How to Set Up Visual Alerts for Audio Notifications on Windows 10 and 11
Windows often uses audio alerts to let you know that something has happened. But what if you cannot hear these notifications due to hearing problems or when facing certain situations?
You’ll be glad to know that Windows also allows the use of visual cues or text instead of audio notifications. Read on to explore how you can set visual alerts for Windows notifications.
Facing Problems Hearing Windows' Notifications? Use Visual Alerts Instead
Windows comes with a lot of audio-only alerts which may go over the head of someone who can’t hear them. For example, Windows has little chimes that play when you connect or eject a USB drive, or whena USB port is not working. You can also hear them when you receive a desktop mail notification, or a low or critical battery alert.
Other alerts you may have experienced could bewhen a mouse freezes or malfunctions, a keyboard is incompatible, or when a Windows system error occurs.
Undoubtedly these notifications are useful, especially when you need to attend to something urgently. But what if you can’t hear these audio notifications? What if you or a loved one have a hearing problem?
Also, you won’t be able to hear notifications if you are outside in an environment that is too noisy. Or you could be in a place where you need to keep your Windows device muted so that you don’t disturb others, like a library.
However, even if you can’t hear the notifications, you can see them by setting up visual alerts on your PC screen instead of Windows sounds. Visual alerts are easy to set up and can be done in three ways.
How to Set Up Visual Alerts via the Settings on Windows 10
Setting up visual alerts from Windows 10 Settings is a breeze. Here’s how:
How to Set Visual Alerts From Settings on Windows 11
You’ll find only a few differences when settings visual alerts on Windows 11. Let’s explore the steps.
How to Set Visual Alerts Through the Control Panel on Windows 10 and 11
If you prefer to use the Control Panel to set visual alerts, here’s how to do it on Windows 10 and 11.
You will see four options underChoose visual warning. The default setting isNone, so you’ll want to set it to one of the other options:Flash active caption bar,Flash active window, andFlash desktop.
Here, theFlash active caption baris the same as theFlash title bar of the active window, andFlash desktopsignifiesFlash the entire screen—the options you get while usingSettings. Choose the option you want to use for visual alerts for notifications.
If you want to turn on text captions, check the box next toTurn on text captions for spoken dialog.
How to Set Visual Alerts via the Registry Editor on Windows 10 and 11
The Registry Editor is a tool where you can view and change the settings in the system registry. You should be cautious while editing the registry and it would be agood idea to enable automatic registry backups. If something goes wrong, you can restore Windows to normal with a good backup.
The Registry Editor is another place from where it’s possible to set visual alerts for notifications. Let’s see how.
If you ever want to disable visual alerts, just put the Flags value as 2 and the Windows Effect as 0.
Stay Alert With Visual Notifications on Windows
Don’t let hearing problems or situations stop you from being notified. Use visual cues instead of Windows sounds to stay alert and updated.
Moreover, setting visual alerts could also be handy if you don’t like getting disturbed while enjoying a song or YouTube video on your Windows PC.
Are Windows 11’s notifications not doing it for you? Here’s how to customize them.
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