Most third-party iPhone apps don’t let you pick a custom notification sound in Settings. To check, open Settings > Notifications, tap the app, and look at Sounds. If it opens a list of tones, pick one. If it’s only an on/off switch, look for a tone picker inside the app itself, or change Default Alerts in Settings > Sounds & Haptics, which changes the sound for every app that uses the standard alert tone.
These steps match iOS 27 and also fit iOS 18 and iOS 26. Default Alerts needs iOS 17.2 or later, and the Apps section of Settings appears in iOS 18 and later.
Where Each Kind of Sound Is Set
| Sound you want to change | Where to change it |
|---|---|
| A third-party app that offers tones | Settings > Notifications > [app] > Sounds |
| Apps that use the standard alert tone | Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Default Alerts |
| Apps with their own sound menu (WhatsApp, Gmail, Slack) | Inside the app’s settings |
| Texts, mail, calendar and reminders | Settings > Sounds & Haptics |
| One person’s texts or calls | Contacts > [person] > Edit |
Check Whether the App Supports a Different Sound
Install and open the app first, and allow notifications if it asks and you want to receive them. Apple’s notification settings guide makes sound selection conditional on app support. A row that opens tone choices is different from a switch that only turns audio alerts on or off.
- Open Settings on the iPhone whose alerts you want to change. Tap Notifications.
- Under Notification Style, tap the app’s name. Turn on Allow Notifications if you want its alerts; turning that control off stops the alerts rather than just changing their sound. For an example of silencing one app completely, you can stop Instagram notifications on iPhone.
- Find Sounds. If it opens a list, tap a tone to select it. Listen to its preview if one plays, then go back. If it is a switch, leave it on for audible alerts or turn it off for silent alerts.
- Look for Customize Notifications or an App Name Notification Settings link if present. These can lead to separate notification types or the app’s own options. They are not present for every app.
There is normally no separate Save button in iPhone notification settings. Return to the app’s notification screen to confirm your selection or switch state. Keep the previous tone’s name if you may want to undo the change.
Apple’s own apps are the main ones with a tone list here. Apple’s guide to using notifications names FaceTime and Messages as apps where you can pick a specific tone.
Another Route Through the Apps Menu
On iOS 18 and later, you can also open Settings > Apps > [app name] > Notifications. Apple documents this route in its guide to turning notifications on or off for an app. If Notifications doesn’t appear there, the app might not be able to send notifications.
Change the Default Alert Sound for Other Apps
When an app has no tone list, it usually plays the iPhone’s standard alert sound (Rebound, unless you changed it). You can swap that sound, though it changes every app that uses it, not just one.
- Open Settings and tap Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Default Alerts.
- Tap a tone to hear it and select it. A check mark shows your choice.
- To change the vibration too, tap Haptics at the top of the same screen.
Apps that ship their own notification sounds keep using them, and Messages keeps your Text Tone.
Change the Sound Inside the App
If neither iPhone Settings nor Default Alerts gives you the result you want, open the app and look for its notification or sound preferences, usually in its settings or account menu. A few common examples:
- WhatsApp: WhatsApp’s ringtone and tone help page says to open Settings > Notifications to change sounds for all chats. For one chat, open it, tap the contact or group name, tap Notifications, then Notification tone. Choose a tone and tap Save.
- Gmail: Google’s Gmail notification help says to tap the menu icon, tap Settings, then Email notifications > Notification sounds. Chat has its own Notification sounds setting under Chat notifications.
- Slack: Slack’s notification help says to tap your profile picture, tap Notifications, then Sound.
Netflix, for example, keeps its notification categories on its website, as shown in how to get rid of Netflix notifications on iPhone. If an app offers no sound menu anywhere, it doesn’t support custom sounds.
If Sounds Is Only a Switch
An on/off switch controls whether the app’s notifications may make a sound. It does not select a new sound file. Turning it off can leave banners, Lock Screen alerts, and badges enabled, depending on your other choices. For specific examples, you can silence Twitch notification sounds or read about turning off ESPN Fantasy notification sounds on an iPhone.
The red number on the icon is a separate setting, and you can turn iPhone app badges off without touching the sound.
A ringtone you buy or import only shows up for Apple’s alert categories and Default Alerts, not in a third-party app’s own sound menu.
Change Apple Sound Categories or a Contact’s Text Tone
For Apple alerts such as text messages and calendar events, open Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Tap a category, such as Text Tone, New Mail, Calendar Alerts or Reminder Alerts, then choose a sound. Apple’s sound and vibration guide lists these categories. To choose how far ahead calendar reminders arrive, change the iPhone Calendar alert settings.
Calls use the Ringtone row on that same screen; here is how to set a ringtone on an iPhone.
To give one person’s texts their own sound, open Contacts, select the person, tap Edit, then Text Tone. Choose a tone and tap Done. That contact’s tone overrides your default Text Tone. On the same screen, Emergency Bypass lets that person’s sound play even when your iPhone is silenced or a Focus is on.
On these sound screens, tap Haptics to pick a vibration pattern or create your own. Tap Tone Store at the top of a tone list to buy more tones, or Download All Purchased Tones to restore ones you bought before.
To choose, create or turn off those patterns, read about changing text message vibrations on iPhone.
Test the Next Alert
- Confirm Allow Notifications and Sounds are enabled for the app if you want audible alerts.
- For a normal sound test, turn off Silent mode and check the alert volume in Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Do not rely on a video or music volume setting to confirm alert volume.
- Check whether a Focus, such as Do Not Disturb, or Scheduled Summary is delaying the app’s notifications. Keep those choices in mind when deciding when to expect the alert.
- Wait for an ordinary new notification from the app, or have someone send a test message. Listen to the real notification; a tone preview doesn’t mean the app will use that sound.
Normal notification sounds do not play when the phone is silenced or its volume is completely down. Supported Critical Alerts are an exception when enabled. Restore any Focus or delivery preferences you temporarily changed after testing.
Troubleshooting
The app is not in the Notifications list
Open the app and check its notification preferences or permission prompt. Some apps don’t send notifications at all, so they won’t appear in the list.
There is no Sounds option or no list of tones
First check Allow Notifications. If there’s still no tone list, the app doesn’t offer one, so check its in-app settings or change Default Alerts instead. You don’t need to reset or reinstall anything.
The sound is still different from the one I selected
Check that the alert came from the app you changed. A contact’s custom Text Tone, a separate notification type inside the app, or the app’s own sound menu can override what you set in Settings. Also make sure the sound didn’t come from another nearby device.
I only want the app quiet for a while
Swipe left on one of its notifications, tap Options, and choose to mute it for an hour or for today. Swipe left again and tap Options > Unmute to bring the sound back.
Can I give every app a unique sound?
No. Only apps that offer a tone list, in Settings or inside the app, let you change their sound. For other apps, you can only turn sounds on or off or change the shared Default Alerts tone.
How do I undo the change?
Go back to the same app or sound category and select the previous tone, or turn Sounds back on. If the red number on an icon is what you want to remove, here’s an example of turning off the badge app icon for the Dunkin’ iPhone app.
If you wear an Apple Watch, it can also chime for these apps. You can turn off notifications on Apple Watch.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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