How do I add custom sounds to Android notifications?

Custom notification sounds allow you to set a unique sound for app alerts and notifications on your Android device. Rather than using the default notification sounds, custom sounds let you personalize the auditory experience and identify different apps or contacts using distinctive sounds. Many users enjoy customizing their device’s audio feedback to suit their preferences. Unique notification sounds can also help users differentiate between different apps sending alerts. Overall, custom sounds provide a more customized and branded experience for each app.

According to an article on Swrve.com, using 2-3 identifiable custom sounds for your app can represent different things and improve the user experience (https://www.swrve.com/resources/weblog/sounds-amazing-the-science-of-push-notification-noises). Verizon also notes benefits like avoiding spam calls, maintaining work-life balance through custom sounds, and enabling users to express themselves (https://www.verizon.com/articles/5-reasons-you-need-custom-ringtones/).

Prerequisites

To use custom notification sounds on your Android device, there are a couple requirements you’ll need to meet first:

You’ll need to be running Android 8.0 (Oreo) or higher. The ability to set custom notification sounds for individual apps was introduced in Android Oreo. Older versions of Android do not support per-app custom sounds (source).

That means you’ll need a relatively modern Android phone running Oreo, Pie, Android 10, 11, 12, or 13 to utilize this feature. The specific minimum Android version may also depend on your device manufacturer.

In addition, you’ll need to have the actual custom sound files you want to use saved on your device already. Most popular audio formats like MP3 and WAV should work. You’ll then need to set the custom sounds in the notification settings for each individual app.

No other external apps are required. The ability to customize notification sounds is built into Android OS versions 8.0 and higher.

Get Custom Notification Sounds

There are a couple ways to get custom sounds to use for your Android notifications:

Download Free Sounds Online

Many websites offer libraries of free notification sounds, sound effects, and ringtones that you can download. For example: Mixkit, Uppbeat, Zedge, and others. Just browse their selection, find a sound you like, and download it.

Record Your Own Sounds

You can also easily record custom notification sounds using your Android device’s built-in voice recorder app. Just tap to record, save the file, and you’ll be able to use it. This allows you to customize notifications with personal sounds.

Save Sounds to Your Device

In order to use a custom sound for your notifications, you first need to download or record the sound and save it to your Android device. The easiest way is to save any downloaded or recorded sounds to your Notifications folder.

To find the Notifications folder on your Android device:

1. Open the Files app.
2. Navigate to Internal Storage > Notifications.
3. If there is no Notifications folder, you can create one here.

Once you have located or created the Notifications folder, you can save any .mp3 or other audio files into this folder. You can download notification sounds online, record your own with an app, or transfer files to your device via USB.

Saving custom notification sounds directly to the Notifications folder will make them easy to find when selecting a new notification sound in your device’s Settings. Some Android skins like Samsung may use a slightly different folder path, but generally look for a Notifications or Ringtones folder.

According to sources, keeping your custom sounds organized in the proper Notifications folder is the easiest way to ensure they are available across your device.

Set a Default Notification Sound

The default notification sound will be used for most apps on your device that send notifications. To set a custom sound for all notifications:

1. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Default notification sound.

2. Select the custom sound you want from your options.

This will set the chosen sound as the default for notifications across most apps. Some apps like Calendar may have their own separate sound settings that override the default.

To revert back to the original default sound later, simply select the default Android notification sound option again in Settings.

Set Sounds for Specific Apps

You can customize the notification sound for each individual app on your Android phone. Here’s how:

Go to the Settings app and select “Apps”. You will see a list of all the apps installed on your phone.

Tap on the app you want to customize the notification sound for. This will open the app’s info screen.

Look for the “Notifications” section and tap on it. You will see notification settings and options for that particular app.

Tap on “Sound”. You will get options to select a notification sound just for this app. Your options are:

• Default notification sound set for your device
• Preloaded sounds that came with your phone
• Any custom sounds you may have added

Select the sound you want this app to use. Now this app will use your chosen custom sound for all notifications.

Follow these steps to set custom notification sounds for other apps as well. This gives you granular control to personalize sounds on a per-app basis.

Use Sounds for Calendar Events

You can choose a custom notification sound for events created in the Google Calendar app on your Android device as well:

Open the Calendar app.

Create a new event or edit an existing one by tapping the event and selecting “Edit event.”

Tap on the “Add notification” option.

In the notification settings, tap on “Sound” and select the custom sound you want from the options.

Tap “Save” and the custom sound will be set for notifications from that calendar event.

You can repeat this process to set custom notification sounds for any calendar events you create. The sound will be used whenever you receive an event reminder notification leading up to the event start time.

For more details on customizing notifications per calendar event, see this Google support article: Modify Google Calendar notifications – Android

Troubleshooting

If you are having issues setting or hearing custom notification sounds, there are a few things to check:

• Make sure the sound file format is supported. Android supports .mp3, .wav, and .ogg files for notification sounds. Other formats may not work properly.
• Check app permissions. Make sure the app has permission to access notification settings and storage, so it can set custom sounds. Go to Settings > Apps > Select App > Permissions to check.
• Restart device. Sometimes a simple reboot can resolve issues with apps not using the right notification sound. Restart your Android device and check if the custom sound works.

As noted in this GitHub issue, Android 8.1.0 has some bugs with custom notification sounds, so updating the OS could potentially fix problems.

Customize Further

Android allows for additional customization of notification sounds beyond just setting a default sound or sounds for specific apps. You can adjust the sound volume, duration, and other audio properties through the system settings. The Lifewire guide provides instructions for adjusting the volume and length of notification sounds.

You can also customize the vibration pattern for notifications on Android devices that support haptic feedback. In your system settings, go to Sound & Vibration > Advanced > Vibration pattern and select from the available patterns or create your own. The vibration and sound work together to provide alerts, so customizing them can help you easily identify notifications from different apps.

Further customizations like LED light colors and notification badges are available through some manufacturer skins and third-party launchers. Overall, Android offers deep control over notification audio, vibration, and visual settings so you can tune them to your preferences. Just dive into the system settings to uncover the options.

Conclusion

To summarize, you have several options for customizing notification sounds on your Android device. You can set default sounds that apply to all notifications, or customize sounds for specific apps. The process involves obtaining sound files, saving them to your device, and assigning them in your Settings or app notifications menus.

The benefits of custom notification sounds include:

• Personalization – Make your device sound unique
• Identification – Easily recognize notifications without looking at your phone
• Separation – Distinguish notifications from different apps

If you need any help with customizing notification sounds, be sure to consult your device manufacturer’s support documentation. You can also find tutorials for your specific Android model through a web search. With a little time and effort, you’ll be able to assign memorable notification sounds to all your apps.