How to Set Different Notifications Sounds for Different Apps on Android Phones

With so many apps installed on our phones, a barrage of notifications can only confuse us. It’s hard to know which app sent which notification and if it’s important. To make my life easier, I use different notification tones for each app. Would you like the same? Find out how to keep different notification sounds for different apps on Android phones and tablets.

Using separate notification sounds other than the default tone is useful in various situations. Like when you are cooking, driving, or doing similar activities and you can’t or don’t want to touch the phone.

Let’s see how to change the default tone and keep a separate notification tone for Android apps.

Method 1: from phone settings

Android 8.0 Oreo has changed the way with Notification Channels which allow app notifications to be set for individual apps. That said, the setting to change the app’s default tone is buried deep within the settings.

Here are the steps to help you change the default notification sound of any Android app.

Step 1: Open the settings on your phone and go to Apps & notifications, Installed apps or Manage apps depending on the option available.

2nd step: Under All apps, tap the app whose notification tone you want to change. Let’s go with WhatsApp as an example. Tap WhatsApp.

Step 3: Tap Notifications under WhatsApp. If you are using an older version of Android, you will get the Default Sound or Sound option. Press it to change the tone.

However, on phones running Android 8.0 Oreo and above, you will see various notification channels or categories. For example, you will see categories like group notifications and message notifications under WhatsApp notifications. You’ll notice that notification categories usually have a toggle and a straight bar in front of them.

Note: In Android settings, wherever you see a straight bar next to the setting name, that means tapping on the setting name (not the toggle) will reveal more settings.

So, tap on the Text Message Notifications to reveal more settings.

Then press Advanced followed by Sound. Assign a different notification tone to individual contacts’ WhatsApp messages. You can also customize other settings related to notifications on this screen.

Likewise, you can set a different tone for WhatsApp group messages by tapping the Group Notifications category channel. For other apps, you will see categories based on the app. Tap the notification category to display the Sound setting to change the default notification tone.

Note: If an app does not support notification categories, you will see the Advanced option directly under Notifications. Press Advanced followed by Sound to change the default tone. In some cases, you will see the Sound option directly under Notifications.

Follow the same steps to change the default dial tone for other apps. Let’s take another example of the Gmail app.

How to set a different notification tone for different Gmail accounts on Android

Some users add multiple Gmail accounts to their phone for various reasons. These accounts can be professional or personal. Keeping a separate email notification sound for each account will help differentiate the importance of the email.

Step 1: Open Settings and go to Apps or Installed apps.

2nd step: Tap Gmail under All apps.

Step 3: Tap Notifications. You will be greeted by different notification channels categorized by your Gmail account. Tap the Email or Mail text under your Gmail account whose notification tone you want to change.

Point: Did you notice the right bar next to the Email option? Don’t forget to tap on the text before the right bar to open more personalization settings like sound.

Step 4: Tap Advanced under Notification category to view more options. Tap Sound. Choose a tone you want to use. Check other Gmail notification settings that you need to customize.

How to change message notification sound on Android

To change the tone of the text, go to Settings> Applications. Tap the Messages app, then tap Notifications. Depending on the different manufacturers, you will see different categories of notification. Tap Incoming messages or General depending on the option available. Then press Advanced followed by Sound. Change your tone.

On dual SIM handsets, you will see the notification categories SIM 1 and SIM 2 under Notifications. Tap the required SIM card and go to Advanced> Sound to change the notification tone.

Note: In summary, to change the notification tone for any app, go to Settings> Apps> (app name)> Notifications> (notification category)> Sound (or Advanced> Sound).

Method 2: from app settings

Some Android apps offer a built-in setting to change the default notification tones. So you can also customize the notification tone in the app. You can even customize notification tones for individual contacts if your app allows it.

Suppose you want to change your phone ringtone. To do this, open your default Phone application. Tap the three dots icon at the top. Select Settings.

Tap Sounds and vibrations or something similar, like call alerts / ringtones. Tap Ringtone and choose a new ringtone.

Point: To set a different ringtone for each contact, open the Contacts app and edit your contact. You will see the Ringtone field. Tap it and choose a new ringtone for that contact. Repeat the steps for the other contacts. Find out how to set different message tones for different contacts on Android.

Likewise, if you want to customize the WhatsApp notification tone, open WhatsApp settings from within the app. Access notifications. Here you will see the notification options for individual and group messages. Tap Notification tone to change the sound.

In some apps, when you tap on the notification setting, it will take you to the notification screen that you would see if you went through Phone settings> Apps> (app name)> Notifications. In such cases, tap the notification category as shown in Method 1 above to change the default tone.

Pro tip: If the above methods are not suitable for you, install the NotifiCon app to customize notifications on Android phones.

Hey google

Even though Google tries to keep things simple, there are some metrics that are hard to find. You have to dive deep into the settings to change the default notification sound. Hope things improve in the future.