How to Change Windows 11 System Sounds

This article explains how to change Windows 11's system sounds. Windows lets you change the default sounds to anything you'd like.

How to Change Windows 11 System Sounds

Despite its updates, Windows 11 doesn't significantly change how you manage system sounds when compared to Windows 10. Here's how to change Windows 11's system sounds.

1. Open Windows Start.

2. Select the Settings app.

3. Tap Sound.

   There's two alternative ways to access Sound Settings.

   • Perform a Windows Search for sound. Tap Sound Settings, which should appear as the first result.
   • Right-click the small speaker icon in the Windows taskbar. Tap Sound Settings.

4. Scroll down to Advanced and tap More sound settings.

5. This will open the Sound settings window. Tap the Sounds tab.

6. This tab displays a list of Program Events. Select the event you want to change.

7. Once the event is selected, you'll find new drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.

   You can select the drop-down menu to browser available sounds.

   Alternatively, you can tap Browse and navigate File Explorer to add custom sounds. The sound must be a WAV file. Select the file and select Open.

8. Once finished, tap OK to save your settings.

Most Windows 11 system sounds can be changed in this menu. In fact, you'll notice many possible program events don't have a system sound assigned to them by default, giving you the chance to further customize Windows.

How to Turn Off Windows 11 Startup Sound

There is one key option that is missing, however. The Windows Startup sound, also known as the start sound or boot sound. This is the sound that plays when Windows starts. Windows 11 does not include an option to change the Windows 11 startup sound.

You can turn it off, however, by unchecking the Play Windows Startup sound checkbox in the Sound settings window.

How to Turn Off Windows 11 System Sounds

Follow the steps one through five at the beginning of this guide to open the Sound settings window and navigate to the Sounds tab.

1. Select the drop-down menu labelled Sound Scheme near the top of the Sound settings window.

2. Select No Sounds from the drop-down menu.

3. Tap OK to close the window and save your settings.

How Do I Change My Windows 11 Sound Scheme?

A Sound Scheme is a collection of sound settings related to Program Events which are saved as a group and can be selected as a group. Creating multiple Sound Scheme lets you switch between groups of sounds without manually changing each sound individually.

To begin, follow steps one through five at the beginning of this guide to open the Sound settings window.

1. To save a new Sound Scheme, tap the Save As... button next to the Sound Scheme drop-down menu.

2. Type in a name for your sound scheme and then tap OK.

3. The Sound Scheme will now appear in the drop-down menu. You can activate it by selecting it in the drop-down menu.

4. Once finished, tap OK to save your settings and close the window.

The option to customize Windows' sound settings is a great way to personalize your PC. If you ever become tired of your customize, though, you can change your PC back to its original Windows 11 sounds by selecting Windows Default as your Sound Scheme.