How do I see Past Notifications History?

very_452001 · Feb 10, 2024

Hi,

Just had a notification from settings app saying a wi-fi 6e device is installed that requires restarting or something not sure because when I open notifications it just strangely disappeared before I even got the chance to read the notification properly so I couldn't search it online to see whether its malware/virus or a genuine notification.

I checked windows update history and don't see any devices that were updated today/yesterday so how do I check notifications history for the past day or 2 please? I like to double check because notification disappeared straight away after only a second which isn't enough time for me to double check you know what I mean.

Regards,

very_452001 · Feb 12, 2024

Hi coming back here any help please

Winuser · Feb 12, 2024

I'm not sure you can. If there is a way I've never heard of it.

very_452001 · Feb 12, 2024

There must be a way that past notifications are logged down somewhere in windows for security reasons. Surely right? At least kept for 7-14 days the logs are kept I assume.

Even on my TV I can see past notifications.

Winuser · Feb 12, 2024

very_452001 said:
There must be a way that past notifications are logged down somewhere in windows for security reasons. Surely right? At least kept for 7-14 days the logs are kept I assume.

Even on my TV I can see past notifications.

I'm not saying that it can't be done. I just haven't heard of a way to do it so I don't know if it is possible.

very_452001 · Feb 13, 2024

Okay does anyone know how to please?

AK6DN · Feb 13, 2024

Have you looked at Computer Management / Event Viewer / Custom Views / Administrative Events ?
It is a summary of any Error or Warning events that have been logged thru the system logger.

Or you can look in individual even logs under ...
Computer Management / Event Viewer / Windows Logs / Application
Computer Management / Event Viewer / Windows Logs / System
etc

x BlueRobot · Feb 14, 2024

Have you tried examining the following file? Apparently, it should be a SQLLite DB.

Code:

%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Notifications\wpndatabase.db

iko22 · Feb 14, 2024

very_452001 said:
so how do I check notifications history for the past day or 2 please?

To see your Window's Notifications, just press Win key + N on the keyboard, or click on the "bell" symbol in the far right corner of the Taskbar, located just right of the System Clock.

If you are not seeing anything, then maybe you need to check that Get notifications from apps and other senders is turned ON in Settings > System > Notifications and Actions .

Windows automatically deletes Notifications after a while, although it should have kept them for at least the past two days.

x BlueRobot · Feb 14, 2024

I've just checked the database myself and it does include the notifications:

Code:

<toast duration="short" launch="https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=5578119" activationType="protocol"><visual><binding template="ToastGeneric"><text id="1">Security scan required</text><text id="2">To protect your device, Microsoft Defender Antivirus needs to perform a cloud security scan. The scan could take up to 10 seconds.</text></binding></visual><actions><action activationType="protocol" placement="contextMenu" arguments="windowsdefender://settings" content="See fewer notifications"/><action activationType="system" content="Dismiss" arguments="dismiss"/></actions><header activationType="protocol" id="Windows_Defender_SecurityCenter_11012" title="Windows Security" arguments=""/></toast>

Winuser · Feb 14, 2024

iko22 said:
To see your Window's Notifications, just press Win key + N on the keyboard, or click on the "bell" symbol in the far right corner of the Taskbar, located just right of the System Clock.

If you are not seeing anything, then maybe you need to check that Get notifications from apps and other senders is turned ON in Settings > System > Notifications and Actions .

Windows automatically deletes Notifications after a while, although it should have kept them for at least the past two days.

They're trying to find a stored location for notification after they close.

iko22 · Feb 15, 2024

Winuser said:
They're trying to find a stored location for notification after they close.

I wasn't entirely convinced! The OP is a bit vague as to what is meant by "when I open notifications it just strangely disappeared" because notifications first appear on the screen as Notification Banners, which disappear quite quickly (after a few seconds), unless you click on them. But then the Notifications are automatically preserved in the Notification Centre, which is where my answer refers to.

But, I was wondering why posters were missing the bleeding obvious, and your answer would point to a suitable explanation. Fair play.

As well as accessing the database, you can also use Notification Logger app Notification Logger - Official app in the Microsoft Store . But I suspect, even with this app, if the notification is not in wpndatabase.db then it is not going to appear in the app.

Winuser · Feb 15, 2024

iko22 said:
I wasn't entirely convinced! The OP is a bit vague as to what is meant by "when I open notifications it just strangely disappeared" because notifications first appear on the screen as Notification Banners, which disappear quite quickly (after a few seconds), unless you click on them. But then the Notifications are automatically preserved in the Notification Centre, which is where my answer refers to.

But, I was wondering why posters were missing the bleeding obvious, and your answer would point to a suitable explanation. Fair play.

As well as accessing the database, you can also use Notification Logger app Notification Logger - Official app in the Microsoft Store . But I suspect, even with this app, if the notification is not in wpndatabase.db then it is not going to appear in the app.

It would be great if MS would add a See Past Notices option when looking at the Notification window.

Stigg · Mar 21, 2025

It seems that this can't be done.

garlin · Mar 21, 2025

Notifications stored in the database have an ExpiryTime stamp. Unless you're cloning the current data using a script or 3rd-party tool, then old notifications will disappear from your history.

Some critical Windows events may be logged in the Event History at the same time, but it's not guaranteed.

How do I see Past Notifications History?

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