No sound notifications after receiving new message in Apple Mail

Apple Mail notifications have stopped playing sounds after upgrading to macOS 27.2 – Part 1 of 2

I am using a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Apple M3 processor running macOS 27.2. Following the upgrade, Apple Mail no longer plays sound notifications when new messages arrive.

Since similar behaviour was experienced following an earlier macOS upgrade, it is worth investigating whether the problem is associated with changes to notification preferences or a recurring software issue. However, I would not automatically assume that macOS 27.2 is responsible without first establishing where the notification sound is being lost.

First, open Apple Mail, select Mail > Settings > General, and locate the New messages sound option. Confirm that a sound is selected rather than None. Temporarily select a different sound and check whether its sample plays correctly. Also examine New message notifications and ensure that the appropriate mailbox is selected. If you want notifications from all your email accounts, select All Mailboxes. Mail maintains its own new-message sound preference, independently of macOS notification permissions.

Apple's instructions: Manage notifications from Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Next, open Apple menu > System Settings > Notifications and select Mail. Make sure Allow Notifications is enabled and Play sound for notification is switched on. Check that the alert style is set to Banners or Alerts. It is possible for macOS to display incoming-message banners while suppressing their associated sounds. Receiving a visual notification does not necessarily mean that sound notifications are enabled.

Apple's instructions: Notifications settings on Mac - Apple Support

I would also check whether a Focus mode is interfering with notifications. Open System Settings > Focus and temporarily disable Do Not Disturb and any other active Focus modes. If you use Work, Sleep or scheduled Focus settings, examine their allowed-app configurations and make sure Mail is not being excluded. Also check whether a Focus filter is restricting notifications to particular email accounts.

Apple's instructions: Set up a Focus on Mac - Apple Support

An especially useful diagnostic step is to establish whether the problem affects Apple Mail alone or whether other applications are also unable to produce notification sounds. Test notifications from Messages or another application that normally produces an audible alert. If those applications play sounds normally but Mail remains silent, the problem is more likely to involve Mail's individual notification configuration or its interaction with macOS. If no applications produce notification sounds, investigate macOS sound settings or the notification service more broadly.

If Mail's settings appear correct, try reselecting its new-message sound. Open Mail > Settings > General, change New messages sound to None, and quit Mail completely using Command-Q. Reopen Mail, return to the same setting and select a different notification sound. Then send yourself a test email. This is a simple troubleshooting measure that may help if Mail is retaining an incorrect sound preference. It does not delete messages, remove accounts or rebuild mailboxes.

It is also worth checking the Mac's sound output configuration. Open System Settings > Sound and verify that the intended output device is selected, preferably MacBook Pro Speakers for testing. Check that the output volume and alert volume are audible and that the Mac is not muted. If you use Bluetooth headphones, an external monitor or a docking station, temporarily disconnect those devices and test using the built-in speakers.

Apple's instructions: Change Sound settings on Mac - Apple Support

Finally, test the Mac's alert sound independently of Mail. In System Settings > Sound, select a different Alert sound. The Mac should play a sample when you select it. If the alert sound cannot be heard, the problem may extend beyond Mail's notification configuration.

Once these checks are complete, quit Mail, restart the Mac and perform another test using a genuinely new incoming email sent from another account or device. Avoid using an existing message that has simply been moved between folders or marked unread, since that may not trigger a new-message notification.

Continued in Part 2.

Apple Mail notifications have stopped playing sounds after upgrading to macOS 27.2 – Part 2 of 2

If the preceding checks do not restore notification sounds, I would recommend testing the Mac in Safe Mode. This can help determine whether software that loads during normal startup is interfering with notification behaviour.

Because the MacBook Pro uses an Apple silicon M3 processor, shut down the computer and press and hold the power button until the startup options appear. Select your startup disk, hold the Shift key and click Continue in Safe Mode. Once logged in, open Mail and test whether new-message notification sounds work. If they do, a third-party application, background utility or startup component may be interfering with normal operation. If the problem remains, a third-party startup application becomes less likely to be responsible. Restart the Mac normally to leave Safe Mode.

Apple's instructions: Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

Another useful diagnostic procedure is to create a temporary standard macOS user account. Open System Settings > Users & Groups, add a new standard user, log out of your existing account and sign in to the newly created account. Configure Mail with a test email account and check whether notification sounds work. If they do, the problem may be associated with preferences or configuration specific to your original user account. If the same problem occurs in the new account, a system-wide macOS issue becomes more plausible. There is no need to delete your original account or migrate your existing email configuration to perform this test.

Apple's instructions: Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

I would also recommend checking System Settings > General > Software Update to see whether Apple has released a subsequent macOS 27 maintenance update. Software updates can sometimes introduce or resolve notification problems, but it would be premature to describe this as a confirmed macOS 27.2 bug without supporting evidence. Review Apple's release notes for any subsequent update and determine whether it contains relevant fixes before installing it.

For reference, Apple's published macOS Tahoe 26 update history lists macOS 26.1 followed by macOS 26.2. It does not list a public macOS 26.1.1 release. If that was the version previously installed, it would be worth checking the exact version and build number in About This Mac or System Information rather than assuming which update resolved the earlier problem.

Apple's published update history: What's new in the updates for macOS Tahoe 26 - Apple Support

If none of these procedures restores the sound notifications, contact Apple Support and report the issue as a potentially recurring macOS notification problem. Explain that you are using a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Apple M3 processor and macOS 27.2, and describe exactly what happens when a new email arrives. In particular, establish whether Mail continues to display notification banners without producing sound, or whether both visual and audible notifications have stopped working. Also tell Apple whether other applications produce notification sounds normally, whether the problem persists in Safe Mode, and whether it occurs in a newly created macOS user account.

Apple Support: Contact - Official Apple Support

I would avoid deleting Mail preference files, resetting the notification database or reinstalling macOS as an initial response. Those procedures are more disruptive and should only be considered after the underlying cause has been narrowed down.

My recommendation is to begin with the basic checks described in Part 1, particularly Mail's New messages sound setting, macOS notification permissions and Focus settings. Then establish whether other applications can still produce notification sounds. These initial checks are relatively quick and should help determine whether the problem is isolated to Apple Mail or involves macOS more generally.

One particularly important point is that the previous experience following an earlier macOS upgrade is useful diagnostic information, but it does not establish that the current problem has the same cause. The objective is to identify precisely where the notification sound is being lost before making more extensive changes to the system.