Planner does not email me when a task is assigned

Short answer: each person turns on their own task email in Planner under Settings, then Notifications. If you still get nothing, check that the Planner app is installed in Teams and ask your admin about licensing and Exchange Online.

Planner notifications are not one switch. Some are set by each person, some depend on your organization's licensing and on which version of Planner you use, and one is a group email that the plan owner controls. If the email still does not arrive, a small Power Automate flow can send one for you. Exact names may differ on your screen.

What Planner can send

Microsoft's page on Planner notifications says Planner sends notifications in four ways: a group email, a Planner email, a push notification in the Planner mobile app, and a Teams notification in the activity feed.

A group email goes to the group, and arrives in the group's Outlook mailbox.
A Planner email goes only to you, in your own inbox.
A mobile push notification shows like other phone notifications. Tapping it opens the Planner app.
A Teams notification shows in the Teams activity feed with the task title, who assigned it and the plan name.

For the case in this guide, Microsoft's table says that when someone assigns a task to you, you can get an email, a mobile push notification and a Teams notification. For the new Planner, Microsoft says this one can be changed in the task notification settings. Microsoft's page also describes a classic version of Planner. Which version you see depends on your environment, so read the steps below against your own screen.

Check 1. Your own notification settings

The setting belongs to each person, not to the plan.

Microsoft's page describes it this way for the new Planner:

Open Settings, then Notifications.
Look at the options for task assignments, due dates and being added to a premium plan. A checked option is on. A cleared option is off.
Make sure the option for being assigned a task is on.
Save.

For the classic Planner, Microsoft names two options: "Someone assigns a task to me" and "A task assigned to me is late, due today, or due in the next 7 days". Select what you want and then select Save. Microsoft adds that if you use Planner in Teams, you first select Go to website.

Two things to know:

This setting is yours. A coworker who is not getting emails has to check their own page. You cannot fix it for them.
Microsoft's page says of the email when any plan member comments after your comment: "You can't turn off this comment."

Check 2. The plan and the group

If you are expecting a group email and not a personal one, the plan owner matters. Microsoft's page says that in classic Planner, group owners can turn on or off a setting named "Send email to the plan's group when a task is assigned or completed". Microsoft says it is off by default, so group emails do not go to the group mailbox until it is turned on. Followers who opt in receive these emails in their inbox. Only group owners can change this setting, and the plan creator is the group owner.

Microsoft's page is not consistent here. One part says followers get these emails in their inbox. Another part says group email notifications are not delivered to followers' inboxes. Check both your inbox and the group mailbox. To check your setting, Microsoft says to open the three dots next to the plan name, choose Plan settings, then group settings. Under Manage group email, the choice "Don't receive any group messages" stops them.

Another case is easy to miss. Microsoft's table for the new Planner says the "added to a plan" email applies to premium plans and portfolios only, and that it is not sent for plans tied to groups with more than 50 members. If you were waiting for an email after being added to a basic plan, that email may not exist.

Check 3. Teams, licensing and admin settings

Teams notifications. Microsoft's page says: "Even if the task assignment action occurs outside of Teams... a Teams notification will be sent to the assignee." If you do not see them in the activity feed, make sure the Planner app is installed in Teams. Microsoft also says admins can turn off Planner notifications in Teams by turning off the Planner app for Teams. To turn off only the notifications and keep the app, Microsoft's page says to contact Office support.

Teams does not replace email. In the classic description, Microsoft says a Teams assignment notification does not replace email or push, and you receive all three. If you only see the Teams alert and no email, look at Check 1 again.

Licensing. Microsoft's page says email notifications for Planner depend on your organization's licensing. It says Exchange Online enables email reminders, and that on-premises Exchange may cause problems, so check with your administrator. Microsoft's pages do not describe which exact license you need, so ask your admin.

Special environments. Microsoft says Planner email is not available in GCC, GCC High or DoD, and mobile push is not available in GCC. If your organization uses one of those, some of these emails will not arrive.

Spam and rules. Microsoft's pages do not describe where to look in your mailbox. One way to start (our advice, not a Microsoft rule): search your junk folder and your inbox rules for the sender, and ask your admin to check mail flow if a coworker has the same problem.

Comment notifications

Microsoft's page lists two comment emails. "Any plan member comments after your comment" is sent to you, and you cannot turn it off. "Someone comments on a plan" goes to plan members following the group, and Microsoft's page says it is "configurable only by disabling your receipt of all group messages." In classic Planner, open Plan settings, then group settings. Under Manage group email, select "Don't receive any group messages" and save.

Where to check, by symptom

No email at all: your own Settings, then Notifications; then licensing and Exchange Online with your admin.
No Teams alert: the Planner app installed in Teams; an admin may have turned the app off.
No push on the phone: Microsoft's page says mobile push is not available in GCC.
No comment alert: the comment emails above, and your group message setting.

