Notifications never pop up at the right moment. You’re always in the middle of the most important round ofCall of Duty, or trying to focus on the heartfelt conclusion to a greatsingle-player adventure, when you get torn from the moment by yourXbox deliveringa worthless notification. This is a newer problem gamers are facing, and can rob you of the reason we play games at all. There are a few instances where notifications can be helpful, but for the most part, you never want to be distracted when you’re mid-mission or adventure.
Is the Xbox Series S worth getting in 2024?
The Xbox Series S is not for everyone, but it has its merits.
Just like on PlayStation, Xbox isn’t forcing these interruptions on you like you might think. They’re all on by default, but you can tweak and tailor when or how they show up if you navigate the system’s maze-like menus. There are also a few differentindividual settingsyou can manage beyond just turning them all off if you still want to be able to have some pop-ups break through. No matter how you want to change your settings, I’ll show you how to keep your head in the game and get rid of any interrupting pop-ups on Xbox.
The following guide will apply to both the Series X and Series S consoles.
Microsoft Xbox Series X
How to disable pop-up notifications on Xbox
Choose when or if any system messages come through
Xbox notifications can range from messages from other players and friends, to updates on applications, unlocking Achievements, and so much more. By default, every type of notification will show up no matter what you’re doing. I don’t have to explain why this is a massive bummer while you’re playing a game, but it can be just as annoying when you’re doing other things like watching movies. If you want a quick and easy way to turn them all off at once, here’s how it’s done:
Disable crossplay on Xbox Series X to avoid getting crushed by PC players
Crossplay on Xbox Series X can open you up to PC players dominating your game. Keep the playing field even by turning off crossplay.
How to customize what notifications appear
If you want to be more granular about which notifications appear, you have several options within the preferences sub menu:
You can only decide if the notifications will show up and not give conditions, such as only being disabled while you’re playing a game.
There are more than enough individual toggles here to let you customize exactly what types of notifications you want to see and for how long. Sadly, you can only decide if the notifications will show up and not give conditions, such as only being disabled while you’re playing a game. That means it is sort of an all-or-nothing thing with notifications on Xbox, but I’m happy to at least have the option to turn them off rather than be stuck with them.
Want to refund a Switch game? You’re not going to like this
Is Nintendo kind enough to give you your money back if you purchased something by accident on the Switch?
