How to Add a New Mail Sound for Gmail

Hear a sound notification when new Gmail messages arrive

by Heinz Tschabitscher
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated November 11, 2019

When you are on Gmail.com, new messages don't trigger a sound notification. There are a couple of ways you can go about getting a Gmail notification sound, but the method you choose depends on how you access your mail.

If you use Gmail through a downloadable email client like Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird or eM Client, you make the sound change from within those programs.

Gmail Pop-Up Notification

You can set Gmail to display a pop-up notification when new email messages arrive in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari when you are signed in to Gmail and have it open in the browser. Just turn on that setting in Gmail Settings > General > Desktop Notifications. The notification is not accompanied by a sound. If you want to hear a new email sound when you use Gmail with your web browser, you can make that happen — just not in Gmail itself.

Enable the New Mail Sound for Gmail

Since Gmail doesn't natively support pushing sound notifications through your web browser, you must install a third-party program like Notifier for Gmail (a Chrome extension) or Gmail Notifier (a Windows program).

If you're using Gmail Notifier, you might have to allow less secure apps to access your Gmail account before the program can successfully log on to your account. You should also make sure you have IMAP enabled in Gmail in the Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings.

If you're using the Notifier for Gmail Chrome extension:

  1. Right-click the extension icon next to Chrome's navigation bar, and choose Options.

    Screenshot showing Options menu item for Notifier for Gmail

  2. Scroll down to the Notifications section and make sure Play alert sound for new emails is selected.

  3. Change the sound using the drop-down menu.

    Screenshot of Notifier for Gmail settings screen highlighting Play alert sound for new emails and Default sound notification drop-down menu

  4. Exit the window when you're done. The changes are saved automatically.

If you are using Gmail Notifier for Windows:

  1. Right-click the program in the notification area and choose Preferences.

    Screenshot of Preferences menu for Gmail Notifier for Windows

  2. Make sure the Sound alert option is checked.

    Sound alert checkbox and Select sound file buttons in Gmail Notifier for Windows

  3. Click Select sound file to pick a notification sound for new Gmail messages.

    Screenshot of choosing a .wav file in Gmail Notifier for Windows

    Gmail Notifier only supports using WAV files for the sound. If you have an MP3 or some other type of audio file that you want to use for the Gmail notification sound, run it through a free audio file converter to save it in the WAV format.

  4. This is a great way to know when you have new emails!

How to Change Gmail Notification Sounds in Other Email Clients

For Outlook users, you can enable notification sounds for new email messages in the FILE > Options > Mail menu, with the Play a sound option from the Message arrival section. To change the sound, open Control Panel and search for "sound". Open the Sound Control Panel applet and modify the New Mail Notification option from the Sounds tab.

Mozilla Thunderbird users can go through a similar process to change the new mail alert noise.

For other email clients, look somewhere in a Settings or Options menu. Remember to use an audio file converter if your notification sound isn't in the correct audio format for the program.