MS Teams - Urgent & Priority contact tone plays as default tone in desktop app; correct priority tone plays in Edge (web)

Vethekar, Pratapsingh 15 Reputation points
2026-02-03T20:29:32.67+00:00

Issue - In Teams desktop, messages from Priority contacts trigger the default notification tone instead of the configured Priority tone. In Teams Web (Edge) for the same account & contact, the correct Priority tone plays. This indicates account/policy and contact configuration are correct. The desktop app appears to mis‑map the notification sound category to Windows.

I already tried- Verified Windows Notifications → Microsoft Teams → "Play a sound when a notification arrives" is ON (toggled Off → On).

Verified Teams → Settings → Notifications and activity → Sound → "Play sounds with urgent & priority contact notifications" ON and a distinct tone selected.

Restarted WpnUserService (Windows user notification service).

Cleared Teams caches/ performed clean reinstall.

You can reproduce the same -

  1. Add user X as Priority contact.
  2. Set a distinctive Priority tone in Teams → Settings → Notifications and activity → Sound.
  3. From user X, send a chat message to the me.
  4. Desktop app: Banner shows, default tone plays (not priority tone).
  5. Web (Edge): Banner shows, priority tone plays as configured.

Environment - OS: Windows 11 Version 23H2 22631.6494 Teams: New Teams 26005.213.4315.4117 Feature: Enhanced sound controls (separate sound for "Urgent & Priority contact") enabled in Teams Settings.

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams Free | Settings | Configure notifications
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  1. AI answer

    2026-02-03T20:30:16.5166667+00:00

    It seems you are experiencing an issue where the Microsoft Teams desktop app is not playing the correct notification tone for messages from Priority contacts, while the web version in Edge is functioning as expected. Since you've already verified the notification settings and performed troubleshooting steps such as restarting the WpnUserService and clearing the Teams cache, it may be worth checking if there are any known issues or updates related to the Teams desktop app that could affect sound notifications.

    Here are a few additional steps you could consider:

    1. Check for Updates: Ensure that your Teams desktop app is fully updated to the latest version, as updates can sometimes resolve bugs or issues.
    2. Reinstall Teams: If you haven't already, completely uninstalling and then reinstalling the Teams desktop app can sometimes resolve persistent issues.
    3. Windows Sound Settings: Double-check your Windows sound settings to ensure that Teams is not being overridden by system settings.
    4. Feedback to Microsoft: If the issue persists, consider providing feedback to Microsoft through the Teams app, as they may be able to address this in future updates.

    Since the web version is functioning correctly, this may be a specific issue with the desktop app that could require further investigation from Microsoft support.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Tuggle, Bonnie 10 Reputation points
    2026-02-06T18:54:50.64+00:00

    I also have the same issue beginning last week

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. João Dalben 5 Reputation points
    2026-02-10T01:14:57.5433333+00:00

    I have the same problem too. I tried everything: Reset, Clearing the Cache, Uninstalling and reinstalling, and ultimately, a complete Windows 11 reinstall.

    Everything indicates that it's on Microsoft's side. I've raised a ticket with then.
    They collected some logs, and apparently there are some entries indicating that notifications are being dropped due to a general mute/blocking state - cloud side. They already confirmed that they are receiving multiple case for the same issue.

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  4. Kevin Zou 0 Reputation points
    2026-02-10T22:05:23.0733333+00:00

    Yep, bumping on this thread as I am also experiencing the same issue for the past 2 - 3 weeks now. I have two computers (testing and production), and while I have done all the troubleshooting listed above on the prod machine, the only differences between the two are:

    1. While our version numbers are the same: 26015.1706.4351.4392., the prod machine had public/early access enabled (now disabled), but the testing machine did not. Even if I toggled on public/early access with the testing machine, priority notifications still work.
    2. Test machine OS was on 24H2, but even updating to 25H2, priority notifications were still working just as intended.
    3. Furthermore, I reinstalled Teams via Company Portal deployment + installed from the web browser on the production machine (before and after reimaging), still not working.

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  5. João Dalben 5 Reputation points
    2026-02-11T09:08:30.5433333+00:00

    Hi guys. I just received some news from the Teams Support Engineer:

    (...) We have received an update from our backend team confirming that the fix is scheduled to be released by the end of February for all impacted tenants. It is expected to roll out to the general public by the first week of March.

    Therefore, the issue should be fully resolved by the first week of March (...)

    So that's it, another 3-4 weeks with this bug.

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