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To control reminders and incoming VoIP calls on a Windows 11 lock screen, open Start > Settings > System > Notifications. Leave the main Notifications switch on, enable Show notifications on the lock screen, then enable Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen. To hide either category, turn off its specific switch. These controls are separate: the general lock-screen switch governs lock-screen notifications broadly, while the reminders-and-VoIP switch targets those two categories.
If alerts still appear while Do Not Disturb is active, check its Set priority notifications list and the affected app’s own notification settings. Calls and reminders can be allowed as priority items, and VoIP notifications may be permitted during quiet-hours-style suppression.
Which Windows 11 settings control lock-screen reminders and VoIP calls?
Windows 11 uses three layers of notification controls: the global notification gate, the general lock-screen permission, and the category-specific permission for reminders and incoming VoIP calls. The setting you need depends on whether you want to change every notification, only what appears while the PC is locked, or just reminders and calls.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Notifications | All Windows and app notifications | Notification delivery is disabled globally, so lower-level settings cannot deliver alerts. | Use only when you want a complete notification shutdown. |
| Show notifications on the lock screen | Lock-screen notifications generally | Lock-screen notifications are suppressed broadly. | Use when you want notifications elsewhere but not on the sign-in screen. |
| Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen | Reminders and incoming internet-based calls | Those two categories are hidden from the lock screen. | Use for targeted privacy or fewer interruptions without hiding every lock-screen alert. |
| App notification settings | One sender, such as To Do, Outlook, OneNote, Teams, or a calling app | That app can be prevented from producing notifications or from showing particular surfaces. | Use when one app is responsible for unwanted alerts. |
| Do Not Disturb and Set priority notifications | Temporary suppression of banners and sounds, with exceptions | Only items allowed as priority can continue during the suppression period. | Use for meetings, sleep, or focused work when some calls or reminders must remain possible. |
The global switch is the top-level gate. If it is off, turning on either lock-screen option will not restore delivery. If the global switch is on, the lock-screen and app-level settings determine where an alert can appear.
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How do I show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen?
Follow these steps when you want both reminder alerts and incoming VoIP calls to be visible while Windows 11 is locked.
- Open notification settings. Select Start, open Settings, choose System, and select Notifications.
- Enable the top-level notification switch. Under Notifications, turn the main switch on. This allows Windows and apps to deliver notifications at all.
- Expand the notification options. Locate Show notifications on the lock screen and turn it on. This is the broad permission for showing notifications on the sign-in screen.
- Allow reminders and calls specifically. Turn on Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen. This separate control covers those two categories.
- Check the sending app. Scroll to Notifications from apps and other senders. Find the app that creates the reminder or handles the call and make sure its notification switch is enabled.
- Test while the device is locked. Create or wait for a known reminder, or place a test VoIP call from another account or device. Lock Windows with Windows key + L and observe whether the alert appears.
All three relevant layers must permit delivery: the main Notifications switch, the general lock-screen switch, and the reminders-and-VoIP switch. The app must also have permission to notify. A failure at any one layer prevents the expected lock-screen alert.
What counts as a reminder?
Microsoft identifies Microsoft To Do, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams as apps that can create reminders. A reminder stored in one of these apps still needs that app’s Windows notification permission enabled before it can reach the lock screen.
What is a VoIP call in this setting?
Here, VoIP refers to an incoming call notification delivered through an internet-based calling application rather than a traditional phone line. The Windows lock-screen option controls the category, but the calling application remains responsible for generating its notification.
How do I turn off reminders and VoIP calls on the lock screen?
To hide only those categories, keep notifications enabled for other purposes but switch off the category-specific lock-screen option.
- Go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications.
- Confirm that the main Notifications switch is on if you still want ordinary Windows and app notifications.
- Leave Show notifications on the lock screen configured according to your wider lock-screen policy. If you want other lock-screen notifications to remain, keep it on.
- Turn Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen off.
- If one application continues to produce alerts elsewhere, open it under Notifications from apps and other senders and adjust its notification switch, banners, notification-center display, sound, lock-screen behavior, or priority.
Turning off the reminders-and-VoIP option does not necessarily disable those notifications everywhere. The same reminder or call may still be available in the notification center, appear as a desktop banner, or make a sound if the app and other settings allow it. This setting specifically targets the locked-screen surface.
What is the difference between hiding all lock-screen notifications and hiding only reminders and calls?
