When Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro lineup in 2016, it removed the Mac startup chime. And while it doesn’t hamper my Mac usage, I loved that chime and miss it. If you also miss that iconic Mac sound, you can get it back on your Mac, provided you are running the latest version of macOS - macOS Catalina. The startup chime was first removed from Macs in 2016 with the redesigned MacBook Pros released that year, and Macs released since then (with the exception of the 2017 13-inch MacBook Air) didn.
Reader Stephen Mette faces the age-old problem of how to shut up the Mac when it first boots. He writes:
I’ve always loved the Mac’s opening chime. But I’m the early riser in my family, and the volume of my new iMac’s chime is very loud. For the sake of family harmony (excuse the pun) is there a way—a terminal command or something—that I can reduce the volume?
You can solve this problem with a little forethought. On a newish Mac just press the Mute key on the keyboard before you shut down the Mac. When you next boot the Mac, you’ll hear nothing more than the Mac’s fans and hard drive.
If you’ve neglected to take this step and face a Mac that will bong with the best of ‘em on startup you can mute it by slipping a miniplug (found on a set of iPod headphones, for example) into the sound output port.
Finally, if you’re forgetful both on the back and front end, you can use this AppleScript, courtesy of Mac Developer Tips, to shut down your Mac and, in the process, turn off its volume so you hear no startup sound when it boots.
Save the script as an application, make it Run Only, and use it to shut down or restart your Mac rather than the standard Shut Down and Restart commands under the Apple menu.
If you’d like to also automate returning your Mac’s volume to audible levels, create yet another AppleScript, save it as a Run Only Application, and make it a Login Item in your user account. That script simply reads:
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Mac Startup Sound Mp3
Longtime Mac users will remember that the Mac used to “chime” when you powered it up. Apple removed the chime in 2016, but with macOS 10.15 Catalina, users could reinstate the chime through a command in the Terminal.
Mac Startup Sound 2020
The chime is back by default in macOS 11 Big Sur. In the short video clip below, you can hear what the chime sounds like on my (beat-up) 2014 MacBook Pro running the Big Sur beta.
If you mute the Mac’s audio before you shut down, the chime will not play the next time you boot the computer. If you want to turn off the chime, Apple has a setting in the Sound system preference you can adjust.
You can also turn off the chime in the Terminal. Here are the steps.
Mac Startup Sound Over And Over
Launch the Terminal app. It is located in Applications > Utilities.
At the prompt, enter the following:
sudo nvram StartupMute=%01and then press Return.You may be asked for your user password. Type it in and then press Return.
You’re done.
If you later want to turn the chime on, use the same instructions above in the Terminal, but at the second step at the prompt type sudonvram StartupMute=%00 instead.
Editor’s note: Updated on 10/1/20 with the Sound system preference setting. (Hat tip to @BlueJayPilot.)
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