Published: August 11th, 2026 at 08:00 UTC+02:00
SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, we may earn a commission.
Reading time: 9 minutes
To get notification sounds back on your Samsung phone, go to Settings, tap Notifications, and make sure the sound option is turned on. In most cases, the sound has been switched off either in your general notification settings or through Do Not Disturb mode.
This is one of the most common issues Samsung users run into, and the good news is that it is almost always a quick fix. The sections below walk through each possible cause so you can find the one that applies to your situation.
Your Samsung phone is not making notification sounds because one of three things has happened: the notification sound setting has been turned off, Do Not Disturb mode is active, or a specific app's notification sound has been disabled. In some cases, the phone's volume has simply been turned all the way down without you realising it.
Before diving into settings, do a quick check by pressing the volume button on the side of your phone. You will see a slider appear on screen. Make sure it is not set to zero or on the silent icon. Samsung phones have separate volume controls for media, ringtones, and notifications, so your music might be playing at full volume while your notification sounds are still muted.
If the volume looks fine, the issue is almost certainly in your notification settings or Do Not Disturb, both of which are covered below.
To turn notification sounds back on, open Settings, tap Notifications, then tap App notifications. At the top of that screen, you will see a general sound toggle. Make sure it is switched on. You should also check that the notification volume slider under Settings > Sounds and vibration is not set to zero.
Here is a step-by-step guide to follow:
Once you have done this, ask someone to send you a message or trigger a test notification to confirm the sound is back.
To turn on notification sounds for a specific app, go to Settings, tap Notifications, then tap App notifications and select the app you want to fix. Inside that app's notification settings, make sure the sound option is enabled. Each app on your Samsung phone has its own individual notification controls.
This is worth checking if your phone makes sounds for some apps but not others. For example, your text messages might chime but your email app stays silent. Here is how to fix it for any individual app:
Some apps, particularly messaging and social media apps, also have their own in-app sound settings. If the Samsung settings look correct but the app is still silent, open the app itself and check its internal notification or sound preferences.
Do Not Disturb silences all notification sounds on your Samsung phone, including alerts, messages, and app notifications. When it is active, your phone will not make any sound for incoming notifications unless you have specifically added exceptions for certain contacts or apps.
Do Not Disturb is one of the most common reasons people suddenly lose notification sounds, especially if it was turned on by accident. You can check whether it is active by pulling down from the top of your screen to open the quick settings panel. If the Do Not Disturb icon (a circle with a line through it) is highlighted, it is currently on.
To turn it off, simply tap that icon. If you want to customise it rather than turn it off entirely, go to Settings > Sounds and vibration > Do Not Disturb. From there, you can set schedules, allow calls or messages from specific contacts to come through, and control exactly which sounds are muted.
It is also worth knowing that Do Not Disturb can be set to turn on automatically at certain times, such as overnight. If your notification sounds disappear at the same time each day, a scheduled Do Not Disturb rule is likely the cause.
If your Samsung phone vibrates for notifications but makes no sound, it means your phone is set to vibrate-only mode, or the notification volume has been turned down to zero while vibration remains on. This is a very common situation and is easy to fix by adjusting the notification volume or switching off vibrate-only mode.
The quickest way to check is to press the volume up button on the side of your phone. If you see a vibration icon next to the slider rather than a speaker icon, your phone is in vibrate mode. Press volume up again and it should switch back to sound.
You can also fix this through settings:
If vibrate-only mode keeps turning on by itself, it may be because you are accidentally pressing the volume down button until it switches modes. Samsung phones are designed to move from sound to vibrate to silent as you press volume down repeatedly, so it can happen without you meaning it to.
A software update can sometimes resolve notification sound issues, particularly if the problem is caused by a bug in your current version of One UI or Android. Go to Settings u003e Software update u003e Download and install to check if an update is available. That said, updates can also occasionally reset notification preferences, so if your sounds disappeared after a recent update, go back through your notification settings and reconfigure them manually.
If your notification sounds keep disabling on their own, the most likely culprits are a scheduled Do Not Disturb rule, a third-party app overriding your sound settings, or a habit of accidentally pressing the volume down button. Check Settings u003e Sounds and vibration u003e Do Not Disturb and look under Schedules to see if any automatic rules are active. If that is not the cause, review recently installed apps, as some battery saver or focus apps can interfere with notification behaviour.
To set a custom notification sound, go to Settings u003e Sounds and vibration u003e Notification sound and tap the option to browse available tones. You can choose from Samsung's built-in sounds or, if you have an audio file saved on your phone, tap Add from device storage to use it instead. You can also set custom sounds on a per-app basis by going to Settings u003e Notifications u003e App notifications, selecting the app, and changing the sound within its notification category settings.
Yes, ringtone volume and notification volume are controlled separately on Samsung phones. Go to Settings u003e Sounds and vibration u003e Volume and check that the Ringtone slider is turned up, not just the Notifications slider. Also make sure your phone is not in Do Not Disturb mode with calls set to silent, and check that the ringtone itself has not been set to None under Settings u003e Sounds and vibration u003e Ringtone.
Yes, a poorly fitting phone case can partially block your speaker grille, making notification sounds seem very quiet or muffled. Try removing the case temporarily and playing a test notification to see if the volume improves. If the sound is still low even without the case, check that the speaker grille at the bottom of your phone is not blocked by dust or debris — a gentle clean with a dry toothbrush can make a noticeable difference.
If you have worked through all the settings and the problem persists, the next step is to test whether the issue is software-related by restarting your phone, which clears temporary glitches that can affect audio. If that does not help, try putting your phone into Safe Mode (hold the power button, then long-press Restart and select Safe Mode) — if sounds return in Safe Mode, a third-party app is likely interfering. As a last resort, a factory reset will restore all default settings, but make sure to back up your data first via Settings u003e Accounts and backup u003e Back up data.
This content was generated with the help of AI — it may contain mistakes
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.
