macOS: Here’s How to Restore the Mac Startup Chime

macOS terminal icon

Are you looking to restore the Mac startup chime? Many newer Macs do away with this feature which was first introduced to Macs in 1999. Bringing it back involves the terminal, but like most simple commands they can be copy/pasted.

Bringing Back The Chime

Open the Terminal and paste this command:

sudo nvram BootAudio=%01

You’ll then have to enter your administrative password.

Restore the mac startup chime in terminal, as pictured here.

If you want to turn the chime off, use this command:

sudo nvram BootAudio=%00

And that’s it.

Further Reading

[macOS: Use Clipboard in Terminal Without a Mouse]

[9 Alternatives for the Apple’s Mac Terminal App]

5 thoughts on “macOS: Here’s How to Restore the Mac Startup Chime

  • I have tried the listed command to turn it on.
    sudo nvram BootAudio=%01
    But unfortunately, did not work on my brand new MBP16, which originally does not sound the startup chime.

    Checked a few other websites, and came across this command to turn the chime on. A little different code. (Credit to YouTube video How to Turn The Mac Startup Sound on

    And IT WORKED!!! Very deep bass startup chime for my new MBP16. LOVE IT!

    sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

    To turn off, use this code:
    sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

    Good Luck!

    1. Okay, something really weird is happening here.
      My MBP16 now sounds the startup chime TWICE…
      At boot up, right after power on, it will chime, saw the Apple logo, and then logo disappears, chimes the second time, and then Apple logo again, and finally continues to boot up after this.

      Maybe I need to ‘undo’ the first code entered using this command?
      sudo nvram BootAudio=%00

      Anyone know what the best to do to only have ONE single chime at startup?

      Meanwhile, I will enter either of the commands to disable the chime, and then entire & turn on only one at a time, at see the outcome.

  • Great, but still not good to reset the PRAM with Option Command P R, since after the first chime, the setting is reset and no second chime is heard! Is there any way to fix that with the new Macs?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.