Startup Chime – How to Restore Boot Sound on MacBook Pro

bootmacbook promacosstartup

I'm one of the lucky (?) guys who managed to get a new MacBook Pro 2016 (the version that introduced the Touch Bar).

This MBP model does not have a boot chime by default.

There are documented ways to enable it, specifically going to Terminal.app and typing in:

sudo nvram BootAudio=%01

Unfortunately for me, this fix does not work on my own machine. Other people have noticed this as well. My guess is that it's a firmware fix or enhancement that got rid of BootAudio as an option.

Does anyone know a different option to re-enable the startup chime?

Best Answer

Consider trying this out:

  1. Launch Terminal.app and type the following command:

    sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

  2. If prompted enter the admin password.

  3. Quit the Terminal app..

  4. Make sure the volume is up before you restart your Mac.

  5. Restart your Mac.

You should hear a F-sharp chord sound when your Mac boots up.

If you wish to disable it, follow the same steps as above and type the following command instead:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

Tested on a 16" 2019 MacBook Pro running macOS Catalina 10.15.3

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