How to Export and Import Notification Preferences Across PCs on Windows 11

Quick fix: Notification settings are stored in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings. Export this key to a .reg file on the source PC, copy it to the target PC, and import. Per-app notification toggles, Focus settings, and Do Not Disturb hours all carry over.

You spent an hour configuring notification settings on your main PC: turned off banners for Teams but kept the badge, set Slack to silent-with-tray, blocked all toast notifications from your IDE, configured Focus assist hours for after work. Now you set up a second PC and want the same configuration without redoing it manually. Microsoft account sync doesn’t cover this category in detail — you need to copy the settings yourself.

Where notification settings live

Notification settings have two registry homes. The global notification settings (per-app on/off, sounds, banner/tray) live under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings — each app gets a sub-key with its package family name or app ID. Focus settings (priority list, schedules, Do Not Disturb hours) live under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\DefaultAccount\Current\default$windows.data.notifications.quietHours.

Both can be exported via reg export and imported on another PC.

Method 1: Export and import via Registry Editor

1. On the source PC, open regedit.
2. Navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings.
3. Right-click and choose Export. Save as notifications.reg to a USB drive or cloud folder.
4. Navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\DefaultAccount\Current.
5. Export the entire Current key as focus-cloudstore.reg (this includes Focus and other related settings).
6. Copy both .reg files to the target PC.
7. On the target PC, double-click each .reg file. Confirm the import dialog.
8. Sign out and back in.

The settings transfer en bloc. Per-app preferences for apps not installed on the target are silently skipped on next sign-in.

Method 2: PowerShell export and import

For scripting:

1. On the source PC, open elevated PowerShell:
   
   reg export “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings” C:\notify-settings.reg /y

reg export “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CloudStore\Store\DefaultAccount\Current” C:\notify-focus.reg /y
2. Copy both .reg files to the target PC.
3. On target PC, in elevated PowerShell:
   
   reg import C:\notify-settings.reg

reg import C:\notify-focus.reg
4. Sign out and back in.

PowerShell is faster for batch deployment. Wrap into a script and run via Task Scheduler or Group Policy logon script for multiple PCs.

Method 3: Sync via OneDrive or a shared folder for periodic refresh

For users who tweak notification settings frequently and want them automatically synced:

1. Create a OneDrive folder for shared registry exports, e.g., OneDrive\PCSync.
2. On the primary PC, create a Task Scheduler task that exports the relevant keys to OneDrive daily.
3. On secondary PCs, create a logon task that imports the latest .reg file from OneDrive (with a check that the export is newer than last import).
4. Adjust the script to skip the import if the user is currently on the primary PC (use hostname comparison or a sentinel file).

This is heavy for casual users but useful if you have many PCs and constantly tune notifications.

How to verify the fix worked

• On the target PC, open Settings → System → Notifications. The list of apps matches what you configured on the source.
• Per-app notification toggles (banner, sound, badge) match.
• Focus settings — Priority list, automatic rules, Do Not Disturb hours — show the same configuration.
• Trigger a notification from a configured app — behavior matches the source PC.

If none of these work

If imported notifications don’t take effect immediately, restart Explorer: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe then start explorer.exe. For apps that have their own internal notification controls (Teams, Slack), the registry import affects only the Windows-level toggle — you also need to copy the app’s settings file (located in %AppData% or %LocalAppData% for each app). For chronic divergence between PCs, consider using a profile-roaming tool like UE-V or Mandatory Profiles to keep more of the user profile synchronized.

Bottom line: Two registry keys hold most of Windows 11’s notification configuration. Export them on the source, import on the target, restart Explorer. Per-app preferences carry across as long as the apps are installed on both sides.