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How to Turn Off Email Notifications in Power Automate Approvals
Question details
The user wants to configure a SharePoint approval workflow to notify selected approvers via Microsoft Teams without sending duplicate email alerts.
- Product
- Power Automate
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Setting up an automated approval process in Power Automate where approvers only receive alerts in Microsoft Teams.
- Observed behavior
- By default, Power Automate sends an automated email notification to approvers, resulting in duplicate alerts when Teams notifications are also configured.
Ensure you have edit permissions for the target Power Automate flow and that both your SharePoint and Microsoft Teams connectors are properly authenticated.
Disable Default Approval Emails and Route to Teams
You can suppress the built-in email alerts from the approval action and manually route the notification directly to Microsoft Teams using an adaptive card.
Power Automate's default 'Start and wait for an approval' action automatically sends an email to the assigned approver. To stop this, you need to separate the approval creation from the waiting process, disable the default notifications, and add a custom Teams action.
In your Power Automate flow, replace the 'Start and wait for an approval' action with the 'Create an approval' action.
Click on 'Show advanced options' within the 'Create an approval' action. Find the 'Enable notifications' dropdown and set it to 'No'. This prevents the default email from being sent.
Add a new step below the approval creation using the 'Post an adaptive card and wait for a response' action under the Microsoft Teams connector.
Set the 'Recipient' to the approver's email address. In the 'Message' field, insert the 'Teams Adaptive Card' dynamic content generated by the 'Create an approval' action.
Finally, add a 'Wait for an approval' action and pass the Approval ID from the first step to ensure the flow pauses until the user responds in Teams.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I still receive emails even after setting 'Enable notifications' to No?
You might be receiving system-level email notifications directly from SharePoint rather than Power Automate. Check your SharePoint site's alert settings. Additionally, ensure you are using the 'Create an approval' action instead of 'Start and wait for an approval', as the latter may still trigger defaults.
Can I customize the design of the Teams approval message?
Yes. By using the 'Post an adaptive card to a Teams user' action, you have the flexibility to edit the JSON payload of the adaptive card, allowing you to change the layout, add company logos, or include specific SharePoint list data.
Is it possible to disable approval emails for one specific user only?
Power Automate does not natively support per-user notification toggles within a single approval action. To achieve this, you would need to add a conditional branch ('Condition' action) that checks the approver's preferences and routes them to either an email-enabled approval or a Teams-only approval.
