Some Snapchat Users Have Noticed That Their Notification Sounds Are Different
Samsung users have noticed a persistent issue with their Snapchat notifications.
Published July 26 2024, 10:38 a.m. ET
![A snapchat logo on a phone screen with a finger.](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/480x251/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/640x335/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/768x402/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/1024x536/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/1280x670/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/1440x753/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/1600x837/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/BtjLgdEah/2160x1130/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-1-1722003323621.jpg 2160w)
One of the things any great app does is teach its users how to use it. Thanks to the right combination of features, we become habituated to a certain way of behaving on any given platform, and it can be a surprise when the platform seems to change things up on us.
Some Snapchat users have found themselves in that very situation after discovering that the notification sounds on the app are suddenly different. These users want to understand why that change happened, and if there's a way to fix it.
![A full screen Snapchat logo on a phone.](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/480x252/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/640x335/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/768x402/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/1024x536/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/1280x670/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/1440x754/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/1600x838/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/ISecmaTal/2160x1131/why-did-my-snapchat-notification-sound-change-2-1722003327101.jpg 2160w)
Why did my Snapchat notification sound change?
The issue with the notification sounds changing for Snapchat seems largely confined to Samsung users, specifically those with more recent Samsung phones.
If you recently changed phones or have a Samsung, you may have noticed that your Snapchat notification sounds have switched off of the defaults for the app, and to the phone's default notification sound. For many users, this is a significant issue, as they've become incredibly familiar with the app's normal sounds.
This issue seems to be caused by a Samsung app called Smart Switch which allows you to easily port over all of your contacts and apps from an old device to a new one. For some reason, one of the defaults in that app is to replace app-specific notification sounds with the default noise for the phone itself. Naturally, many users now want to know if they can get their old notification sounds back.
Is there a way to change the notification sound back?
There is no change in settings that will allow you to get your old notification sound back, but most users have found that simply uninstalling and reinstalling the Snapchat app should do the trick. For whatever reason, the version of the app that Smart Switch installed will default to your phone notification sound, but if you reinstall it, you will get the Snapchat-specific notification sounds back.
While this may seem like a relatively minor issue to some, Snapchat's specific notification sounds are an integral part of how many people use the app, and there was a whole subset of people for whom it was becoming a major issue. Thankfully, this reinstalling approach seems to be largely foolproof. If you still have issues, though, it seems like Samsung is actually the company you should work with.
Although it doesn't receive the same number of headlines as a platform like TikTok, Snapchat has been able to maintain a loyal user base amid the turmoil that has come with social media in recent years. And, because it has a slightly lower profile than many of its competitors, it doesn't always seem to be in the middle of political turmoil.
Instead, its users simply keep coming back to the app because of the specific experience it gives them, and notification sounds are clearly part of that experience. Now, hopefully, they can have those notification sounds back.