Phone stopped playing notification sounds for unknown reasons - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 25, 2021, 10:36:50 pm
content: My phone - a Samsung Galaxy running Android 11 (with their One UI v3.1) - for reasons I have been unable to discover, has recently stopped playinganysounds for notifications (e.g. e-mail, messages, etc). The notifications appear just fine, it's that there's no audio alert sound that goes with them like usual.I've checked all the relevant settings and options I can find, and none appear to be in a state that would cause this. It's not on silent mode, not on do-not-disturb (and no timed schedule for that set); I have a notification sound set; the notifications volume level isn't turned down; media volume limit is turned off; I haven't restricted any apps from showing notifications. I've done a keyword search in the Settings app for anything to do with 'volume', 'notifications', etc. but not seen anything else other than what I already looked at.Yes, I've even restarted the phone - more than once. It's even had an Android OS update installed since this started.I don't know what else to look at or try. Anyone got any ideas? I want to fix this because I keep missing messages and stuff.

author: Klondike Mike
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 25, 2021, 10:55:19 pm
content: I've had this problem with my Samsung Galaxy II running 4.4 OS. Resolution was to clear some caches. Can't remember which. You'll have to talk to Mr. Google to get the details.EDIT: My condition was for not being able to play any audio files (ie. wav, mp3). Are you able to play any MP3's?

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 12:24:13 am
content: Quote from: HwAoRrDk on September 25, 2021, 10:36:50 pmIt might be just a glitch in the app since the last update, perhaps you could install a different messaging application and then see if the problem persists, there appears to be quite a few messaging apps on Google Play.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 02:20:57 am
content: Quote from: Klondike Mike on September 25, 2021, 10:55:19 pmYes. I have no problem playing MP3s, YouTube, or anything else.Quote from: Muttley Snickers on September 26, 2021, 12:24:13 amIt's not just a specific app's notifications, it's all apps. E-mail, Messages, Chrome, YouTube, etc.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 04:33:35 am
content: I dunno.Out of curiosity I Googled "no audio alerts samsung phone" as I'm sure you already have and there were numerous responses which ranged from re-selecting the notification sound to performing a full reset. I wouldn't do the later without doing a complete backup beforehand, It takes too long to reinstall and reconfigure everything. Do you still get vibration alerts?

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 02:48:44 pm
content: Maybe try turning Bluetooth off, in case it's trying to play the notification sounds on a headset?(I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have seen this exact bug on iOS.)

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 06:27:36 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on September 26, 2021, 04:33:35 amI've previously tried choosing a different notification sound, but it didn't help.I thought I had vibration for notifications turned off, but checking just now it's actually on, so no I'm not getting vibration either.Ugh, I really don't want to have to do a full reset.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 26, 2021, 06:29:33 pm
content: Quote from: edavid on September 26, 2021, 02:48:44 pmI keep Bluetooth off all the time (unless I need it), so it's not that. I don't even own any Bluetooth audio equipment.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2021, 07:35:21 am
content: In the time between posting this thread originally and now, I think I may have figured out what the issue is.I think it's something to do with power saving.Usually I keep my phone in Power Saving mode. That way I typically get a full couple of days between charges.But recently I accidentally turned off power saving and notification sounds came back. At first I was wondering what had changed, but after crawling through settings I realised the only thing that had changed was power saving mode was off.I think perhaps whatever overly-aggressive power saving measures kick in is killing the process used by Android to play audio files, which I think is the Google Play Music app. I say this because that app always comes up in the periodic "these apps haven't been used recently and will be put to sleep" notification, even though I rarely ever play music on my phone.I'm going to spend a while running with power saving mode off, then a while with it on again and see if it reverts to not playing notification sounds.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 22, 2021, 09:09:15 am
content: Glad you got it sorted, my LG K50 also did a funny thing the other day which was related to the battery saver mode. On this phone the battery saver feature has three options.... off, extended and maximum and the later puts the display in dark mode but it stayed dark even after switching it back to off. A restart didn't resolve the problem but reselecting the same wallpaper did.Features, functions and glitches in different phones have recently become another one of my interests. This LG is way too buggy for my liking and yesterday whilst talking to an old customer I went into the contacts to fetch a number for him and without any prompt from me it not only rang the number but wouldn't let me end or cancel the call, lucky the power button worked