the Notification Center (Windows key + N or click date/time).
  2. Hover over an individual notification group and click the ‘X’ to clear it.
  3. Click “Clear all notifications” at the top of the Notification Center to remove all current alerts.

Customizing Quick Settings in Windows 11

The Quick Settings panel (accessed by pressing Windows key + A or clicking the Wi-Fi/Volume/Battery icon group on the taskbar) provides instant access to common system toggles.

Accessing and Editing Quick Settings

  1. Open the Quick Settings panel.
  2. Click the pencil icon (Edit quick settings) located at the bottom right of the panel.

Adding, Removing, and Rearranging Quick Settings Once in edit mode:

  • To Add a Quick Setting: Click the “+ Add” button at the bottom. A list of available actions will appear (e.g., “Night light,” “Keyboard layout,” “Project,” “Nearby sharing,” “Mobile hotspot”). Click one to add it to your panel.
  • To Remove a Quick Setting: Click the unpin icon (which looks like a small pin) on the top right corner of the tile you wish to remove.
  • To Rearrange Quick Settings: Simply click and drag the tiles to your preferred order.
  • When you’re finished, click the “Done” button.

Commonly Available Quick Settings Actions You can add or remove toggles for features such as:

  • Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth
  • Airplane mode
  • Focus (Do Not Disturb)
  • Accessibility features
  • Night light
  • Brightness (slider)
  • Volume (slider)
  • Cast
  • Keyboard layout
  • And more, depending on your system’s capabilities and installed features.

By taking a few minutes to customize notifications and Quick Settings in Windows 11, you can create a more focused, efficient, and personalized computing environment that better suits your daily needs.