How to Fix: Disable Windows 10 Email Notifications

Infopackets Reader Jennifer G. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

When I first started using Windows 10, I set up an email account using the 'Windows Mail' app. Unfortunately the Windows Mail app doesn't always work. I often get error messages stating it can't sync my account; when this happens I can't access my emails. I have installed Mozilla Thunderbird to replace the Mail app (and it works great!), however, the Windows 10 Mail App is keeps alerting me every so often that I have new email. I have no idea how to shut off these alerts. Can you help? "

My response:

There are a few ways you can disable the alerts: you can either remove your account from the mail app, configure the mail app to shut off the alerts, or uninstall the mail app entirely. I'll discuss all three options below.

How to Fix: Disable Windows 10 Email Notifications

Option #1: Remove Your Account from the Mail App

To remove your account from the mail app, do the following:

1. Click Start, then click on the cogwheel (the "Settings" icon); the Settings window will appear; next, click the "Accounts" icon.
    
2. On the left side of the "Settings" screen, click the "Email & app accounts" option. Under the heading "Email & app accounts", click the account you want to delete, then click on the "manage" button.
    
3. A new window will appear. Click the "Delete account" option. Windows will ask if you want to delete the account - click Yes.

Option #2: Disable Alerts inside the Mail App

To shut off the email notification alerts inside of the Mail app, do the following:

1. Click Start, type in "mail" (no quotes); wait for "Mail" to appear and click it.
    
2. Next, click the "Settings" icon near the bottom left, then click on "Notifications" in Settings.
    
3. Select an email account you wish to disable, or select "apply to all accounts" and set the "Show in action center" to "off".

Option #3: Uninstall the Mail App

To uninstall the Mail app entirely (which will also disable all email notifications), do the following:

1. Click Start, then type in "powershell" (no quotes); wait for PowerShell to appear in the list, then right click it and select "Run as administrator".
    
2. Use your mouse to highlight the text below:
   
   get-appxpackage *microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps* | remove-appxpackage
   echo this is a dummy line
    
3. Right click over top of the highlighted text, then select "Copy" from the dialogue menu.
    
4. Next, go to the PowerShell window and right click in the middle of the window. The text you highlighted above should now be output to the command line and the mail app should be removed.

I hope that helps.

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.