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Alert sounds not playing reliably

Having a weird issue on my 27" first gen i5 iMac. After a while audio alerts (new mail, outlook alerts, instant messages, etc) will stop playing at all. Plugging in or unplugging my headphones will trigger them to all play in quick succession and work for a bit, but eventually they all get queued again for the next time I plug in / remove my headphones. Have rebooted the machine and reset the SMC to see if that resolved the issue but it still comes back.


Anyone else having this issue or any thoughts?

Posted on Aug 9, 2012 6:34 AM

Reply
21 replies

Aug 9, 2012 2:17 PM in response to shadeDream

Hi,


What have you got set in System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects as the Output device.



User uploaded file
10:17 PM Thursday; August 9, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Aug 10, 2012 1:43 PM in response to shadeDream

Hi


In that case what is shown in System Preferences > Sound > Output and Input tabs ?


My iMac lists "Headphones" as the Output option (although it is actually External Speakers that are connected.).

My older G4/1Ghz Dual lists Internal Speaker, Line Out and can identify when Headphones are connected via the Front socket.


My iMac identifies three potential sources for a "Mic"

An External Logitech item I have, Line In (although nothing is connected) and the Internal Micophone.


If Changing the device (and potentially changing it back again to the plugged in device) does not change anything then navigate to Hard Drive/Library/Preferences/Audio and delete the two main .plists there.


(This is the Library at the hard Drive top level where you can see System, Users and Applications).



User uploaded file
9:43 PM Friday; August 10, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Aug 10, 2012 1:44 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

HI Shareef Yosef,


Try a Safe Boot

You will need to Restart the Computer after this to return it to the normal state.



User uploaded file
9:44 PM Friday; August 10, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Aug 20, 2012 1:00 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

Hi,



I would also try a PRAM reset.

Shut down the computer.

Restart it holding down Apple/CMD ( or ⌘)+ALT( ⌥)+P+R Keys until you have heard three Start Up Bongs.

User uploaded file


User uploaded file
9:00 PM Monday; August 20, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Aug 24, 2012 2:32 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

HI,


Would this be just the iMessages Alerts ?


Do they play (sometimes) when the app and therefore iMessages are in the background but stop when the app is "Front"?



User uploaded file
10:32 PM Friday; August 24, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Aug 24, 2012 2:55 PM in response to Shareef Yousef

hi,


In previous iChat version Blue Tooth Headsets have needed to be set up in System Preference > Sound > Input (And Output) before being set up as the chosen device in the App.


I have not heard of this being an issue for Mail before now.





User uploaded file
10:55 PM Friday; August 24, 2012

Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"


 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Lion 10.7.2)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Sep 5, 2012 8:05 AM in response to shadeDream

I have the same issue on my 2011 27" iMac... I use it usually for about two weeks without turning it off (only sleep mode). Sometimes I just wake it up and I hear no sounds all day (only from Mail app, everything else works fine). The other day I turn it on and in next five minutes I hear all "swoosh" and "ding" sounds from the previous day...

Sep 9, 2012 12:33 PM in response to shadeDream

Same here, 2012 MacBook Air 11.6". It also happened on my 2010 MacBook Air before I sold it, but ONLY after upgrading to Mountain Lion. It seems like this is definitely a Mountain Lion Mail.app bug that I thought they would have fixed in 10.8.1, but that doesn't seem to be the case.


I wake it up, it plays about a minute of swooshing and dinging from Mail, and then all sounds stop playing afterward even if I receive new mail or send something. The only time they play is all at once when it wakes up, and that's it.

Alert sounds not playing reliably

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