No sound in Apple Mail app on iMac, MacOS 15.6.1, when receiving or sending emails. The corresponding sounds work fine in Outlook. The Settings are correct in Mail/Settings/General. Notifications for Mail are on.
iMac 24″, macOS 15.6
Not sure if this will help but it work for someone else
Check Focus Mode
Focus Modes (formerly Do Not Disturb) are a frequent cause for missing sounds, as they can override app-specific sound settings.
Look in the Control Center (top right of your screen) for a crescent moon icon or a colored icon representing a Focus.
If a Focus Mode is active (like Personal, Work, or Do Not Disturb), try turning it off.
If turning it off works, you can adjust the Focus settings to allow Mail notifications/sounds specifically. Go to System Settings > Focus and click on your active Focus. Check the Apps section to see if Mail is configured to be silent.
Not sure if this will help but it work for someone else
Check Focus Mode
Focus Modes (formerly Do Not Disturb) are a frequent cause for missing sounds, as they can override app-specific sound settings.
Look in the Control Center (top right of your screen) for a crescent moon icon or a colored icon representing a Focus.
If a Focus Mode is active (like Personal, Work, or Do Not Disturb), try turning it off.
If turning it off works, you can adjust the Focus settings to allow Mail notifications/sounds specifically. Go to System Settings > Focus and click on your active Focus. Check the Apps section to see if Mail is configured to be silent.
Check macOS Notifications Settings
macOS has a separate system-wide setting for managing app notifications, including their sounds.
Go to the Apple menu and select System Settings (or System Preferences).
Click on Notifications.
Scroll down the sidebar until you find the Mail application.
Click on Mail.
Look for the Play sound for notifications option.
Sorry about that the instruction were for the iOS.
You can try this but I don't have any other idea's.
Confirm System Sound Output
It's important to make sure your overall system sound isn't muted or directed to a non-existent output.
Go to Apple menu > System Settings (or System Preferences).
Click on Sound.
Select the Output tab.
Ensure your correct speakers or headphones are selected.
Check that the "Output volume" is turned up, and the "Mute" checkbox is not checked.
Test the sound: Click on the Sound Effects tab and try clicking on one of the alert sounds to confirm your speakers are working.
Thanks. I turned off "Do Not Disturb" ("Focus"). The "whoosh" sound returned when sending an email in Mail, but there was still no sound when receiving an email. The notification sounds still all worked normally in Outlook. Curious! Anyway, the "sending" sound is more important to me than the "receiving" sound, so I guess I'll just leave it as is for now. Thanks again!
Thanks for your reply. However, I followed the above instructions, and there is no "Play sound for notifications" option in the System Settings for Mail.
Thank you - yes, I had already tried that. As I mentioned before, the corresponding alert sounds are working in my Outlook email app; the problem seems specific for the Mail app.
No sound in Mail when receiving or sending emails, in MacOS 15.6.1.
