How to Enable Visual Alerts on Ubuntu Linux

This article explains how to turn on or off visual alerts on Ubuntu Linux.

Why use this? Your Ubuntu Linux computer uses sound to notify you when something happens. If you cannot hear these sounds or prefer not to use them, visual alerts help by showing a light signal instead.

What happens when done? Your screen or window will flash whenever a system alert occurs, giving you a clear visual sign.

Your Ubuntu Linux computer, by default, will play a sound when you get a user or system alert. System alerts are there to notify you when something is wrong or when an event occurs.

You can enable visual alerts if your computer does not have speakers. This is also useful when the system sound is disabled or the volume is turned off so you do not disturb others in quiet places, like a library.

Turn on or off visual alerts on Ubuntu Linux

Your computer can flash the entire screen or the current window when an alert sound happens. Here is how to change this in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.

Ubuntu Linux keeps most settings in one place. You can find them in the Settings panel.

To get to Settings, open the Activities overview and start typing Settings.

Alternatively, click on the System menu at the top-right corner of your desktop. Select Settings from the menu.

In the Settings app, click on Accessibility on the left menu.

In the Accessibility settings, look for the Hearing section. Select the Visual Alerts tile to open it.

On the Visual Alerts window, turn the switch to the On position. Pick how you want the alert to look:

• Flash the entire window.
• Flash the entire screen.

To turn it off, simply flip the switch back to the Off position.

How to test your settings

You can see if your settings are working by triggering a test sound. Open your terminal and type the following command:

canberra-gtk-play –id=bell

Press Enter. If visual alerts are on, your screen or window will flash immediately.

That should do it!

Reference:

https://help.ubuntu.com/stable/ubuntu-help/a11y-visualalert.html.en

Conclusion:

Enabling visual alerts on Ubuntu Linux is helpful if you have no speakers or are in a quiet room. You can find these settings under Accessibility and the Hearing section. You can choose to flash a window or the whole screen. You can turn this off just as easily whenever you like.