How do I add sound to my push notifications on Android?

ByJael Lawler

Push notifications are messages that are sent from an app to a user’s device even when the app is not actively being used. They allow apps to notify users of new messages, events, promotions, or other timely updates. Adding custom sounds to push notifications can make them more useful and attention-grabbing for users.

On Android, notifications are organized into channels, which each have their own settings like importance level and sound. The importance level controls how intrusive a notification is, determining factors like if it makes a sound and peeks onto the screen. By properly configuring notification channels and choosing appropriate sounds, developers can make sure their push notifications are useful rather than annoying.

Prerequisites

There are a few prerequisites that need to be in place before you can send push notifications with sound to Android devices. First, you’ll need to have the Android SDK set up properly in your app. The Android SDK enables your app to receive and process push notifications. You’ll also want to target Android 8.0 or higher, since earlier versions had limited support for notification channels. Finally, your app will need to request the proper permissions, like RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED so your app can receive notifications after rebooting, and VIBRATE so you can include vibration with the notifications.

With the SDK, target API level, and permissions set up appropriately, you’ll have the prerequisites in place to start adding sound to your Android push notifications.

Create Notification Channel

Starting in Android 8.0 (API level 26), all notifications must be assigned to a channel in order to display. To enable sound for your notifications, you’ll need to create a channel with the desired sound enabled. Here are the steps:

First, create a NotificationChannel object with a unique ID, name, and importance level. For example:


NotificationChannel channel = new NotificationChannel("my_channel_id", "My Channel", NotificationManager.IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT);

The importance level controls how intrusive the notification will be. Options include IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT, IMPORTANCE_HIGH, IMPORTANCE_LOW, etc. Refer to the Android developer documentation for details on each level.

Next, call setSound() and pass a Uri for the sound file you want to play. For example:


Uri soundUri = Uri.parse("android.resource://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.my_sound_file);
channel.setSound(soundUri, null);

Finally, call createNotificationChannel() on the NotificationManager to register your channel.

Once your channel is registered, any notifications you create with the same channel ID will play the specified sound.

Add Sound File

To add a custom sound file for notifications, you need to add the sound file to your app’s resources folder. Android supports MP3, WAV and OGG audio file formats natively for notifications.

To add the sound file:

  1. Locate the res/raw directory in your Android project.
  2. Add your sound file (e.g. my_sound.mp3) to this folder.

The sound file will now be bundled with your app as a resource that can be referenced for notifications. Make sure to use common audio formats like MP3, WAV or OGG for maximum compatibility.

According to this guide, “MP3, WAV, and OGG formats are all natively supported by Android, so practically any audio file you could download will work.”

Once you’ve added the sound file to your resources, you can use it by referencing R.raw.my_sound when setting the notification sound.

Send Notification

To send a notification with sound, you first need to create the notification itself. Here are the steps to send a notification with a notification channel:

Create the notification using the NotificationCompat.Builder class. Set the content including the title, text, small icon, and any other details:

Example:

Notification notification = new NotificationCompat.Builder(context, channelId)  
  .setContentTitle("New Message")
  .setContentText("You've received a new message!")
  .setSmallIcon(R.drawable.ic_notification)
  .build();

Set the notification channel by passing the channel ID to the builder. This associates the notification with your channel:

NotificationCompat.Builder(context, channelId)

Finally, call NotificationManager.notify() to issue the notification:

NotificationManager manager = getSystemService(NotificationManager.class);
manager.notify(id, notification);

This will send the notification using the specified channel and settings. The notification will display with the channel’s sound, importance level, lights, and other properties.

Source: https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/notifications/build-notification

Custom Sounds

You can create custom notification sounds and assign them to specific notification channels on Android. Here are the steps:

To create a custom sound file, you’ll first need to have the audio file saved locally on your device. Audio formats like MP3 and WAV work best. Save the file in the Notifications folder on your phone’s internal storage (Android/media/com.android.notifications/).

Next, open the Settings app and go to Sound & vibration. Tap on Default notification sound and select My sounds. You should see your custom audio file listed here. Select it to set it as the default.

