Note 5 Sound, Notifications, and Ringtones Not Working After Update (Fixed)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has a well-documented bug where notification sounds, ringtones, and system audio stop working after installing the Android 7.0 Nougat update. The most common culprit is the S Pen sound setting — a firmware bug causes it to interfere with the phone’s entire audio notification system. Disabling S Pen feedback sounds and restarting the phone fixes the problem for most Note 5 owners, but there are several other causes worth checking if that doesn’t work.

This guide covers every known fix, starting with the most common solution and working through progressively more involved troubleshooting steps.

The S Pen Sound Bug (Most Common Fix)

This is the fix that resolves the problem for the majority of Note 5 users experiencing silent notifications after the Nougat update. A firmware bug in the Note 5’s Android 7.0 build causes the S Pen feedback sound system to conflict with the phone’s notification audio pipeline. When S Pen sounds are enabled, the system intermittently drops notification sounds, ringtones, and alarm audio.

Here is how to fix it:

1. Open Settings on your Note 5.
2. Tap Advanced features.
3. Tap S Pen.
4. Find the toggle for S Pen sound (also labeled “S Pen feedback” on some firmware versions) and turn it off.
5. Restart your phone by pressing and holding the Power button for 3 seconds, then tapping Restart.

After the restart, test your notifications by sending yourself a text message or setting a short timer. Notification sounds, ringtones, and alarms should all work normally with S Pen sound disabled. This is a permanent workaround — the bug persists across Nougat security patches, so keep this setting off.

Check Your Volume Levels

Samsung Galaxy phones use separate volume sliders for ringtones, notifications, media, and system sounds. Your ringtone volume could be at maximum while your notification volume sits at zero.

1. Press the physical Volume Up button on the side of your Note 5.
2. When the volume slider appears on screen, tap the down arrow (or the three-dot menu on some firmware versions) to expand all volume sliders.
3. Make sure Ringtone, Notifications, and System are all turned up.

You can also access this through Settings → Sounds and vibration → Volume to see all four sliders at once.

Verify Sound Mode Is Not Set to Mute or Vibrate

If your Note 5 is set to Vibrate or Mute mode, you won’t hear any notification sounds regardless of other settings.

1. Go to Settings → Sounds and vibration.
2. Under Sound mode, make sure Sound is selected (not Vibrate or Mute).
3. Check that Vibrate while ringing is configured to your preference.

Also check the Quick Settings panel: swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers and look for the Sound or Mute toggle. Make sure it is not set to Mute or Vibrate Only.

Disable Do Not Disturb Mode

Do Not Disturb (DND) silences calls, notifications, and alerts. Some Note 5 owners accidentally enable DND through the Quick Settings panel or have it set on a schedule they have forgotten about.

1. Go to Settings → Sounds and vibration → Do not disturb.
2. Make sure the toggle is off.
3. Tap Turn on as scheduled and verify no automatic schedule is active. If you see a schedule (for example, 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM), either disable it or adjust the times.

You can also check DND status from the Quick Settings panel — swipe down with two fingers and look for the Do not disturb icon. If it is highlighted, tap it to turn it off.

Check Accessibility Sound Settings

The Accessibility menu has its own master mute toggle that overrides all other sound settings. If someone enabled this accidentally, your Note 5 will be completely silent.

1. Go to Settings → Accessibility.
2. Tap Hearing (or Hearing enhancements depending on your firmware version).
3. Find Mute all sounds and make sure it is off.
4. While you are here, check that Mono audio and Sound balance are configured correctly — a fully left- or right-skewed balance can make audio seem absent if you are using one earbud.

Check Individual App Notification Settings

After the Nougat update, Samsung introduced per-app notification controls. An app might have its notification sound set to “Silent” or notifications disabled entirely.

1. Go to Settings → Notifications.
2. Scroll through the app list. Apps with notifications turned off will show Off next to them.
3. Tap any app where notifications are not working (for example, Messages or Gmail).
4. Make sure Allow notifications is toggled on.
5. Tap the notification category (such as General or Message notifications) and verify the Sound is not set to Silent.

