Slack Not Working? Common Errors & Fixes

Usually Slack's notifications are paused or your OS (Focus, Do Not Disturb, notification permissions) is blocking them. Resume notifications in Slack, allow Slack in system notification settings, and turn off Focus/Do Not Disturb.

Mobile Slack notifications are most often blocked by battery optimization, missing Google Play Services notifications (Android) or a stale app state. Run Slack's built-in Troubleshoot Notifications test, then disable battery optimization and reset the cache.

First check slack-status.com. If Slack is up, the fix is usually Help > Troubleshooting > Clear Cache and Restart, followed by checking VPN, proxy, firewall or antivirus that blocks Slack's WebSocket connections.

A blank white, grey or purple Slack window is usually a broken cache or a bad release. Hard-refresh with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R, then use Help > Troubleshooting > Clear Cache and Restart, and Reset App Data if that fails.

When people can't hear you (or you can't hear them) in a huddle, the wrong microphone/speaker is selected or Slack lacks microphone permission. Check Preferences > Audio & video, grant mic access in your OS, and use the in-huddle troubleshooting panel.

On Mac, screen sharing fails when Slack's Screen Recording permission is missing or stuck; remove Slack from the Screen & System Audio Recording list (or run tccutil reset) and re-grant it. On Windows, extra monitors or a closed laptop lid can cause a black share.

If your video doesn't show in a huddle, Slack is using the wrong camera or lacks camera permission. Pick the camera in Preferences > Audio & video, allow Slack under your OS camera privacy settings, and plug external cameras in before joining.

Messages stuck with a 'not sent' warning are usually a connection problem on your side or a Slack outage. Check slack-status.com, then clear the cache, restart Slack and test without VPN/proxy.

This is a plan limit, not a bug: free workspaces can only see and search the last 90 days of messages and files, and since August 26, 2024 data older than one year is permanently deleted. Upgrading reveals hidden content that is still under a year old.

Slack's desktop app runs on Electron, so it uses a lot of RAM, and usage grows with every signed-in workspace and long session. Sign out of unused workspaces, clear the cache, restart Slack regularly, or use Slack in the browser.

Slack search misses messages when they are hidden by the free plan's 90-day limit, are in channels you are not a member of, or when keywords are too vague. Use search modifiers (in:, from:, before:, after:, has:) and quotes, and sort by oldest.