Temporary and Permanent Methods to Mute Mac Startup Sound

The standard startup chime typically plays automatically when you power on your Apple computer, open the lid of a newer MacBook Air or Pro, or restart it. This gentle sound serves as a notification that your Mac is booting up and will be ready shortly. However, it might not be suitable in quiet environments like libraries, classrooms, or conference rooms. Disabling the Mac startup sound for future boots is straightforward. You can permanently turn off the startup sound on your Mac using Terminal commands or temporarily do so by adjusting the audio settings.

How to Temporarily Mute the Mac Startup Sound

The volume your Mac was at when it was last turned off determines the volume of the startup chime. On a brand new Mac, the startup sound is set to its maximum volume. To prevent the startup sound from playing, you can mute the volume before shutting down.

There are two ways to temporarily mute your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro or reduce the volume.

Method 1: Mute the Mac Startup Sound with the Mute Key

Here's the first method to turn off the Mac startup sound:

To completely mute your Mac's boot sound and any other sounds, press the "F10" key (sometimes referred to as the "Mute key") on your keyboard.

Method 2: Temporarily Turn Off the Mac Startup Sound via Preferences

Here's the second method to temporarily turn off the Mac startup sound:

Step 1. Click on the upper left corner of the desktop screen to open the "Apple menu."

Step 2. On the screen, you will find a drop-down menu. Proceed to access this menu and choose "System Preferences..."

Step 3. An additional window will open. In this new window, select "Sound."

Step 4. Next, select the "Sound Effects" option from the top menu bar. After that, uncheck the box for "Play sound on startup."

Step 5. You can also change the "output volume" by simply dragging the cursor over the volume range on the same screen.

Also read: How to Fix the Sound Not Working on MacBook Pro and Air

How to Permanently Turn Off Mac Startup Sound

Even if you set the volume to the lowest when shutting down, if you want to permanently disable the startup sound so that it doesn't play during boot, you'll need to use a terminal command. It's quite simple to permanently turn off the Mac startup sound using the Terminal app on your Mac.

Refer to the steps below to learn how to disable the startup sound permanently using the Terminal:

Step 1. Open the Terminal app from Launchpad -> Others -> Terminal. Alternatively, you can open Spotlight search by pressing Command + Space, then type "Terminal" and press the Return key.

Step 2. In the terminal window, type the following command:

"sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80" translates to "Run the command 'sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80' in English, which sets the system audio volume to 80% using the nvram command with superuser privileges."

Step 3. When prompted, enter your "password" and press Return. You won't hear the sound until you restart your Mac.

Step 4. Run the following "command" to revert your changes and restore the startup chime to its default state the next time your Mac boots:

sudo nvram -d SystemAudioVolume

Conclusion

You can lower the volume to muffle the startup sound. Moreover, you can choose a subtle tone for your startup chime. To completely eliminate the nuisance, disabling the Mac startup sound altogether would be your best option.