How to Change Focus Assist Automatic Rules in Windows 10

Focus Assist (called Quiet Hours in older Windows 10 builds) automatically hides notifications when you’re doing certain things, like presenting or playing a game. This guide shows you how to set up or change those automatic rules so notifications only appear when you actually want them.

What You’ll Need

A PC running Windows 10 (version 1903 or later recommended, as the settings layout changed slightly).
Administrator access is not required; any standard user account can change these settings.

Step-by-Step

Open Settings. Press Win + I on your keyboard, or click the Start button and then the gear icon.
Go to System. Click the “System” tile (usually the first one).
Select Focus Assist. In the left sidebar, click “Focus assist.”
See the automatic rules. Scroll down to the “Automatic rules” section. You’ll see three toggles: “During these times,” “When I’m duplicating my display,” and “When I’m playing a game.”
Turn on a rule. Click any toggle to switch it from Off to On. Once on, a “Set up” or link text appears next to it – click that to customize the rule.
Set your quiet hours. For “During these times,” set a start time and an end time. Choose the same time for both if you want it active all day. Then pick the priority level: “Alarms only” (only alarms bypass) or “Priority only” (alarms plus contacts/apps you mark as priority).
Choose behavior for display duplication. For “When I’m duplicating my display,” select whether to show notifications from priority list only, or alarms only. This rule is useful for presentations.
Configure gaming rule. For “When I’m playing a game,” pick “Priority only” or “Alarms only.” Note: this rule only works with games that use full-screen or borderless full-screen mode and are detected by Windows.
Check the “Show a summary” option. Each rule has a checkbox for “Show a summary of what I missed while Focus Assist was on.” Leave it checked if you want a recap after the quiet period ends.
Test your changes. After setting a rule, trigger it (e.g., start a game or duplicate your display) and confirm notifications are suppressed. To manually override, click the notification icon in the system tray and select “Focus assist” to switch between Off, Priority only, and Alarms only.

Common Mistakes

Setting the same time for start and end incorrectly. If you set start = end, Windows treats it as a full 24-hour period. Some users expect it to mean “no quiet time.” To disable, turn off the toggle instead.
Expecting the gaming rule to work with all games. It only works when the game is detected as a full-screen app. Some games run in windowed mode or with overlays that prevent detection.
Forgetting to set the priority level. If you set a rule but leave the priority level as “Priority only” without adding any priority contacts or apps, you’ll still get alarms, but all other notifications are blocked. That’s fine, but if you wanted everything blocked, choose “Alarms only.”
Not noticing the summary notification. After quiet hours end, you may see a notification summarizing what you missed. If you don’t want that, uncheck the “Show a summary” box for each rule.

Tips

Use Priority Only wisely. Before enabling a rule, go to “Priority list” at the top of the Focus Assist page and add contacts or apps that should still notify you. That way, important messages get through.
Set different times for weekdays vs. weekends? Windows 10 doesn’t support separate schedules for different days. You’ll need to manually toggle the rule on/off or change times as needed.
Quick toggle from the taskbar. Right-click the notification icon (the speech bubble) in the system tray to quickly change Focus Assist mode without opening Settings.
Use the “During these times” rule for sleep. Set it to start at your bedtime and end at wake-up time. Choose “Alarms only” so your alarm still rings.
For presentations, use the display duplication rule. It automatically activates when you connect a projector or second screen in duplicate mode.

Troubleshooting

Focus Assist doesn’t activate during game play. Make sure the game is running in full-screen or borderless full-screen mode. Some games with anti-cheat or overlays (like Discord) may interfere. Also, check if any other app is overriding the rule. Try restarting the game after enabling the rule.

Notifications still appear during set times. Verify the toggle is On and the times are correct. Also check that you haven’t manually set Focus Assist to “Off” from the taskbar – that overrides all automatic rules until the next rule triggers or you change it back.

The “When I’m duplicating my display” rule doesn’t work. Ensure you’re using “Duplicate” mode, not “Extend.” In Extend mode, the rule doesn’t activate. To check, press Win + P and select “Duplicate.”

I don’t see the Automatic rules section. This section is available in Windows 10 version 1903 and later. If you’re on an older version, you might see “Quiet hours” instead. Update Windows to get the latest features.

Changes don’t stick after reboot. This is rare, but if it happens, check if any third-party utility is resetting your settings. Otherwise, try toggling the rule off and on again, then restart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I set Focus Assist to turn on automatically during specific days only?
A: No, Windows 10 doesn’t support day-specific schedules. You can only set a daily time range. For day-specific needs, you’d have to manually toggle the rule.

Q: What’s the difference between Priority Only and Alarms Only?
A: Priority Only allows notifications from your priority list (contacts and apps) plus alarms. Alarms Only blocks everything except alarms set in the Clock app.

Q: Will Focus Assist block notifications from all apps?
A: Yes, unless you add specific apps to your priority list. Even with Priority Only, only those apps and contacts will show notifications.

Q: Does Focus Assist affect notifications on the lock screen?
A: No, Focus Assist only affects notifications that pop up on your desktop. Lock screen notifications are controlled separately in Settings > System > Notifications & actions.

Q: Can I schedule Focus Assist to turn on automatically when I start a specific app?
A: Not directly. The only automatic triggers are time, display duplication, and game detection. You can manually turn it on from the taskbar anytime.

Q: What happens to notifications that are suppressed?
A: They go to the Action Center (notification history). You can view them anytime by clicking the notification icon and then the Action Center icon. The summary notification after quiet hours also shows a recap.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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