Top 7 Ways to Fix Mac Notification Sound Not Working

Real-time notification is an important so that you don’t miss an important email or message. At times, you may receive notifications on your Mac without sound. That’s how you miss important emails, text messages, Slack alerts, or Teams announcements when the notification sound stops working on Mac.

The notification sound not working on Mac may lead to major inconvenience and often embarrassment. Instead of frequently checking the Notification Center for new alerts, use the tricks below to troubleshoot notification sound not working on Mac.

1. Check Volume on Mac

Let’s start with the basics, shall we? You’ll need to check volume levels on your Mac. If it’s on mute or at a low volume, you may miss the notification sound. You can use the volume button on your keyboard or check the Control Center.

Step 1: Click the Control Center icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar.

Step 2: Use the slider to turn up the volume.

2. Check Volume Output

If your Mac is connected to a wireless speaker or earbuds, you may miss the notification sound. You can disable Bluetooth on your Mac, but it may not be the ideal solution if you use a wireless keyboard and mouse. Instead, you can change the volume output on your Mac.

Step 1: Click the Control Center icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar.

Step 2: Click on the Sound option.

Step 3: Select your Mac from the output menu.

You’ll need to confirm the sound effects for your selected output device. You need to make changes from the System Settings menu.

Step 1: Press the Command + Space keys to open the Spotlight Search menu, type System Settings and hit the Return.

Step 2: Select Sound from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Expand the ‘Play sound effects through’ and click ‘Selected Sound Output Device.’

3. Check Notification Settings for Individual Apps

After you sort out the system-wide sound settings on Mac, you’ll need to check notification settings for troubling apps. For example, if you don’t receive a notification sound from Microsoft Teams, enable the same permission for it from System Settings.

Step 1: Press the Command + Space keys to open the Spotlight Search menu, type System Settings and hit the Return.

Step 2: Select ‘Notifications’ from the left sidebar and choose the app under the Application Notifications list.

Step 4: Enable the ‘Play sound for notification’ toggle.

4. Check App Settings

If you have disabled notification sound from app settings, Mac won’t alert you about new alerts. Let’s take WhatsApp as an example.

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp on your Mac.

Step 2: Select the down arrow at the top and open Settings.

Step 3: Open Notifications.

Step 4: Enable the checkmark beside Sounds.

Similarly, you can explore other apps’ settings and enable sound for notifications.

5. Disable Focus on Mac

When you enable Focus on Mac, the system suspends and mutes all incoming notifications and calls. You can either disable Focus or exclude important apps.

Step 1: Click the Control Center icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar.

Step 2: Click on the Focus tile to disable it.

To make an exception for essential apps, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Press the Command + Space keys to open the Spotlight Search menu, type System Settings and hit the Return.

Step 2: Select Focus from the left sidebar and choose a Focus profile from the right pane.

 

Step 3: Select ‘Allowed Apps.’ Click Add and select relevant apps from the following menu.

You shall start receiving notification sounds from important apps even when Focus is on.

6. Unmute Channels and Chat Threads

If you have muted Slack channels or chat threads in WhatsApp or Telegram, you won’t get a notification sound.

Step 1: Open Slack or Microsoft Teams on Mac. Right-click on important channels.

Step 2: Select Unmute channel.

You can also unmute relevant conversations from WhatsApp or Telegram.

Step 1: Launch WhatsApp on your Mac.

Step 2: Select a chat thread.

Step 3: Click the contact name at the top.

Step 4: Disable the‘ Mute notifications’ toggle.

7. Update Apps

Outdated apps may lead to issues like notification sound not working issue on Mac. You should install pending app updates on your Mac to overcome such problems.

Step 1: Open the Mac App Store.

Step 2: Select ‘Updates’ from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Install the pending app updates on your Mac.

Stay Alert on Your Mac

Mac notification sound not working on Mac may confuse you. The tricks above fix your problem in no time? Which troubleshooting method worked for you? Share your findings in the comments below.