You can set your phone to make a brief noise or vibration every time a notification comes through. Like customizing your ringtone with your favorite song, you can pick unique notes and sounds for all your apps or a specific one. Our guide teaches you how to change the notification sound for the essential apps on your Android tablet or phone so that no Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone sounds the same in a busy hallway.
Our tutorial series uses a Samsung Galaxy phone with the custom One UI skin and Google Pixel for the stock Android phone sections. If you’re using another Android device, you should be able to follow along without issue. We also take note of the different options you may encounter in our steps.
How to change notification sounds for text messages
When your messages come through, you want the notification to become loud, clear, and distinctive. You can do this for all of your messages or change it on a per-contact basis. Though our screenshots use a Google Pixel running Android 14, we’ve also referenced the differences between a Samsung Galaxy and a OnePlus phone using One UI 6.1 and OxygenOS 14, respectively. However, if you’re using an older Android version, you can follow our guide — the UI will differ from what we’ve included in our steps below, but the process remains the same.
How to change notification sounds for Google Messages
- Open Google Messages.
- Tap on the Menu or Profile icon.
- Choose Message settings (or Settings for older versions).
- Tap Notifications.
- Scroll down to Default settings and tap Incoming Messages. If you don’t see this option, select Behavior, sound & more, or Notification categories.
- Tap Default. Skip to the next step if you’re using a Samsung device.
- Select Sound: you can choose from a category of notification sounds or pick an app to complete this step. For a OnePlus phone, you may see Ringtone instead.
- Tap on a sound name to Select a notification sound. For Samsung devices, you can customize the notification sound volume by tapping on the volume slider.
If you do not see these options, you must turn on
Manage notification categories for each app
by going into
Settings
>
Notification
>
Advance Settings
.
To change the notification sounds for individual contacts in Google Messages, do the following:
- Open Google Messages.
- Tap on a conversation.
- Select the Three-dot icon in the top right corner next to the Camera icon.
- Tap Details.
- Tap Notifications > Sound.
How to change notification sounds for Samsung Messages
If you own an older Samsung device, Samsung Messages will be your default messaging app. We will go over the steps for changing notification sounds for Samsung Messages. Our tutorial uses a Samsung Galaxy phone with Android 14 and One UI 6.1. Steps may vary for older Android/One UI versions.
- Open Samsung Messages.
- Tap the Three-dot icon next to Search.
- Select Settings.
- Tap Notifications > Notification categories.
- Select General notifications or New messages.
- Tap Sound and select an app. We use SecSoundPicker in this example.
- Select a new sound. You can also change the notification sound volume by adjusting the slider at the top of the page.
To change the notification sound for each contact, follow these steps:
- Open Samsung Messages.
- Tap on a conversation.
- Select the Three-dot icon in the top right corner.
- Choose Notification sound.
- Tap on a new sound and use the back arrow to save your settings.
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When your calls come through, you can instantly recognize who they are based on the new sound or ringtone you’ve set for your contact. Setting a custom ringtone helps filter out unknown, potentially unwanted spam callers from people you know.
A ringtone slightly differs from a notification sound. Ringtones are designed for incoming calls and can be music or a string of sounds, while notification sounds are used for messages and app alerts. They serve the same purpose but have separate settings. Plus, you’re likely to set a notification sound with one of the sounds found on your phone, whereas you might download a new ringtone from a popular music app.
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How to change notification sounds for all apps
You can set one notification sound for all apps, especially if you’re tired of hearing the default sound. Below, we use a Google Pixel phone for the stock Android section, but we also show the steps for Galaxy phones below it. Both phones run Android 14, and we use One UI 6.1 in our Samsung Galaxy device section. Older versions may vary slightly, but the steps mostly stay the same.
- Go to Settings on your Android device.
- Tap Sound & vibration.
- Select Default notification sound.
- Choose a category of sounds; tap on a new sound.
Changing notification sounds for all apps on a Samsung Galaxy device
- Go to Settings on your Samsung Galaxy device.
- Tap Sounds and vibration.
- Tap Notification sound.
- Choose a new sound; adjust the notification sound volume using the slider above.
How to change notification sounds by app
In this example, we use Gmail. Emails can come through your phone, taking over your notifications. To help differentiate the notification sounds from other apps, we set a new one for Gmail. You can do this on any Android device with the Gmail app installed.
If you’re trying to change the notification sound for your phone and contacts app, we cover this extensively in our change ringtones guide.
- Open the Gmail app.
- Tap on the Hamburger button.
- Scroll down to Settings.
- Tap on your email address.
- Select Notification sounds.
- Tap Notification sound under Email.
- Select Sound and choose from a list of available sounds. Depending on the device, you may have to complete this action using another app. Once you’ve picked the new notification sound, choose Done.
Keeping notifications under control while on the go
Changing your notifications and recognizing your priority alerts based on sound can be helpful. However, there might also be times when you’re required to mute your notifications. You don’t have to silence them forever or mute every app; you can opt to snooze them instead. Snoozing doesn’t silence all your apps indiscriminately; you select which channels to mute while keeping others on. This includes having multiple email accounts saved on your phone; you can mute one but leave the other alone. It’s a great way to declutter your notification space.