Troubleshooting Live Session notifications on macOS

Chief sends notifications when a meeting is about to start so you can quickly join a Live Session. If these alerts aren't appearing, macOS notification settings or Focus modes like Do Not Disturb may be preventing them from reaching you. This guide covers the most common causes and how to resolve them.

Written By Patrick Intervalo

Last updated About 2 months ago

Overview

Live Session notifications can be affected by your Mac's notification permissions and Focus settings. If you're not receiving reminders for upcoming meetings, follow the steps below to determine whether notifications are being blocked and learn about current limitations.

This guide walks through common causes and how to troubleshoot them.

Symptoms

You may notice:

  • No notification appears when a Zoom meeting starts.

  • Chief doesn't remind you to join a Live Session.

  • Notifications seem to work for other apps, but not for Chief.

  • Notifications stop appearing when Do Not Disturb or another Focus mode is enabled.

Check Whether Focus or Do Not Disturb Is Enabled

  1. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar.

  2. Select Focus.

  3. Check whether Do Not Disturb or another Focus mode is currently active.

If Focus mode is enabled, notifications from Chief may be suppressed.

Allow Time-Sensitive Notifications

Some Focus modes allow urgent notifications to break through.

  1. Open System Settings.

  2. Select Focus from the sidebar.

  3. Choose your active Focus mode (such as Do Not Disturb).

  4. Under Options, enable Allow Time-Sensitive Notifications.

This allows apps to send important alerts even while Focus mode is active.

Check Chief Notification Permissions

  1. Open System Settings.

  2. Navigate to Notifications.

  3. Look for Chief in the application list.

  4. Ensure notifications are enabled.

Can't find Chief?

If Chief does not appear in the Notifications settings, the app may not yet have requested notification permissions. This is a known limitation and may prevent notifications from bypassing Focus modes.

Workaround

Until notification permissions are fully supported, you can:

  • Disable Do Not Disturb during meetings.

  • Use a separate Focus mode that allows time-sensitive notifications.

  • Keep Chief open while working.

Still Not Receiving Notifications?

If notifications are still not appearing, contact the team and include:

  • Your macOS version.

  • Whether Do Not Disturb or another Focus mode is enabled.

  • Whether Chief appears in System Settings → Notifications.

  • Whether the issue occurs for every meeting or only certain meetings.

This information can help us troubleshoot the issue more quickly.