If you are not seeing Canvas course notifications, check below to see if any of the reasons below may apply.
1. Notification preferences not set
Go to Account > Notifications to see whether you have opted in to notifications for the category you're not receiving notifications. If you want notifications immediately, choose the bell option for Notify Immediately.
If notifications are set correctly at the global level, check course specific notifications. It's possible to customize notifications at the course level, including disabling notifications. There are two ways to check.
Option 1:
From the Account Notifications page.
- Under Settings for, click on the dropdown and select the desired course.
- Check whether notifications are enabled for the course. The toggle will be green if notifications are enabled.
- Confirm that all the notifications are set to your preference.
Option 2:
From the specific course.
- Go to your course.
- Click View Course Notifications.
- Ensure your notifications are set to your preference.
2. Sent to trash or spam
Check to see if the notification email got filtered to your Spam or Trash folder. If notifications emails are found in Spam or Trash, you can add notifications@instructure.com to your address book.
Note: If you signed up for an Unroll.me account, that service may be filtering your Canvas notifications. It is best to delete your Unroll.me account, then check to see if you start receiving Canvas notifications in the following days.
3. Email added to suppression list
You may have been added to Instructure's suppression list if at one point, Canvas attempted to send an email notification to your email address but the email bounced. When emails bounce, the email address is then added to a list that can no longer receive notifications. To check if you are part of this list, follow the steps below.
- Click on Account > Settings
- An exclamation point next to the email address means Canvas has tried to send an email to the address but it failed.
- Hover over the icon to read the error message.
If your email is active and you do not receive Canvas notifications, email us at canvashelp@stanford.edu from the email address that is blocked to verify it is active. We will then submit a request for your email be removed from the suppression list.
4. High traffic delay
Canvas can experience delays in sending notifications when there are extremely large message queues. You can see whether there is any downtime by going to status.instructure.com. It is recommend that instructors email students directly for time sensitive messages during times of delay.
Still not receiving notifications?
If your email address is not on the suppression list and your notification settings are set properly but you are still not receiving notifications, email canvashelp@stanford.edu for help.