If you want to set a custom sound for a specific app’s notifications, go to the App notifications settings. Find the app and select the notification channel. You can change the sound just for that channel. The custom sound will override the default notification sound when that type of notification is triggered.

Custom sounds allow you to personalize the notification experience on your Android device. You can use your favorite song snippet, a text-to-speech audio clip, or any other sound that fits your preferences. Just be sure to follow the steps to properly save the audio file and assign it to notification channels. For more details, check out this LifeWire guide.

Importance Levels

Notifications in Android have different importance levels that determine their priority and behavior [1]. On Android 8.0 (API level 26) and higher, the importance is set based on the notification channel.

There are five importance levels [2]:

  • IMPORTANCE_NONE (0)
  • IMPORTANCE_MIN (1)
  • IMPORTANCE_LOW (2)
  • IMPORTANCE_DEFAULT (3)
  • IMPORTANCE_HIGH (4)

Notifications with higher importance levels show more prominently and persistently to the user. For example, IMPORTANCE_HIGH notifications might make a sound or pop on as a heads-up display, while IMPORTANCE_MIN notifications do not make a sound or visual intrusion [3].

Troubleshooting

If you are having issues with notification sounds not working properly, here are some troubleshooting steps to try:

Notification Not Playing Sound

First, check that your device volume is turned up and not muted. Go to Settings > Sound and vibration and make sure your notification volume slider is raised and that your phone is not in silent mode.

Next, check the notification settings for the specific app. Open the app’s settings and make sure Sounds is enabled and a notification sound is selected. Some apps allow you to customize notification settings.

You can also try going to Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications and checking that notification sounds are enabled globally. Try toggling the option for “Use system default notification sound” on and off.

If none of those steps work, try clearing the cache and data for the app with the missing notification sound. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps, select the app, and choose Clear cache and Clear storage. This will reset the app’s settings.

As a last resort, you can restart your Android device to clear out any glitches.

Wrong or Custom Sound Not Working

If your selected notification sound is not playing or a custom sound you added is not working, here are some things to check:

Make sure the sound file is supported. Android supports common audio formats like MP3, but not all file types work. Re-encode the sound file if needed.

Confirm the sound file is saved in the proper location. Custom notification sounds must be saved in your Notifications folder, typically internal storage > Ringtones > Notifications.

Check that the custom sound is actually selected for the app’s notifications in the app’s settings.

Try setting it as the default notification sound in system settings. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Advanced > Default notification sound.

Make sure the sound file permissions allow the app to access it. You can confirm this in your file manager.

As a last resort, factory reset your device. This will eliminate any corrupted files or settings issues.

Managing Sounds

You can update the sound for a notification channel at any time after creating it. To change the sound, get the NotificationChannel object using the channel ID, and call setSound() on it with the new Uri for the sound file. Then update the channel on the NotificationManager with createNotificationChannel()

For example:


NotificationChannel channel = notificationManager.getNotificationChannel(channelId);
channel.setSound(Uri.parse("new_sound_file.mp3"), audioAttributes);
notificationManager.createNotificationChannel(channel);

This will change the sound for any new notifications sent on that channel. Existing queued notifications will not have their sound changed.

You can also mute notification channels by calling setSound() with null. For example:


NotificationChannel channel = notificationManager.getNotificationChannel(channelId);
channel.setSound(null, null);
notificationManager.createNotificationChannel(channel);

This will prevent any sound from playing for notifications on that channel. The user can always change the channel back in the system settings.

Conclusion

In summary, the main steps to add custom sound to Android push notifications are:

  1. Create a notification channel for your app if you don’t already have one.
  2. Add your sound files to the app’s internal storage or resources.
  3. When constructing the notification, specify the sound file using setSound().
  4. Make sure to set the appropriate importance level for your notifications.
  5. Send the notification through the notification manager.

For more information on customizing Android notifications, check out the Android documentation on notifications here. You can also find tutorials and open source examples of implementing notification features online.

With the notification channels API, you have granular control over notification behavior in your Android app. Take advantage of options like custom sounds and importance levels to provide a great experience for your users.

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