How to bring back the iconic Mac startup chime
The iconic played when you power up your computer had been around since 1998, but Apple disabled it in 2016 beginning with that year’s MacBook Pro refresh. But thanks to a newly discovered Terminal command, you can enable the sound on macOS Catalina at any time, and our step-by-step tutorial shows you how.
Re-enabling the
The late-2016 MacBook Pro models outfitted with a Touch Bar marked the first Apple computer models in years to arrive without the iconic startup tone, the most likely reasoning being that the machine automatically starts up when opened so it doesn’t really need audio feedback when the user presses the power button.
The late-2016 MacBook Pro shipped with the startup chime disabled.
A Terminal command to reinstate the chime on the TouchBar MacBook Pro models was discovered shortly following the notebook’s release. Unfortunately, the simple command stopped working in later macOS updates for reasons unknown.
Thankfully, a new Terminal command was discovered by a South Carolina student and developer which brings back the iconic startup chord. Best of all, it appears to work on most (but not all) Mac models and macOS versions.
WHAT THE HECK THIS WORKS????????????
Run sudo nvram StartupMute=%00@9to5mac @Appleinsider https://t.co/zAw0yCPwbA
— ????? (@DylanMcD8) February 21, 2020
Follow along with our quick step-by-step tutorial included right ahead to learn how you can enable the at disable it at will.
How to enable the
You can re-enable the using the following Terminal command which, in a nutshell, serves to edit an NVRAM value determining whether the computer should play startup sounds:
1) Launch the Terminal app on your Mac from the Applications/Utilities folder or use Spotlight to quickly find and launch the app.
2) Enter the following Terminal command to re-enable the , then hit Return (enter your password if required):
sudo nvram StartupMute=%00
To disable the , execute this command in the Terminal window:
command sudo nvram StartupMute=%01
The has been an iconic signature of Apple computers over the years — it’s even a registered trademark in the United States.
TUTORIAL: How to reset NVRAM on your Mac
To be perfectly honest, we’re unsure exactly why Apple has disabled it by default, but here’s hoping that the new Terminal command will stick around longer than the previous one.
A brief history of the
The plays before macOS starts booting to indicate to the user that the machine has successfully passed hardware diagnostic tests run immediately at startup.
TUTORIAL: The different macOS startup tones and the problems they indicate
The specific chord played varies from one Mac model to another, but they’re all similar to the first square-wave beep tone used on the first three Macintosh models.
Jim Reekes, who did the startup chime used for the Quadra 700 through the Quadra 800:
The startup sound was done in my home studio on a Korg Wavestation EX. It’s a C major chord, played with both hands stretched out as wide as possible (with third at the top, if I recall).
Later iterations of the startup chime included a “bong” chord, an F major chord that produces a “ding” sound and several other versions that were used in different periods.
The MacBook Pro now automatically powers on or wakes from sleep when you open the lid.
The that we’ve come to know and love today is an enhanced version of the startup tone that first appears in the iMac G3 model released in 1998. It was produced by pitch-shifting the startup sound of the Macintosh Quadra 840AV model.
Apple notes in a support document which Mac computers support the startup tone:
Mac models from early 2016 and earlier make a chime sound when they start up. Mac models from late 2016 and newer don’t have a startup chime, with the exception of MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017).
TUTORIAL: All the ways you can start up your Mac
The support document makes no mention of the above Terminal command. In other words, the command appears to be an undocumented feature after all, meaning it could easily be removed from future macOS updates (obviously something you’d want to keep in mind).
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Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2020/02/24/enable-mac-startup-chime-tutorial/
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