About visual alerts
This guide explains how to use visual alerts available in the Accessibility settings on Windows laptops. It is designed to support people who benefit from non-audio notifications, including those who are D/deaf, hard of hearing, neurodivergent, or have sensory or cognitive differences.
Visual alerts are features that use on-screen messages, flashing elements, or visual cues to let you know when something is happening on your device. They are an alternative to sound-based notifications, such as alerts, reminders, or system messages.
Instead of relying on hearing a beep or notification sound, visual alerts make sure important information is seen as well as heard – or seen instead of heard.
How visual alerts work
Visual alerts can appear in different ways, including:
- Notifications popping up on screen
- Parts of the screen flashing when a sound would normally play
- Icons or badges showing new activity (like unread messages)
- Subtitles or captions for spoken content
Many devices allow you to customise how these alerts appear, such as changing colours, brightness, or placement.
Why visual alerts are useful
- Improve awareness: ensure important alerts aren’t missed
- Reduce reliance on sound: useful in many different environments
- Customisable: users can choose what works best for them
- Support focus and comfort: fewer unexpected or disruptive sounds
How to set up visual alerts
Windows includes built-in options to turn sound-based alerts into visual ones.
Open Accessibility settings
- Select the Start menu
- Go to Settings
- Choose Accessibility
- Or press Windows + U
Turn on visual alerts for sounds
- In Accessibility settings, select Audio
- Look for “Flash my screen during audio notifications”
- Choose the option that works best for you:
- Flash the active window
- Flash the entire screen
- Flash the title bar
This makes the screen flash when a notification sound would normally play.
Check your notifications
- Go to Settings then System then Notifications
- Make sure notifications are turned on
- Choose which apps can send alerts
This ensures you actually receive the alerts you want to see.
Optional: Turn on captions
- Go to Accessibility settings and choose Captions
- Turn on Live captions if needed
This shows spoken content (like videos or calls) as text on screen.
Simple tips
- Start with full-screen flash if you are worried about missing alerts
- Adjust the settings if it feels too distracting
- Combine visual alerts with vibration or captions for extra support