For the default Messages app specifically: open the Messages app, tap the three-dot menu → Settings → Notifications, and make sure a notification sound is selected.

Boot Into Safe Mode

If the S Pen fix did not resolve the issue, a third-party app may be interfering with your Note 5’s audio system. Safe Mode disables all third-party apps so you can test whether the problem is software-related.

1. Press and hold the Power button until the power menu appears.
2. Touch and hold Power off until the Safe mode prompt appears.
3. Tap Safe mode to confirm.
4. Your Note 5 will restart with “Safe mode” displayed in the bottom-left corner.

While in Safe Mode, test your ringtones and notification sounds. If they work normally, a third-party app is the problem. To identify which app, restart your phone normally and uninstall recently installed apps one at a time, testing notifications after each removal. Common culprits include third-party ringtone apps, sound equalizer apps, and battery optimization apps that aggressively manage background processes.

To exit Safe Mode, simply restart your phone normally.

Wipe the Cache Partition

Wiping the cache partition clears temporary system files that may have been corrupted during the Nougat update. This does not delete personal data, apps, or settings.

1. Turn off your Note 5 completely.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up key, the Home key, and the Power key simultaneously.
3. When the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 logo appears, release the Power key but continue holding Volume Up and Home.
4. When the Android recovery menu appears, release all keys.
5. Use the Volume Down key to highlight wipe cache partition.
6. Press the Power key to select it.
7. Use the Volume Down key to highlight Yes and press Power to confirm.
8. Wait for the process to complete, then highlight Reboot system now and press Power.

Your Note 5 will take slightly longer to boot after a cache wipe. Test notification sounds once it finishes starting up.

Reset All Settings (Without Losing Data)

If nothing above has worked, resetting all settings restores sound, network, and display settings to factory defaults without deleting your apps, photos, or files.

1. Go to Settings → General management (or Settings → Backup and reset on some Note 5 firmware versions).
2. Tap Reset → Reset settings (or Reset all settings).
3. Enter your PIN or password if prompted.
4. Tap Reset settings to confirm.

After the reset, you will need to reconfigure Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth pairings, and home screen layout, but all your data stays intact. Check your notification sounds immediately after the reset completes.

Factory Reset (Last Resort)

If every other fix has failed, a factory reset returns your Note 5 to its original software state. This deletes everything on the phone, so back up your data first.

Back up your data before proceeding:

• Photos and videos: copy to a computer via USB cable or upload to Google Photos
• Contacts: sync with your Google account (Settings → Accounts → Google → Sync Contacts)
• App data: varies by app — check each app’s backup settings

To factory reset via Settings:

1. Go to Settings → General management → Reset → Factory data reset.
2. Scroll down and tap Reset device.
3. Enter your PIN or password.
4. Tap Delete all.

To factory reset via Recovery Mode (if your phone is unresponsive):

1. Turn off the phone completely.
2. Press and hold Volume Up + Home + Power simultaneously.
3. When the recovery menu appears, use Volume Down to highlight wipe data/factory reset.
4. Press Power to select, then confirm with Yes.
5. After the reset completes, select Reboot system now.

After setup, test notifications before installing any third-party apps to confirm the issue is resolved.

Important Note About the Galaxy Note 5 in 2026

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was released in August 2015 and received its final software update (Android 7.0 Nougat) in 2017. Samsung ended all support for this device years ago, which means there will be no further patches to fix the S Pen sound bug or any other firmware issues. If your Note 5 continues to have persistent audio problems after trying all the fixes above, the hardware speakers or audio IC may be failing due to age.

Replacement parts for the Note 5 are still available from third-party sellers, but given the phone’s age, upgrading to a newer device may be the more practical option. Samsung’s current Galaxy S and Galaxy A series phones all include the notification controls and reliability improvements that address the kinds of bugs the Note 5 suffered from.