Notifications Not Working in Chrome, Other Programs on MacOS

Environment

MacOS

Issue

When Macs update to new MacOS (Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey confirmed), notifications may get turned off. This seems to happen with Chrome and Google Calendar in particular. There are several things to check if you find notifications have stopped popping up. 

Resolution

  1. Go to System Preferences
  2. Click on Notifications & Focus
    1. Make sure the Notifications section is selected
  3. Scroll down the list of programs until you see Google Chrome (or the browser where you are seeing the issue)
    1. You should see two entries for Google Chrome, one reading Badges, Sounds, Alerts and the other Off
    2. Click on the Google Chrome entry that reads Off 
      1. Click the Slider next to Allow Notifications
  4. Choose the type of Notification you want, and turn on or off any other options
    1. Show Notifications on Lock Screen
    2. Show in Notification Center
  5. Make sure to check the options at the bottom where it says "Allow notifications" for "When the display is sleeping", "When the screen is locked", and "When mirroring or sharing the display"
  6. Check your Google Calendar Notification settings
    1. For details on the differences between Desktop Notifications and Alerts, see Google Calendar Help​​​​

If you've noticed you're not getting Notifications for other programs, repeat the steps above for each. There have been reports of SLACK notifications turning off too. 

If there are still issues after all of these settings are checked, removing and reinstalling Chrome may fix the issue.

Additional Information

This page can be used to test notifications after you change settings: https://www.bennish.net/web-notifications.html

When there are two entries, one controls notifications for the app itself, one controls notifications for Google calendar, although they are named the same.  Sometimes only one is initially present after the app has been reinstalled.

Chromium-based browsers will also show two entries (like Brave).  Firefox may or may not (needs verification).

Google Help also has directions for fixing the notifications.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.

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