Alert sounds disappear randomly ...other sounds work on my iMac - safe mode, reloading OS, creating new user all don't work... no idea why this happens... its minor but drives me crackers.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac (2017 – 2020)
Have you been able to fix it yet? I had the same issue on a Macbook Pro running OS Sonoma 14.3.1. I tried every single solution suggested on the board as well as those suggested on internet sites. I called Apple Care for assistance today, as this device is still covered. I spent a long time with the first advisor running through protocols I had previously tried. My case was escalated to a senior advisor who had me try a few more maneuvers before isolating the problem with my user profile/admin. Basically, the fix was a remote re-installation of OS Sonoma. It took a while to do this, but now everything seems to work fine.
Another thread talking about the same issue, and my response: 255519287
I experience the same issue. It occurs when the audio stack crashes, and I suspect it happens due to mismatched sampling rates across various apps that can handle Coreaudio. It doesn't crash by itself, but I haven't been able to pinpoint a consistent way to reproduce. Sometimes closing an app does it, sometimes when the Mac is overloaded in resource use it happens, etc. But before my system audio / alert sounds stop working, I certainly hear or notice the audio stack crashing. One crash is all it takes to kill alert sounds, although Coreaudio does come back up. If you're not playing audio when the crash occurs, a crash is noticeable when you see your audio output volume resetting off its own accord.
Safe mode would not be helpful, but if someone knows how to find the relevant console logs, it might be a good start to debug this intelligently.
Thanks for this Carolef2. Regrettably the problem persists no sound effects at all but sound output is ok - just the email sound, emptying trash etc are all not working. When I contacted Apple Support I re-installed the latest OS (Ventura 16.6) and created a new profile - an incredibly lengthy process with all my email folders - but this had no effect on the sound effect issue. What was the issue with your user profile/admin?
While it's challenging to pinpoint the exact cause without more information, there are a few additional steps you can try. Firstly, ensure that your system software is up to date by checking for any available updates in System Preferences > Software Update. Sometimes, Apple releases patches or fixes for issues like this in software updates.
Next, consider checking your sound settings to ensure that alert sounds are configured correctly. You can do this by going to System Preferences > Sound and verifying that the alert volume is turned up and that the correct alert sound is selected.
If the issue persists despite these efforts, it may be worth contacting Official Apple Support for further assistance.
Thanks for this. The system OS is the latest version, the sound settings are configured correctly, I’ve reset the PRAM, reloaded the OS, erased the hard drive, restarted in Safe mode… and yet still the problem persists. If I restart the iMac the sound effects come back as if by magic… but then apparently randomly disappear again after a while usually after the iMac sleeps. Crazy… I just don’t understand! I’ve contacted Apple Support and even wiping the HD and starting again with a Time Machine backup hasn’t worked… no idea what to do next…
Ji all, the problem persists I've reset the PRAM and quit coreudiod on the activity monitor - nothing seems to help... any ideas?
How to restore Alert sounds on iMac
