Where to find notification sounds on your iPhone

Open Settings, then tap Sounds & Haptics (on newer iPhones) or Sounds (on older models). From there, you can change the sound that plays when you get a notification from any app. The sound you pick here becomes the default for all notifications unless you override it for a specific app.

If you want to change the sound for just one app — say, a louder alert for work email but a quiet chime for social media — you do that in the app's own settings, not in the main Sounds menu. Most apps let you pick a notification sound from their settings screen, and that choice overrides whatever you set in Sounds & Haptics.

Key Takeaways

  • The default notification sound for all apps lives in Settings > Sounds & Haptics, and changing it there affects every app that hasn't set its own sound.
  • Individual apps can override the default sound by letting you pick a different one in their own settings menu.
  • iPhone comes with about 25 built-in notification sounds, and you can also use any song from your Music library as a notification sound.
  • Turning on Do Not Disturb silences notifications entirely, while Focus modes let you silence specific apps during certain times.
  • If an app doesn't offer a sound option in its settings, it uses whatever you chose in the main Sounds & Haptics menu.

Changing the default notification sound for all apps

Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Scroll down to the Sounds and Vibration Patterns section. Tap Notification Tone (or Text Tone if you want to change text message sounds separately). You'll see a list of built-in sounds — tap one to hear a preview, then tap it again to confirm your choice.

The sound you pick here becomes the alert for every app notification, unless that app has its own notification sound setting. If you later change your mind, you can come back to this same menu and pick a different one.

Changing notification sounds for a single app

Open the app whose notification sound you want to change. Look for Settings, Preferences, or Notifications in the app's menu — the location varies by app. Once you find the notification settings, look for an option called Notification Sound, Alert Sound, or Sound. Tap it to see what sounds that app offers.

Some apps let you pick from the same built-in sounds as your iPhone's main settings. Others have their own custom sounds. A few apps don't offer a sound option at all, which means they'll use whatever default sound you set in Sounds & Haptics. If you don't see a sound option in an app's settings, that app doesn't let you customize it.

Using a song from your music library as a notification sound

You can set any song you own in Apple Music or have downloaded to your iPhone as a notification sound, but only through the main Sounds & Haptics menu, not through individual apps. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Notification Tone, scroll to the bottom, and tap Add Custom Notification Sound. Choose a song from your library — it will be trimmed to 30 seconds automatically, starting from the beginning.

Once you've created a custom notification sound this way, it appears in your list of available sounds and you can pick it as your default. If you want to use a custom sound for just one app, that app would need to support importing custom sounds, which most don't. Check the app's settings to see if it has that option.

Silencing notifications without changing the sound

If you want notifications to stop making noise without changing the actual sound, turn on Do Not Disturb. Go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb and toggle it on. While Do Not Disturb is active, notifications still arrive, but your phone won't make a sound or light up the screen. You'll see them when you unlock your phone.

For more control, use Focus modes. Go to Settings > Focus and create a custom Focus (like Work or Sleep). You can set which apps are allowed to notify you during that Focus, and which apps are silenced. When you activate that Focus, only the apps you've allowed will send notifications. This is more precise than Do Not Disturb, which silences everything.

Why some apps don't let you change their notification sound

Apps designed by Apple — like Messages, Mail, and Calendar — let you change notification sounds in their own settings. Third-party apps vary. Some offer a full menu of sounds, some offer only a few choices, and some don't let you change the sound at all. If an app doesn't have a notification sound option in its settings, it's because the developer didn't build that feature in.

When an app doesn't offer a sound choice, it uses your default notification sound from Sounds & Haptics. If you want a different sound for that app and it won't let you pick one, your only option is to silence the app entirely using Focus modes or turn off its notifications altogether in Settings > Notifications.

Turning off notification sounds for specific apps

Go to Settings > Notifications, find the app in the list, and tap it. Toggle off Sound. The app will still send notifications — you'll see them on your lock screen and in Notification Center — but they won't make a noise or vibrate. This is useful for apps you want to check on your own time without hearing an alert.

You can also turn off notifications from an app entirely by toggling off Allow Notifications at the top of that app's notification settings. This stops all notifications from that app, including visual ones.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set different notification sounds for different people texting me?

Not through the notification sound menu. However, you can use Focus modes to silence notifications from everyone except specific contacts. Go to Settings > Focus, create a custom Focus, and under Allowed Notifications, choose Contacts and pick the people you want to hear from.

Why isn't my new notification sound playing?

Check whether Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode is turned on — both silence notifications. Also check Settings > Notifications for that app and make sure Sound is toggled on. If the app has its own notification settings, verify that a sound is selected there too. Restarting your iPhone sometimes fixes sound issues that won't go away.

Can I use a sound I downloaded from the internet as a notification sound?

Only if it's in your Music library or you've added it there. You can't import arbitrary audio files directly as notification sounds. If you have an audio file, you'd need to add it to Apple Music or use a third-party app that supports custom sounds.

Do notification sounds work when my phone is on silent?

No. When you flip the physical mute switch on the side of your iPhone to silent, notification sounds are muted. Visual notifications still appear on your screen. Do Not Disturb and Focus modes work the same way — they silence sounds but keep visual alerts.

What's the difference between a notification sound and a ringtone?

A ringtone plays when someone calls you. A notification sound plays for messages, app alerts, and other notifications. You set them separately — ringtones in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone, and notification sounds in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Notification Tone.