What Microsoft's pages do not describe

Be careful with these. Microsoft's notification page does not state:

How fast a notification arrives after the assignment.
How often due date reminders are sent in the new Planner. In classic Planner, the due date option covers a task that is late, due today, or due in the next 7 days.
A way to turn off Teams notifications for one person, other than muting or blocking the Planner bot or an admin turning off the app.

If your problem is in one of these areas, ask your admin or Microsoft support. Do not guess.

A simple backup with Power Automate

If you must be sure a person hears about a new task, you can add a second path that does not depend on the Planner settings. This is optional and it is a fallback, not a fix for the settings above.

Microsoft's page on the Planner connector for Power Automate lists a trigger named "When a task is assigned to me". It triggers when a task is assigned to me, meaning the person whose connection runs the flow. So one way to start is for each person to build their own copy. A shared mailbox or group is a different case that this guide does not cover.

Sign in to Power Automate. Create an automated cloud flow. Search for Planner and choose the trigger "When a task is assigned to me". The exact names may differ.
Add an action. Search for Send an email (V2) from Office 365 Outlook. Microsoft's connector page lists it as the action that sends an email message.
In To, put your own address. In Subject, type fixed words and add the task Title from the dynamic content. In Body, add the plan and the due date if the dynamic content offers them, and a short line about what to do.
Save the flow, assign yourself a test task in a plan, and open the run history to see whether it ran.

Limits to know, all from Microsoft's connector page:

The Planner connector supports basic plans only. Premium plans are not covered.
Microsoft lists the frequency of trigger polls as 1 per 360 seconds. So the email is not instant. A delay of several minutes can be normal.
The Planner connector allows 100 API calls per connection every 60 seconds.
The Office 365 Outlook page lists 300 API calls per connection every 60 seconds, and counts each email as one call, even with more than one recipient.
If a send gets a 504 timeout response and retries, Microsoft says duplicate emails are possible.

This flow does not need a Get items action, so the 100-row default and Pagination settings do not come up here. If you later add a step that reads a list of rows, set Top Count and Pagination first, because the default returns only 100 rows.

If the person who built the flow leaves, the flow may stop. See "The person who built your flows left: what happens and what to do". If the same email arrives twice, see "Power Automate sends the same email two or three times".

If tasks show in some views and not others, see "Planner tasks not syncing or disappearing in Teams".
To create tasks from a form, see "Create a Planner task automatically from a Forms response".
For alerts before a due date from a SharePoint list, see "Send a reminder before a due date in a SharePoint list".
For alerts about overdue work, see "Late tasks nobody notices: setting up late alerts".

When a list is steadier than notifications

Planner depends on each person keeping their settings right. If you need a record of who was told what, a SharePoint list can hold it in one table. One way to start is a small list with these columns:

Title: the task, in one line.
Owner: a Person column.
Due date: a Date column.
Status: a Choice column with numbered choices: 1 Not started, 2 In progress, 3 Done.
Last notified: a Date column, filled in by a flow.

A view of open work hides 3 Done. Microsoft says filters with [Today] or [Me] need the classic view editor (Edit current view, then Filters). We also use the classic view editor for blank and "is not equal to" filters. That part is our advice, not a Microsoft rule. For a side-by-side look, see "Microsoft Planner vs SharePoint list for tracking team work". For moving off a spreadsheet, see "Replace a spreadsheet tracker with a SharePoint list".

What to avoid

Do not assume the plan owner can fix a personal email setting. Each person sets their own.
Do not turn on every option for everyone. Too many emails get ignored, and then real ones are missed.
Do not rely on email alone for work that has a deadline. Tell the person in the place they read daily.
Do not build the backup flow on a premium plan. The connector supports basic plans only.
Do not leave a flow owned by one person with no backup.
Do not delete and recreate a plan to reset notifications. Deleting a plan cannot be undone.
Do not guess at licensing. Ask your admin.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

Where do I turn on the email for a task assigned to me?

In your Planner settings, under Notifications. Microsoft describes an option for task assignments that you select, then save. Exact names may differ, and if you use Planner in Teams you may first need the Go to website link.

Why are Planner notifications not working in Teams?

Microsoft's page says to make sure the Planner app is installed in Teams. An admin can turn off Planner notifications in Teams by turning off the Planner app for Teams.

How do I turn off Planner comment notifications?

Microsoft's page says the email for a comment after yours cannot be turned off. The plan comment email can only be stopped by turning off all group messages.

Why did I get a Teams alert but no email?

Microsoft says a Teams notification does not replace email or push. If the email is missing, check your notification setting, your organization's licensing and which Planner version you use. Ask your admin.

How fast should the email arrive?

Microsoft's pages do not describe a delivery time. For the Power Automate backup, Microsoft lists trigger polls as 1 per 360 seconds, so allow several minutes.

How do I turn off Planner notifications?

Clear the options in Settings, then Notifications, and save. For Teams alerts, Microsoft says to open Chat, open the Planner bot menu, and choose Mute or Block bot conversation.

Does the Power Automate backup work with premium plans?

Microsoft's Planner connector page says it supports basic plans only. Premium plans are not covered.