Focus Assist is a core setting on Windows 10 PCs and tablets that allows users to control the frequency and type of toast notifications they receive. Focus Assist can be switched on and off relatively quickly and there are three main options to choose from.
- Off: This disables Focus Assist completely and turns on all notifications.
- Priority only: Turn on notifications from a customizable list of contacts.
- Alarms only: Turn off all notifications except those associated with alarms.
How to turn focus assist on or off in Windows 10
- Open Action Center by clicking the square icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. If you’re using a Windows 10 device with a touch screen, you can also open Action Center by swiping from the right edge of the screen to the center.
- Click or tap the Focus assist box to scroll through Off , On: Priority only , and On: Alarms only .
Toggle Focus Assist settings from the Windows 10 Action Center.
How to change focus assist settings
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- Open the Windows 10 Action Center by clicking the bottom right icon or swiping from the right side of the screen on a touch device
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- Find the Focus Assist box in the Action Center and right-click on it. Alternatively, you can also do a long press with your finger if you’re using a touchscreen device like a Surface Pro.
- A new link to Go to Settings will appear . Click on the.
Open Focus Assist settings by right-clicking on the icon in Action Center or by pressing on it with your finger.
The Settings app will now open and automatically take you to the Focus Assist options. The three main options for Disable , Priority Only , and Alarms Only are the same options accessed by clicking the Focus Assist button in Action Center. You can choose to switch between each mode on this screen or through the Action Center. However, the five Auto Ruler settings can only be changed on this screen and are used to customize your Focus Assist experience. This is what each of them means.
- During these times : Click this option to activate Focus Assist at a specific time for each day of the week, each weekday, or only on weekends. For example, you can have Focus Assist turn on automatically between 9am and 5pm every weekday. You will also be allowed to specify only Priority or only Alarm.
- When I’m mirroring my screen : This option lets you choose what happens to your notifications when you mirror your Windows 10 device screen to another screen, either over a wired or wireless connection. If you disable this option, the Focus Assist settings when projecting will be the same as the normal settings. However, if you turn it on, you can make it act differently. For example, you can turn on this setting and only show alarm notifications when projecting to another screen. This can be useful for when you’re watching a movie and don’t want to be interrupted by app notifications.
- When I’m playing a game – Similar to the setting above, this one creates a separate preference for how you want Focus Assist to act on your Windows 10 device when you’re playing a video game. Turn this option off to have Focus Assist act the same as usual, or turn it on to choose what kind of notifications, if any, you want to interrupt your gameplay.
- When I’m home : This setting uses your Windows 10 device’s GPS and Internet connection to detect where you are so it can automatically change your focus assist settings. This can be useful if you take your computer to work and want to receive notifications when you’re in the office, but don’t want to receive anything when you’re at home and feeling relaxed. Turn on this option to choose the level of notifications you want or don’t want to receive at home. Click Change my address to manually enter your address if you haven’t already done so.
What does priority only mean?
With Priority Only enabled, all notifications will be hidden except those involving contacts on your priority list. From the main focus assist settings page, you can add contacts from the Windows 10 People app to your priority list by clicking the Customize your priority list link .
What do only the alarms mean?
Enabling Alarms Only will disable all notifications except those that are triggered when an alarm is triggered. Alarms can be created from the Windows 10 Alarms & Clocks app.
What happened to quiet hours in Windows 10?
Quiet Hours was replaced by Focus Assist in April 2018. Focus Assist is essentially the same as Quiet Hours, but has more customizable options.
Does Windows 10 have a “Do Not Disturb” setting?
If you are a user of an Apple device like the iPhone, you may be trying to find the Do Not Disturb option in Windows 10. Focus Assist is basically the same as Do Not Disturb, but it just uses a different name to help differentiate the products and services. of Microsoft from those of Apple.