How to turn your Mac startup chime back on

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  • Reply 21 of 42

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness

    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    dysamoria
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  • Reply 22 of 42
    dinkydogs said:

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness

    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    thanks, so it means that is my personal catalina bug or related to my mbp model or who knows what.

    worth me calling support perhaps
    dysamoria
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  • Reply 23 of 42
    dinkydogs said:

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness
    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    I've honestly never understood why people waste energy on a lit up keyboard that (to me) is only a distraction.

    Don't most people have all characters in muscle memory…?
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  • Reply 24 of 42
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    That’s pretty cool. Hope it sticks around.
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  • Reply 25 of 42
    No need to up (down?) grade to Catalina. works on my Mojave 10.14.6. 
    Nice nostalgia, but nowadays I rarely reboot. Just close the cover to lock screen. Unlock with Watch - usually.
    Sounds different from the classic Mac. Not as deep and clear. HiFi? ;-)

    as for no keyboard light at login. You probably have filevault enabled. The only solution I've found is turnoff filevault. I'd also love a fix
    that allows both. 

    I have a strong password and weak fingers. I need to see what I'm typing in a dark room. Especially since I usually unlock with watch or touchID.


    dysamoriacaladaniansmayer97
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  • Reply 26 of 42
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    svanstrom said:
    dinkydogs said:

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness
    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    I've honestly never understood why people waste energy on a lit up keyboard that (to me) is only a distraction.

    Don't most people have all characters in muscle memory…?
    Most people? Probably not. I’m mostly a touch-typist, and I find it surprising how many people complain that I type fast when chatting. It’s still very helpful to be able to see where the home row is, rather than feeling around for the marks, and it’s very helpful for keys that aren’t memorized as part of typing.
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  • Reply 27 of 42
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    Strange, I have this terrible sound on my 2009 iMac from Snow Leopard to Catalina, and cannot get rid of it.
    I have to (remember to) set sound to mute, every time I reboot or turn the Mac off.
    Luckily my Mac is almost alway on. 
    I hope this command can also disable it permanently?
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  • Reply 28 of 42
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,559moderator
    knowitall said:
    Strange, I have this terrible sound on my 2009 iMac from Snow Leopard to Catalina, and cannot get rid of it.
    I have to (remember to) set sound to mute, every time I reboot or turn the Mac off.
    Luckily my Mac is almost alway on. 
    I hope this command can also disable it permanently?
    On older Macs, you can disable the startup chime with the following command:

    sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=" "

    This should work ok across reboots but that one seems to reset if an audio device like headphones are plugged in or unplugged and the command has to be reapplied.
    caladanian
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  • Reply 29 of 42
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,575member
    svanstrom said:
    I've honestly never understood why people waste energy on a lit up keyboard that (to me) is only a distraction.
    That's not surprising, seeing as how you're distracted by an illuminated keyboard, which actual touch typists almost never see. So try not to get further distracted by those who appreciate a lighted keyboard.

    I am not a touch typist, same as most people, who are merely keyboarding. Since I'm probably 75-80% touch typing, an illuminated keyboard is welcome.

    I know people who are actual touch typists and type in the 90-120+WMP range, with no errors. With.No.Errors. That means not corrected for allowed errors. It means not making any in the first place. They are also looking at the "work" - the material they're transcribing and not the screen, watching what they type, as they type.

    Now that's muscle memory for all keys. It's fascinating to see the slower typist use Mac key combinations for special characters faster than self-proclaimed wannabes use only standard keys. So yeah, it's lighted keyboards for me.
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  • Reply 30 of 42

    svanstrom said:
    dinkydogs said:

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness
    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    I've honestly never understood why people waste energy on a lit up keyboard that (to me) is only a distraction.

    Don't most people have all characters in muscle memory…?

    For me, I like the way the keyboard looks when lit up and it's not a distraction to me because it's not that bright. While I do have the letters in muscle memory when typing, I know a lot of people that type with one finger and have to look at the keyboard when they type so having the keys lit up is beneficial to them.
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  • Reply 31 of 42
    mpantone said:
    LOL, now there is finally a reasonable appeal to updating to Catalina.

    But no, I think I will stay at Mojave...

     :D 
    We know why you stay at Mojave. Because 32-bit apps continue to run. It's a big deal. Chiming? Not so much.
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  • Reply 32 of 42
    In case you want to hear the chime of all your previous Macs, simply download the MacTracker app for iOS. Open a model and tap the icon at the top.

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  • Reply 33 of 42
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,617member
    Yay! Works on my late 2016 15" MacBook Pro.
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  • Reply 34 of 42
    It did not work on my 15" 2016 MBP (2.9 GHz i7). I am really bummed by that
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  • Reply 35 of 42
    neilmneilm Posts: 1,004member
    fahlman said:
    Didn't work on my MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) :'(
    Works on mine, same model.
    Requires Catalina.
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  • Reply 36 of 42
    neilm said:
    Works on mine, same model.
    Requires Catalina.
    No, it does NOT require Catalina. It does work on Mojave 10.14.6. I can confirm.
    Tested on 2 machines:

    MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

    MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)

    It works on both, so far. 

    Obviously configuration voodoo is at work. That's the problem with unofficial hacks. Nothing's guaranteed 

    smayer97
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  • Reply 37 of 42
    dinkydogs said:
    For me, I like the way the keyboard looks when lit up and it's not a distraction to me because it's not that bright. While I do have the letters in muscle memory when typing, I know a lot of people that type with one finger and have to look at the keyboard when they type so having the keys lit up is beneficial to them.
    I hated my old MacBook Air 11" with unlit keyboard. With ultra low contrast dark gray letters on black, that got worse with age and dirt, it was near impossible to read in any light. 
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  • Reply 38 of 42
    Confirmed on iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) running Mojave 10.14.6 (not Catalina).  Huzzah!
    smayer97wtxnitz
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  • Reply 39 of 42
    dinkydogs said:

    svanstrom said:
    dinkydogs said:

    that is nice, however is there a command that turns on the damn keyboard backlight prior to login.

    pre-catalina you could see the keys to type in a password, now... darkness
    My keyboard backlight has always turned on prior to the login screen and i'm on catalina
    I've honestly never understood why people waste energy on a lit up keyboard that (to me) is only a distraction.

    Don't most people have all characters in muscle memory…?

    For me, I like the way the keyboard looks when lit up and it's not a distraction to me because it's not that bright. While I do have the letters in muscle memory when typing, I know a lot of people that type with one finger and have to look at the keyboard when they type so having the keys lit up is beneficial to them.
    Do they still actually teach typing in schools, or is it assumed that kids learn it by themselves?
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  • Reply 40 of 42
    Actually, I identified the EARLIEST post on this (AFAICT) as from this source on Reddit:
    https://i.reddit.com/r/macpro/comments/er3th0/does_the_2019_model_have_a_startup_chime/

    It goes back to approximately mid-Jan 2020. It does not give an absolute date, only relative date of “1 month ago”.
    “SINdicate 1 point 1 month ago

    Wild guess: sudo nvram StartupMute=%100”

    It does reportedly work on some Macs running Mojave...so not only for Catalina.

    BTW, to disable this feature, there are several ways:
    sudo nvram -d StartupMute
    reset PRAM on startup (CMD-OPT-P-R on startup)
    unplug your desktop Mac, which will also reset PRAM (not all models).
    edited February 2020
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