If you have an iPhone, there are a few ways to change the notification sounds. This includes changing the default sound for your phone, or setting up a custom notification sound. To change the default sound for your iPhone, open the Settings app and select General. In the General section, select Sound & Notification. Under Sound, select which sound to use as your default. If you want to set a custom notification sound, open the Music app and select Add New Track. In the Name field, enter a name for your custom notification sound. For example, “My Custom Notification Sound.” Once you’ve added your custom notification sound to Music, it will be added to your list of sounds in Settings as well.


One of the worst things about modern smartphones being dominated by Apple and Samsung is that almost everyone’s phone sounds the same. Any time I’m out in public and I hear Apple’s default text tone I instantly reach for my pocket. If you’re in a similar situation, here’s how to change the tone so you aren’t quite as confused.

While you can’t change the notification sounds of most third-party apps on iOS, you can change a lot of the default system sounds, such as the noise your iPhone makes when it rings, you get a new text message, voicemail, or email, you get a calendar event or reminder alert, or you send an email or file through AirDrop.

Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics on an iPhone 7 or later. It’s Settings > Sounds on any device older than a 6S.

Select the sound you want to change. I’m going with Text Tone for this example.

RELATED: How to Add Custom Ringtones to Your iPhone

iOS comes with lots of alert tones built in, and you can also add your own custom ones. Tap on any tone to select it and hear how it sounds. I like Synth, so I’m going to use it.

Repeat the process for any of the other default sounds you want to change. Now whenever you hear one of the default “dings” in public, you can safely ignore it.