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Not receiving app notification sounds on Mac OS 12.0.1 (Banner displays without sound)

Hi there!


I upgraded to Mac OS Monterey (12.0.1) yesterday and since then I am not receiving app notification sounds at all. The notification alerts/banners do display, but the sounds which normally accompany them are nonexistent. This is a major issue for my workflow since I depend on Slack and am now missing messages.


Here are the steps I have tried so far to remedy the issue:


  • Confirmed that Do Not Disturb is off
  • Quit/Restarted the Notification Center process
  • Reset NVRAM/PRAM
  • Uninstalled/Reinstalled apps without notification sounds
  • Confirmed the audio output source as the MacBook Pro speakers
  • Confirmed device volume is turned up and not muted


Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!


--Matt

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Nov 5, 2021 9:21 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 16, 2021 9:12 AM

I found a fix that worked for my system! The issue seemed to stem from having an external monitor connected to my Mac while I installed the Monterey update. In doing so, the system apparently set my default audio output device to my external monitor (even though my external monitor doesn't have speakers). Now, I had already reset my default audio output device to my MacBook's internal speakers, but what wasn't changed with that was the default output device for Sound Effects!


This is what worked for me to fix this issue:


  • Open System Preferences
  • Open Sound
  • Click on the Sound Effects tab
  • In the "Play sound effects through:" dropdown select "MacBook Pro Speakers" (or whichever audio output source you use normally)


I hope this works for you!


--Matt

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8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 16, 2021 9:12 AM in response to shelbourn

I found a fix that worked for my system! The issue seemed to stem from having an external monitor connected to my Mac while I installed the Monterey update. In doing so, the system apparently set my default audio output device to my external monitor (even though my external monitor doesn't have speakers). Now, I had already reset my default audio output device to my MacBook's internal speakers, but what wasn't changed with that was the default output device for Sound Effects!


This is what worked for me to fix this issue:


  • Open System Preferences
  • Open Sound
  • Click on the Sound Effects tab
  • In the "Play sound effects through:" dropdown select "MacBook Pro Speakers" (or whichever audio output source you use normally)


I hope this works for you!


--Matt

Nov 5, 2021 10:50 AM in response to shelbourn

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


Not receiving app notification sounds on Mac OS 12.0.1 (Banner displays without sound)

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