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Mail and Message alert sounds and banners don't work when external display is connected to MacBook Pro 16"

I just bought a MacBook Pro 16" which I use in conjunction with an external monitor by plugging both into a CalDigit TS3+ Dock. I used the MacBook Pro for a few days while I waited for an HDMI > DisplayPort adapter to arrive, and everything was working fine. When I plugged in the external monitor, for some reason, the alert sounds and alert banners for the Mail and Messages app did not happen when the external monitor was plugged in. Disconnect the monitor, the sound play and the banners appear. Plug it back in, they don't work?

I tried resetting NVRAM, SMC, re-starting a million times. I checked and re-checked Sound Preferences, Mail Preferences and Audio Midi Setup. I spent an hour on the phone with a "higher level" Apple tech Support person. Nothing.

What to do?

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Nov 5, 2020 9:09 PM

Top-ranking reply

jessespringer Author

Level 1

11 points

Posted on Nov 5, 2020 9:18 PM

Ok, I don't know if this is kosher, but I actually have the answer to this problem already, so I am going to answer my own question. The main reason I am doing this so that there is a searchable record of the problem and the solution in case someone else encounters the same problem.

After spending hours combing Apple Communities posts, StackExchange and a blizzard of other posts that might help me find some solution, I came across the answer. For whatever reason, when the external monitor is connected to the MacBook Pro, it somehow hijacks the alerts (sounds and banners) for Mail and Messages. The way to solve the problem is to make the external monitor the "primary display". Here's how to do it.

- Open system Preferences > Displays > Arrangement. I was mirroring my screens. In order to do this you have to de-select “Mirror Displays”. You can go back and check it when it’s done.

- The white "menu bar” appears above the “primary display". The default “primary display” for me was the MacBook Pro Display. Click and drag the white menu bar to the top of the other monitor (external display).

- Now the external monitor is the “main display”. The Mail and Message sounds work properly now. I went ahead and checked “Mirror Displays” and everything still works!

Thanks for listening,

Jesse

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Mail and Message alert sounds and banners don't work when external display is connected to MacBook Pro 16"

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