Use the general lock-screen switch for a broad privacy change; use the reminders-and-VoIP switch for a narrower change. The distinction matters when you want security-sensitive or distracting categories hidden without losing every lock-screen alert.
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| Goal | Recommended change | Other notifications | Reminders and VoIP calls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show everything permitted on the lock screen | Keep both lock-screen switches on. | Can appear if each app allows them. | Can appear if their apps allow them. |
| Hide only reminders and calls | Turn off the reminders-and-VoIP switch; leave the general lock-screen switch on. | Can still appear on the lock screen. | Suppressed on the lock screen. |
| Hide every lock-screen notification | Turn off Show notifications on the lock screen. | Suppressed on the lock screen. | Suppressed on the lock screen. |
| Stop notification delivery everywhere | Turn off the main Notifications switch. | Not delivered by Windows notification services. | Not delivered by Windows notification services. |
| Silence temporarily but retain selected exceptions | Use Do Not Disturb and review Set priority notifications. | Most ordinary banners can be silenced. | Calls and reminders may remain if allowed as priority items. |
Why are calls or reminders still showing when Do Not Disturb is on?
Do Not Disturb is not an unconditional block. It can silence ordinary banners while allowing priority items, and Windows documents behavior in which VoIP calls may still be permitted during quiet-hours-style suppression.
Check the Calls and reminders priority list
- Open Start > Settings > System > Notifications.
- Open Set priority notifications in the Do Not Disturb options.
- Review the Calls and reminders checkboxes.
- Clear the entries you do not want allowed during Do Not Disturb, then retest with the device locked.
If calls or reminders are checked as priority items, Windows can continue allowing them while other notifications are suppressed. This is intentional exception behavior, not a failure of the lock-screen switch.
Review automatic Do Not Disturb activation
Windows can activate Do Not Disturb through configured schedules or other automatic rules. Review those rules in the Do Not Disturb settings so you know when suppression starts and which priority policy applies. A call that appears outside the expected quiet period may be arriving after an automatic rule has ended.
Check the app separately
Do Not Disturb does not replace the sender’s own notification controls. An app can have its own banner, sound, lock-screen, notification-center, and priority choices. Open the affected sender under Notifications from apps and other senders and verify that its settings match your intended behavior.
Account for documented VoIP exceptions
Microsoft Learn notes that VoIP calls may still be allowed during quiet-hours-style suppression. If complete silence is required, review both the Do Not Disturb priority settings and the calling app’s notification settings rather than relying on Do Not Disturb alone.
How do I configure one app without changing every notification?
Per-app settings are the right choice when one sender is noisy or when reminders from one service should remain private while other apps continue to notify.
- Open Start > Settings > System > Notifications.
- Scroll to Notifications from apps and other senders.
- Select the app that creates the unwanted reminder or VoIP alert.
- Adjust the app’s notification switch. If available, configure its banners, notification-center display, sound, lock-screen behavior, and priority individually.
- Lock the PC and perform a controlled test so you can distinguish an app-level change from a global lock-screen change.
For example, you can keep the general lock-screen permission enabled but turn off lock-screen behavior for a particular calling app. Conversely, you can leave an app enabled and hide reminders and calls globally from the lock screen. Choose the narrower control when you want to preserve other notifications.
Which apps can supply reminders to the Windows 11 lock screen?
Microsoft lists Microsoft To Do, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams as reminder-capable sources. The reminder must exist in the relevant service, and Windows must allow that app to notify.
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- Microsoft To Do: verify that the task has a reminder and that To Do is enabled under app notifications.
- Outlook: verify the calendar or task reminder exists and that Outlook notifications are permitted.
- OneNote: verify the reminder was created in the notebook or task workflow and that OneNote can notify Windows.
- Teams: verify the reminder or scheduled item exists and that Teams notifications are enabled.
If the reminder exists inside the app but no Windows alert is produced, the lock-screen controls cannot create one. First establish that the app generates a notification while Windows is unlocked; then test the lock-screen permissions.
How can I diagnose a missing lock-screen reminder or call?
Work from the broadest control to the narrowest. This order prevents an app-level change from masking a global setting that is blocking every sender.
- Check global delivery: In Settings > System > Notifications, confirm the main Notifications switch is on.
- Check general lock-screen delivery: Confirm Show notifications on the lock screen has the intended value.
- Check the category switch: Confirm Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen is on when testing those categories.
