Galaxy S8 sound notification for apps not working [troubleshooting guide]

The #GalaxyS8 is undeniably one of the most advanced smartphone in the market today but despite that, it still suffers from common issues. One such issue is a glitch that causes sound notifications to stop working. If you happen to have the same issue on your S8, well, this post is for you.

Today’s problem: Galaxy S8 notification sound for apps not working

Notifications Sound Problem on S8. Purchased a galaxy s8 at the beginning of the year in january. Been having an issue for 3 days now. My phone stays silent on notifications (emails, text, app…) It will only make sounds for calls. Checked the settings and permissions and no problem there. Nothing is blocked, phone is not on silent either. Did a reboot also. What I noticed is that when i go to sound settings and try to change the notification sound for my message, emails and everything else, it’s silent. No sound can be heard as u scroll down all the list of different sounds. But if u want to change the call ringtone, u will hear the differents tones. The problem is with the notification sound specifically. I don’t know what to do. Thank you. — Victoria

Solutions to fixing Galaxy S8 notification sound for apps not working issue

There’s a number of possible solutions that you can try to fix this problem. Make sure that you do them in the order presented below.

Fix #1: Check for bad third party app

We don’t know the full history of your device but we’ve already encountered issues like yours that were caused by apps so your first troubleshooting step is to remember what you did prior to noticing this problem. We’re certain that that is not the default behavior of a newly unboxed S8 running fresh software so there must be something that you did that must have caused it. If sound notifications for your apps were working before you installed something, that newly installed app is most probably the cause. Try to remember if you did install an app and uninstall it. If you can’t keep track of your apps, or if uninstalling one won’t fix the problem, proceed to the next solution.

Fix #2: Boot to safe mode

A broader way to check if a third party app is the main reason for the trouble is by restarting the device to safe mode. In this mode, all third party apps and services won’t run; your S8 will only allow operation of pre-installed apps. This means that if sound notifications for apps work as they should, then one of your apps must be to blame.

If you haven’t tried booting to safe mode before, here’s how it’s done:

Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.

Remember, safe mode won’t point the exact app for you. If sound notifications work in this mode but not in regular boot mode, you’re going to invest more time and effort to know what app is problematic. You’ll have to uninstall apps one by one and make sure to observe the phone after every app you removed. Do this same cycle for until you’ve identified the culprit.

Fix #3: Reset app preferences

Another good way to solve this problem is by making sure that you set all apps back to their known working state. This is done by resetting all apps back to their original configuration. Here’s how:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap More settings (three-dot) icon at the upper right.
Tap Reset app preferences.

Fix #4: Clear system cache

Dealing with the system cache is the next good thing to do in this case. Sometimes, a corrupted system cache can lead to all sorts of problems. Also, this potential solution is a recommended maintenance task whether you have a problem or not. Don’t worry, this troubleshooting step won’t delete your personal data as it only affects temporary files so it can be done easily.

To delete the system cache, follow these steps:

Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key to highlight “wipe cache partition.”
Press the Power key to select.
Press the Volume down key to highlight “yes” and press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Fix #5: Turn off DO NOT DISTURB

One setting that can block all sorts of notifications in your Samsung Galaxy device is the DO NOT DISTURB feature. Make sure that it’s NOT enabled. Here’s how to do that:

Open Settings app.
Tap Notifications.
Scroll down to the bottom and tap DO NOT DISTURB.
Turn DO NOT DISTURB OFF.

Fix #6: Turn off all sounds under Hearing

Your S8 has a lot of customizable options that can impact some normal behaviors. One of such settings is the Hearing option under Accessibility section. To ensure that your S8 sound notifications are not being overridden by this Accessibility option, you can check it by following the steps below:

Open Settings app.
Tap Accessibility.
Tap Hearing.
Move the slider for Turn off all sounds to the left to disable it.

Fix #7: Factory reset

Should everything fails up to this point, you really have not much choice but to restore all settings back to their defaults. This means wiping the phone by doing a factory reset. As mentioned above, this problem is not present when you first use an S8 after unboxing it so resetting it back to its defaults should fix the issue. Before you factory reset your device, make sure to back your personal data up.

To factory reset your S8, kindly follow these steps:

Back up data on the internal memory. If you have signed into a Google account on the device, you have activated Anti-theft and will need your Google credentials to finish the Master reset.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight “wipe data / factory reset.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.