Big Sur - Notifications do not play sound

Question

Big Sur - Notifications do not play sound

I have recently migrated from Catalina to Big Sur and I have one issue with

notifications as they do not play a sound when delivered.

The deliver quietly option is off and in the Notifications menu all the apps allowed to deliver

notifications have the sound option on.

The speakers work perfectly, and I can normally hear sounds for other common actions such as

turning the MacBook on, emptying the bin, sending e-mails, etc.

I’m experiencing the same issue on both my MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, so it’s really strange.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Dec 10, 2020 11:54 AM

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Answer 1

ManJor

Community Specialist

Dec 16, 2020 9:35 AM in response to RinkatoDokuta_UK

We're glad to hear that you were able to get updated, RinkatoDokuta_UK!

Just to confirm, did you test this in another user as well? After starting in safe mode, did you restart to your normal user login to see if the same thing occurred? We wanted to have you try that step as it deletes some system cached files; and it's completely normal for the behavior with sound settings to be seen when using safe mode.

If the same thing occurs after those steps, Contact Apple Support for additional assistance.

Kindest regards.

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Answer 2

ManJor

Community Specialist

Dec 16, 2020 12:43 PM in response to RinkatoDokuta_UK

Got it, RinkatoDokuta_UK!

In that case, we'd suggest that you Contact Apple Support so that they can take a deeper look.

Have a lovely week!

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Answer 3

Dec 15, 2020 12:31 AM in response to ManJor

Hi ManJor,

Thanks for your reply!

I confirm that the "Do Not Disturb" mode is set with the option "When mirroring to TVs and projectors".

Yesterday I received several notifications (e.g. Adobe Creative Cloud, App Store, Calendar, etc.) and none of them played a sound except for the "Messages" app. I have double checked again and all the apps have the play a sound option on in the Notifications menu.

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Answer 4

Dec 16, 2020 10:51 AM in response to ManJor

Here is the sequence of actions that I performed:

I rebooted in Safe Mode with my standard user and nothing changed.
I rebooted normally with my standard user and created another Administrator user.
I rebooted normally with the other Administrator user and nothing changed.
I rebooted in Safe Mode with the other Administrator user and nothing changed.
I rebooted normally to my standard user and nothing changed.

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Answer 5

Dec 16, 2020 11:16 PM in response to ManJor

Will do. Thanks for your support.

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Answer 6

ManJor

Community Specialist

Dec 14, 2020 4:16 PM in response to RinkatoDokuta_UK

Hey there, and welcome to Apple Support Communities, RinkatoDokuta_UK!

From our understanding, you’re not hearing the sound for notifications on your Mac. We know how important it is that you receive an audible alert sometimes, and would be happy to take a look at this with you.

You mentioned that you’ve ensured that deliver quietly is disabled and that sound is enabled for those notifications. Just to be sure, did you also check to ensure that Do Not Disturb is disabled during this timeframe? For example, does this only occur when your Mac is sleeping? There’s an option for that in Do Not Disturb, which you can check out at: Use notifications on your Mac - Apple Support

Cheers!

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Answer 7

ManJor

Community Specialist

Dec 15, 2020 8:40 AM in response to RinkatoDokuta_UK

We appreciate the update, RinkatoDokuta_UK!

Next, we'd recommend that you create an admin test user to see if the same thing occurs. If you've never done that before, check out: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support If it does, How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support can help you log in using safe mode so we can isolate this further.

Have a great day!

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Answer 8

Dec 16, 2020 3:58 AM in response to ManJor

Hello, here is my last update:

I updated to Big Sur 11.1. - I can get notifications but still without sound.
I booted the system in Safe Mode, as you suggested, and no sound at all is available for any application, not only for Notifications (e.g. I tried emptying the bin and no sound is played, while it is in normal conditions, no sound from the Music app, while sound works normally, etc.). The MacBook was completely mute. If I check the Sound menu, everything is greyed out and I cannot modify any options, no output sources are identified.

A bit frustrating now. Even because I cannot understand how this is possible on both my MacBooks at the same time...

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Big Sur - Notifications do not play sound

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