Level 1

122 points

How to kill system sounds in High Sierra?

Sometimes I like complete quiet when I work, sometimes I like to listen to music or podcasts. I never like to be interrupted by beeps from system sounds like beeps when I do something a program doesn't like; I want my computer to be silent except for Calendar alerts or audio I've deliberately requested to play.

So....after change to High Sierra from El Capitan, Apple turned it all back on and I had to go back to the system prefs and turn off every alert & sound I could find. I thought I got them all but typing in a note in Contacts I kept triggering a beep when my mouse wasn't accurately in a text box for typing.

In System Preferences, "play user interface sound effects" and "play feedback when volume is changed" are turned off.

In 'Notifications', the only app with sounds allowed is Calendar.

How can I stop the keyboard triggering these beeps? Where is the sekrit 'Kill all nondeliberately played sounds forever and always' button?

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Jul 21, 2018 11:41 AM

Top-ranking reply

Almojgar

Level 2

432 points

Posted on Jul 21, 2018 8:20 PM

Also, you can choose a considerably less annoying sound for your alert sound.....

You can record two seconds of silence (forest sounds, whatever) to replace your present alert sound.

Put your custom sound(s) (.aiff format) into ~/Library/Sounds (the Library of your home folder, not of the System).

These sounds will appear in your:

System Preferences -> Sound -> Sound effects.

And you can choose the one you want as alert beep (the annoying sound you hear when you do some mistake is here).

View in context

Similar questions

20 replies

Donot Haveone Author

Level 1

122 points

Jul 22, 2018 9:32 AM in response to Almojgar

I have already done this, which is why I know that Calendar is the only one with alert sounds enabled. And only 3 other apps area allowed any notifications at all--iTunes can tell me what song is playing (banner only); and iMovie and Join together are allowed banners to tell me when they're done processing large files. Nothing else gets any notifications permissions. Contacts does not appear in that list.

Almojgar

Level 2

432 points

Jul 22, 2018 9:52 AM in response to Donot Haveone

Yep, but the main problem remains...

All what I can tell you is that I think (maybe better wait for Apple programmers, here, I'm only a Mac user like you) that the app Contacts by itself cannot send you sound notifications. Only the global error beep can occur here, using this app (I'm almost certain of that, anticipated apologies if it appears later that I was totally wrong) (actually I'm even unable to reproduce your problem here, as this app is for me totally silent...).

Regards.

Almojgar

Level 2

432 points

Jul 22, 2018 1:49 PM in response to Donot Haveone

quote "Very slow on the uptake, here."

Ain't they, eh? LOL

I reassure you, there's (almost) nobody from Apple on this forum, only users like you with often the same problem as you, what explains they rather wait for the solution to appear....

Glad you managed to sort this out.

Have a good [place here your own hour of the day] (22:45 here)

Almojgar

Level 2

432 points

Jul 21, 2018 1:35 PM in response to Donot Haveone

Er, I'm pondering... (this doesn't take such time, usually...)

If all other notifications (visual) of the app are also "off", a sound is still played, or not ?

Donot Haveone Author

Level 1

122 points

Jul 21, 2018 4:18 PM in response to Barney-15E

Can't turn it off because I want alerts for my appointments in Calendar. But I want no other sounds. User interface sounds should have done it, right?

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How to kill system sounds in High Sierra?