Last updated: July 31st, 2026 at 15:01 UTC+02:00
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To get a sound notification when you receive a message on your Samsung phone, go to Settings, tap Notifications, select Messages, and make sure the notification sound is enabled and set to a tone you can hear. This works for most Samsung Galaxy devices running One UI. Below, we cover the most common reasons your message sounds might be off and exactly how to fix each one.
Your Samsung phone is silent for message notifications most likely because the notification sound for your messaging app has been turned off, your phone is set to vibrate or silent mode, or Do Not Disturb is active. These three causes account for the vast majority of cases where messages arrive without any sound, even when the phone seems to be working normally.
It is easy to accidentally switch your phone into silent or vibrate mode by pressing the volume buttons on the side of the device. When that happens, your ringer and notification sounds are muted even though everything else on the phone works fine. Similarly, notification sounds for individual apps can be disabled without affecting the rest of your phone, so your alarm might still sound while your messages stay completely quiet.
Another common culprit is a notification sound that has been set to “None” inside the app settings. This is separate from your phone's overall volume and can be changed independently, as we cover in detail below.
To turn on notification sounds for messages on a Samsung phone, open Settings, tap Notifications, then tap App notifications and select your messaging app. Make sure the toggle is switched on, then tap Sound and choose a notification tone from the list. Save your changes and send yourself a test message to confirm it works.
Here is a step-by-step guide to follow:
Also make sure your phone is not in silent or vibrate mode. Press the volume up button on the side of your phone and check that the icon on screen shows a speaker, not a vibration symbol.
Do Not Disturb is a Samsung feature that silences all sounds and vibrations on your phone, including message notification sounds, so you are not interrupted during specific times or activities. When Do Not Disturb is active, messages will still arrive and appear on your screen, but you will not hear any sound or feel a vibration unless you have set specific exceptions.
You can check whether Do Not Disturb is turned on by swiping down from the top of your screen to open the Quick Settings panel. If the Do Not Disturb tile is highlighted or switched on, that is likely why your messages are silent. Tap it once to turn it off.
Samsung's Do Not Disturb settings also allow you to create exceptions, meaning you can allow certain contacts or apps to break through the silence even when the feature is active. To set this up, go to Settings, tap Notifications, then Do Not Disturb, and look for the Exceptions or Allow exceptions section. From there, you can allow calls or messages from specific people to still make a sound.
Many people find their Do Not Disturb was turned on by a scheduled rule they set up and forgot about. Check the Schedules section inside Do Not Disturb settings to see if one is running automatically at certain times of day.
To change the notification sound for messages on a Samsung phone, go to Settings, tap Notifications, then App notifications, and select your messaging app. Tap Sound and choose any tone from the list of available notification sounds. The change takes effect immediately, and you can preview each sound before selecting it.
Samsung phones come with a range of built-in notification tones to choose from. If you want something more personal, you can also use a music file stored on your phone as a custom notification sound. To do this, tap the Add or plus (+) icon inside the sound selection screen and browse to a compatible audio file in your storage.
Keep in mind that some third-party messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, manage their own notification sounds inside the app rather than through Samsung's system settings. For those apps, open the app itself, go to its own Settings, then Notifications, and look for a sound or ringtone option there.
If your Samsung message notifications make no sound even when the volume is turned up, the most likely cause is that the notification volume is separate from the media volume and may still be set to zero. Samsung phones have multiple independent volume levels, and turning up the volume using the side buttons usually controls media volume, not notification volume.
To check and adjust your notification volume specifically, follow these steps:
Beyond volume levels, a few other things can cause this problem even when everything seems correctly set:
Working through these checks in order will resolve the issue in almost every case. If sounds still do not work after trying all of the above, a full restart of the phone is a good final step before considering a software reset.
The steps for adjusting notification volume and Do Not Disturb settings apply system-wide and will affect all apps, including WhatsApp and Telegram. However, these apps manage their own in-app notification sounds independently, so you will also need to open the app, go to its own Settings, then Notifications, and make sure a sound is selected there. If both the system settings and the in-app settings are configured correctly, third-party messaging apps should produce sound just like Samsung's native Messages app.
Intermittent notification sounds are most often caused by a scheduled Do Not Disturb rule that activates at certain times of day, such as during sleeping hours, and then deactivates again. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, then Do Not Disturb, and check the Schedules section to see if any automatic rules are running. Another common cause is an unstable app process — clearing the messaging app's cache (Settings > Apps > your messaging app > Storage > Clear cache) and restarting your phone can resolve this kind of inconsistent behavior.
Samsung's Do Not Disturb exceptions feature lets you allow sounds from specific contacts while silencing everyone else. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, then Do Not Disturb, and open the Exceptions or Allow exceptions section — from there you can add individual contacts whose calls and messages will still produce a sound even when the phone is silenced. Additionally, you can set a unique contact ringtone for important people directly from the Contacts app, which makes it easier to identify who is messaging you by sound alone.
Yes, One UI software updates occasionally reset app notification permissions or alter default sound settings, which can cause message sounds to stop working without you changing anything yourself. After any major update, it is worth revisiting Settings > Notifications > App notifications for your messaging app to confirm the sound is still enabled and a tone is still selected rather than 'None.' Re-enabling the notification sound and adjusting the notification volume slider after an update is usually all it takes to restore normal behavior.
Yes — Samsung's independent volume sliders let you raise the notification volume specifically without changing your media or call volume. Go to Settings, tap Sounds and vibration, then Volume, and drag only the Notification volume slider higher to your preferred level. If you find the maximum notification volume still isn't loud enough in noisy environments, consider choosing a notification tone with a sharper, higher-pitched sound from the tone list, as these tend to cut through background noise more effectively than softer or lower-pitched tones.
Silent mode mutes all sounds on your phone but may still allow vibrations, while Vibrate mode silences audio and replaces sound alerts with vibration feedback — both are typically toggled by pressing the volume buttons on the side of the device. Do Not Disturb is a more advanced feature that suppresses both sounds and vibrations but gives you fine-grained control through exceptions, schedules, and app-specific rules. Understanding the difference matters for troubleshooting because each one requires a different fix: volume buttons for silent/vibrate, and the Quick Settings panel or Notifications settings for Do Not Disturb.
A factory reset should be a last resort, as it erases all data on your phone and is rarely necessary just to fix notification sounds. Before going that far, try clearing the cache partition from the phone's recovery mode, or use Samsung's built-in 'Reset all settings' option under Settings > General management > Reset, which restores default settings without deleting your personal data or apps. If the problem persists even after a settings reset, contacting Samsung Support or visiting a Samsung Service Center is a better next step than a full factory reset, as the issue may be related to a software bug that Samsung can address directly.
First Samsung device: Galaxy S II
Daniel is the proud co-founder of SamMobile. He joined the SamMobile team in 2011. Most of his spare time is spent enjoying nature (and life in general) with his wife & dog, friends, and family.
