Changing app alert tones is a great way to help you distinguish between notifications on your iPhone. That way you know if you’re receiving a text, email or some other important notification without taking your phone out of your pocket. While it was always possible to change tones for certain iPhone apps and alerts, you couldn’t change the device’s general alert notification until Apple released iOS 17.2 in 2023.
After the release of iOS 17, iPhone users complained online about Apple changing the default alert tone. Some said the new alert tone wasn’t loud enough to wake them up if their security system went off, and one person said they relied on an older tone to alert them about care responsibilities for their parents. Now, you can change the default tone to better suit your needs.
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Here’s how to change your iPhone’s default notification tone.
Easily change your default alert tone
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
3. Tap Default Alerts.
From Default Alerts, you can preview and select familiar-sounding alerts, like Tri-tone, or explore older tones (like Bell) by tapping Classic near the bottom of the menu. You can also choose None, which will silence your alert tone but leave your haptic alert (the vibration pattern for an alert) on.
Near the top of the menu, there’s also an option to change your Haptic alerts. Tap Haptics and you’ll be taken to a new menu.
Here you can choose vibration patterns like Accent (a short, single vibration) or SOS, which vibrates SOS in Morse code. If you choose Synchronized, the default option, your haptics and alert tone will work in tandem. If you don’t want a vibration, you can choose None.
There’s also an option to create a custom vibration pattern. Tap Create New Vibration in the Haptics menu, and you’ll be taken to a screen that reads, «Tap to create a vibration pattern.» You can tap quickly on your screen to make a short vibration pattern or press and hold to make a longer, single vibration. When you’re finished, tap Save, then name your pattern and it automatically gets selected as your default alert haptic.
For more iOS news, here’s my review of iOS 26, how to enable call and text screening in the OS and all the new ringtones on your iPhone. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet
