It’s easy to adjust your notification settings in Android to have different sounds for text messages, calls—even different sounds for each contact—email, social media, and just about any app on your smartphone. The steps below will walk you through how to change Android notification sounds.

How to Change Android Notification Sounds

Notification sounds are just one of many ways you can customize your Android, and each version of Android refines the process. Your Android has a setting for the default notification sound for all apps; you can also change sounds app by app. Here’s how to change the default and notification sounds for Google Messages, Gmail, and the Phone app.

Set Custom Ringtones for Contacts

You can change the ringtone for all callers, but a custom ringtone lets you identify who’s calling without looking at your phone. Here’s how to configure a specific call sound per contact:

1. Open the Contacts app and tap the name of the person.

2. Select the Settings cog at the top (alternatively, you can scroll down your profile page to Settings), and then tap Contact ringtone.

3. Pick a ringtone from the available list or from sounds you’ve downloaded to your phone. When you’re done, you can just close the Contacts app.

How to Change the Global Default Sound

By default, your phone makes the same sound for all app notifications. Here’s how to edit that notification sound:

1. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration.

   If your phone doesn’t have those menus, try this instead: Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications > Advanced.

2. You should see several options for sound notifications, including Ringtone and Notifications.

   Some Android phones may have a Default notification sound that plays for all notifications. If you see Default you can globally change your notification sounds in that category.

3. Select a sound to which you want to switch all alerts, then choose Save (although on some devices, your changes are saved automatically). Depending on your phone, there are several categories to pick through, including Gems, Pixel Sounds, Classical Harmonies, Nature Sounds, and others.

Change the Notification Sounds by App

You can also change the notification sound on a per-app basis. Below are directions for how this works with Gmail, Messages, and Phone.

Gmail

Get lots of emails? Change the notification sound for any email address that syncs with your phone. This way, you know by sound if you’ve got a new email and whether it’s personal or work-related.

1. Open the Settings > Apps.

2. Tap App Management.

3. Select Gmail.

4. Tap Manage Notifications.

5. Make sure Allow notifications is enabled then scroll down the page and select your email account.

   You can choose a different sound for each of your email accounts.

6. Tap Ring.

7. Adjust your notifications by choosing the one you want to use from the lists provided.

   Messages

   Constant notifications from Messages can also be annoying. Here’s how you can adjust your notifications for Messages with a few quick taps.

8. As above, tap Settings > Apps > App management and then select Messages.

9. Make sure Allow notifications is selected and then Incoming Messages.

10. Tap Ring, and then chose the sound you want to play for your messages from the lists provided.

Phone App 

Android phones from the same company, such as Google, usually have the same default ringtone. Thus, when several Google Pixel owners are in the same room, no one knows whose phone is ringing unless the default has been changed. Here’s how to do it:

1. From the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu at the top right.

2. Tap Settings.

3. Choose Sounds and vibration.

4. Tap Ringtone.

5. Choose a new sound from the list.

How to Add Custom Notification Sounds

There are two ways to get custom sounds for your Android: Download them or create your own. One popular app is Zedge, which has thousands of free notification sounds and ringtones in various categories (music genres, sound effects, etc.). You can create and set custom ringtones right from the app.

Here’s how to manually add a custom sound to your phone through the Settings app:

1. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration.

   On some devices, it’s Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications > Advanced.

2. Tap Default notification sound > My Sounds.

3. Tap + (plus sign).

4. Find and select your custom sound.

5. Your new ringtone should appear in the list of available ringtones in the My Sounds section.