How to make a Mac flash the screen for alerts
2 min read · 3 steps · Updated 4 October 2026
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Audio, and switch on Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs. The screen then flashes when you receive an alert, so you notice it with the sound off or without hearing it.
- Device
- Mac
- Shown on
- macOS Tahoe 26
- App
- System Settings
- Path
- System Settings › Accessibility › Audio
- Real screenshots
- 3 of 3 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 1 official, linked below
The alert sound of a Mac is easy to miss with the volume down, with headphones off, or if you do not hear well. A flash of the whole screen is a visible signal for the same moment.
The screenshots show System Settings on macOS Tahoe 26.
Step by step
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.
Click Accessibility, then Audio
Accessibility is in the sidebar. Audio is the first row of the Hearing group on the right.
Switch on Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs
It is the first switch on the page. In the picture it is off.
Good to know
The switch below it, Play stereo audio as mono, helps when you hear with one ear: how to play stereo sound as mono on a Mac.
In short: System Settings, Accessibility, Audio, Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs.
Links checked on 3 October 2026. Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.