Email notification sounds you can play
Below are Peekat’s eight sound packs, from low and soft to high and bright. Each has three sounds: one for new mail, one for a code, and one for someone you chose. Press a pack’s button to hear its three in turn. To change Gmail’s own sound on a computer, pick one under Mail notification sounds in Gmail’s settings, below Desktop notifications.
The eight packs
Thup
A short, low pop with a little weight.
- New mail 0.07 s · ~250 Hz
- A code 0.15 s · ~320 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.27 s · ~380 Hz
Bloop
A soft, low bloop that lifts a little, like a drop into water.
- New mail 0.08 s · ~360 Hz
- A code 0.19 s · ~420 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.31 s · ~450 Hz
Stick
A light stick swished through the air.
- New mail 0.44 s · ~390 Hz
- A code 0.44 s · ~420 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.45 s · ~380 Hz
Kalimba
A kalimba note that rings out gently.
- New mail 1.2 s · ~540 Hz
- A code 1.4 s · ~620 Hz
- Someone you chose 1.6 s · ~670 Hz
Wood
A small wooden block, knocked once.
- New mail 0.11 s · ~670 Hz
- A code 0.21 s · ~700 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.35 s · ~740 Hz
Rise
A round bubble that rises as it pops.
- New mail 0.17 s · ~570 Hz
- A code 0.29 s · ~650 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.46 s · ~700 Hz
Taps
Two soft taps, then a struck tone.
- New mail 0.59 s · ~920 Hz
- A code 0.64 s · ~630 Hz
- Someone you chose 0.68 s · ~760 Hz
Latch
A small switch that clicks into place.
- New mail 0.15 s · ~2.3 kHz
- A code 0.35 s · ~2.4 kHz
- Someone you chose 0.49 s · ~2.9 kHz
Changing the sound for Gmail
- On a computer: in Gmail, the gear → See all settings → General. With desktop notifications on, choose a sound next to Mail notification sounds, or None, then Save Changes. If you hear nothing at all, check that your computer lets the browser play sounds: on a Mac, System Settings → Notifications → your browser → Play sound for notifications; on Windows, Settings → System → Notifications → your browser → Play a sound when a notification arrives.
- In the Gmail app for Android: Menu → Settings → your account → under Notifications, Notification sounds → Email → Sound.
- In the Gmail app for iPhone and iPad: Menu → Settings → Email notifications → Notification sounds.
Source: Google: Change Gmail notifications, read October 30, 2026.
How Peekat uses these sounds
Peekat Email is a free browser extension for Gmail. Only what would notify you makes a sound: new mail in Primary, a code or sign-in link, and people you chose. The rest arrives silently, in the list and the counts.
- Pick a pack, or your computer’s own sound, in Peekat’s settings. Peekat starts with your computer’s sound where the browser can play it, and with Stick where it can’t, as in Chrome and Edge on a Mac.
- Several new messages within a minute make one sound, not several.
- Someone you mark Always notify is heard even with Peekat’s sounds off.
- Pause or quiet hours silence everything, until you resume or they end.
Your own sound files are not supported yet.
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