Google Calendar Notifications on Windows Desktop (2026)

A Chrome toast for Google Calendar appears only with Chrome already open. With Chrome closed, that calendar toast never arrives on the desktop. ScreenSlap covers the screen one minute before the event on that calendar. The alert stays up for 60 seconds with sound on by default. ScreenSlap reads the connected Google Calendar by polling, not by an instant push. A brand-new event can wait for the next poll of the connected calendar.

The meeting guide puts ScreenSlap and MeetReady on one Windows PC. The full-screen alert article explains the ScreenSlap timing on its own.

Chrome on the desktop

This is the path Google gives you in the browser. This path needs no extra app beyond Chrome on your PC. The notice is still a small toast in the corner of the screen.

1. Open calendar.google.com in the Chrome browser on your Windows PC.
2. Click the lock icon in the address bar, then set Notifications to Allow.
3. Turn on event notifications in Google Calendar settings for your calendars.

The toast is easy to miss in the corner of the screen. It leaves that corner on its own after a short time. Chrome has to stay open or that toast never arrives at all. One click on the toast can clear it from that corner.

A Calendar window

Chrome can install Google Calendar as its own window on the PC. The notices for that window still come from Chrome on Windows.

1. In Chrome, open the three-dot menu, then choose Install Google Calendar.
2. Google Calendar then opens in its own window on the desktop.
3. The new app is also listed in the Start menu on Windows.

Notifications still come from Chrome for this installed Calendar window too. Use the installed app for a corner notice on a quiet afternoon.

The Windows Calendar app

Windows 10 and Windows 11 include a Calendar app that can take a Google account. The reminder from the Calendar app is still a Windows toast. A new event may not appear the moment you save it in Google.

1. Open the Windows Calendar app from the Start menu search box.
2. Choose the gear icon, then open Manage accounts on that page.
3. Choose Add account, then pick Google for the calendar you want.
4. Events from that Google account then show up in Windows Calendar.

The reminder is still a Windows toast on the corner of the screen. You open the event yourself for the meeting link in the description. Do Not Disturb can hide that toast along with the others.

ScreenSlap

ScreenSlap is the full-screen notice for the Google Calendar you connect. Connect the Google Calendar that holds the events you want on screen. The default notice is one minute before the event on that calendar. You still open the meeting link from the calendar or from email. Use ScreenSlap for an event name that covers the whole screen.

1. Download PeakFlow Setup 1.6.5 for Windows.
2. That Windows installer for version 1.6.5 is a 134 MB file.
3. Run the PeakFlow installer, then leave the ScreenSlap tool turned on.
4. Connect the Google Calendar that stores the events you care about.
5. Keep the default ScreenSlap warning at one minute before the event.
6. The ScreenSlap alert sound is already on by default for you.

PeakFlow is six tools in one Windows installer. You can turn ScreenSlap off without removing the other five tools. The six tools have no time limit on Windows. A 14-day Pro trial comes included with the PeakFlow download. There is no account and no telemetry on the free tools.

Side by side

MeetReady

MeetReady checks the camera and the microphone ahead of the event. With the early switch turned on, it can open two minutes before the event. Press Ctrl+Shift+M for a look at the camera and the microphone. Ctrl+Shift+M sits among the other keyboard shortcuts on Windows. The camera article shows the Camera app plus Zoom plus Teams. The same PeakFlow Setup 1.6.5 installer includes MeetReady.

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