- Check the sender: Under Notifications from apps and other senders, enable the affected app and inspect its lock-screen, banner, sound, notification-center, and priority settings.
- Check Do Not Disturb: Review whether it is active, whether an automatic rule activated it, and whether Calls and reminders are listed as priority notifications.
- Verify the source item: For reminders, confirm the reminder exists in To Do, Outlook, OneNote, or Teams. For calls, verify that the calling app is signed in and capable of receiving the test call.
- Retest in a controlled state: Turn off Do Not Disturb temporarily, lock the PC with Windows key + L, and trigger one known reminder or test call. Re-enable your preferred suppression policy after identifying the layer that changed the result.
If nothing appears anywhere
Start with the main Notifications switch and the app’s notification switch. When either is off, changing lock-screen options cannot produce an alert.
If it appears unlocked but not locked
Check both lock-screen switches and the app’s lock-screen behavior setting. The app may be allowed to show banners or notification-center entries while being blocked specifically from the lock screen.
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If it appears during Do Not Disturb
Inspect Set priority notifications, especially Calls and reminders, then review the app-level priority setting and the documented VoIP exception behavior.
If only one reminder service fails
Verify the reminder in the originating service and enable that service’s Windows notification permission. Other reminder apps can continue working because notification permissions are configured per sender.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What privacy and interruption trade-offs should I consider?
Lock-screen notifications are visible before a user signs in, so showing reminders or call details can expose information to anyone who can see the display. Turning off only the reminders-and-VoIP switch reduces exposure for those categories while preserving other lock-screen alerts. Turning off all lock-screen notifications provides broader privacy but removes useful at-a-glance information.
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Do Not Disturb offers a different trade-off: it is time-based or situational suppression rather than a permanent lock-screen privacy policy. Priority exceptions can keep urgent calls or reminders available, but those same exceptions explain why a call may still appear when you expected silence.
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- Need a private sign-in screen: disable general lock-screen notifications.
- Need reminders and calls hidden only: disable the reminders-and-VoIP lock-screen option.
- Need fewer interruptions for a period: use Do Not Disturb and deliberately configure priority exceptions.
- Need to fix one noisy sender: change that app’s settings instead of changing Windows globally.
What should the final configuration look like for common scenarios?
| Scenario | Notifications switch | General lock screen | Reminders and VoIP | Do Not Disturb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show reminders and calls while locked | On | On | On | Off, or configured to allow the desired priority items |
| Hide reminders and calls but keep other lock-screen alerts | On | On | Off | Optional |
| Hide every lock-screen alert but keep desktop notifications | On | Off | Off or on; the general lock-screen switch blocks the surface | Optional |
| Stop all Windows notification delivery | Off | Any value | Any value | Irrelevant to global delivery |
| Silence ordinary alerts but permit selected calls | On | Set according to lock-screen privacy needs | Set according to category needs | On, with calls allowed under Set priority notifications |
When a table row says a setting is optional, it means another control already determines the result for the stated surface. For example, with general lock-screen notifications off, the category-specific switch cannot make reminders visible on the lock screen.
What is the quickest safe way to change these settings?
For a targeted change, use this short path: Start > Settings > System > Notifications, leave Notifications on, leave Show notifications on the lock screen on if you want other lock-screen alerts, and toggle Show reminders and incoming VoIP calls on the lock screen according to your preference. Then check the affected app and Do Not Disturb priorities if the result does not match your expectation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off lock-screen reminders delete my reminders?
No. The lock-screen switch controls where notifications are displayed; it does not remove the underlying reminder from To Do, Outlook, OneNote, or Teams. The reminder can still exist in its app and may notify through other permitted surfaces.
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Can I hide call details but still hear an incoming VoIP call?
The lock-screen category switch controls lock-screen visibility, while an app’s sound and other notification options are separate. Review the calling app under Notifications from apps and other senders if you want to change audio without changing the lock-screen policy.
Quick Recap
Why does a reminder appear in Notification Center after I hide it from the lock screen?
The lock-screen setting targets the locked-screen surface only. Notification Center and desktop banners have their own app-level permissions, so an alert can remain available there unless you disable those surfaces for the sender.
Do I need to turn off the main Notifications switch to stop one calling app?
No. The main switch affects every Windows and app notification. Select the calling app under Notifications from apps and other senders and change its notification, lock-screen, sound, banner, or priority settings instead.
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