Fix for Leopard Mail’s broken new mail alert
The new mail alert sound in Mail.app was broken when Leopard was released last year. Three updates later, and it’s still broken.
[UPDATE: In deference to posters in the comments below, I should point out that not everyone experiences this problem. It only affects most/many/some/a few users. Like me.]
Fortunately, there is a work-around which you can use until Apple gets around to fixing the problem. It’s a bit fiddly, but not too forbidding.
First download this zip file from Hawk Wings which contains an applescript and the default “new mail” audio file.
Unzip it, and place the audio file in your ~/Library/Sounds folder (where “~” is shorthand for your user directory).
Then open up the script in place the script in Script Editor. You will see that all it does is execute a shell script — do shell script "afplay /Users/timbo/Library/Sounds/NewMail.aiff > /dev/null 2>&1 &". You will need to edit it to replace the name of my user directory with yours.
Then save it in your ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/Mail folder. If you don’t have such a folder, it’s worth creating one.
Now you need to create a rule in Mail.app that triggers the script whenever a new email arrives.
Open up the Rules pane in Mail’s Preferences:
Create a new rule. Call it something creative like “New Mail Alert Work-around” and fill out the rest as per the screenshot. I like to restrict it to people who are in my list of previous senders–it’s a quick and dirty way to rule out being alerted to the arrival of spam. Obviously, there are other ways to select conditions here which restrict when the alert will be triggered.
Also, in the “Perform the following action” field, you will need to select “Run AppleScript”, then navigate to ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/Mail and select the NewMailAlert.scpt that you saved there earlier.
All done. Send yourself a test email, and rejoice. Mail.app is talking to you again.
For extra spice you could use one of the hundreds of mail alert sounds listed at Email Gifs and Sounds 
(Or perhaps Scully is more your thing?) but have compassion on your work colleagues. That could get really annoying after a while.
[With thanks to the original posters in an Apple Discussion thread ]
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Tags: Apple Mail, Apple Mail Tips, applescript, bugs, leopard mail, mail.app, new mail alert, workarounds
June 9th, 2008 at 1:16 am
On my three macs the new mail sound was newer broken since I upgraded to leopard. Are you sure this isn’t a problem with your specific system? Maybe all the add-ons and hacks did interfere?
June 9th, 2008 at 1:27 am
It’s always possible. Still, when I look at the Apple Discussions, I don’t think that I am alone:
http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?objID=f1223&search=Go&q=new+mail+sound
http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?threadID=&q=new+mail+alert&objID=f1223&dateRange=last90days&userID=&numResults=15&rankBy=10001
June 9th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I second that. I’ve never had an issue with broken sounds in Mail.app
June 9th, 2008 at 1:30 am
What are you talking about? The new mail alert works just fine, and always has. If it is broken on your system it is likely because you broke it. Why would you expect an Apple Update to fix your mess?
June 9th, 2008 at 2:09 am
I should also mention this thread, with its 129 posts and 2,696 views:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1538808
June 9th, 2008 at 2:49 am
For me, the issue wasn’t been limited to the sound but the icon that shows how many new mails in the Mail window and the Dock was also affected. Mine wouldn’t show anything!
The only thing that fixed it was a new OS install on a new HD. An archive previous system folder install didn’t solve the problem.
June 9th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Thank you! I was initially so relieved when I saw that others were having the same problem regardless of the people who do not believe our situation. I appreciate this script and your thorough explanation as this was the first time ever using them.
June 9th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I have not had that problem but since Leopard, my 12″ 1.5 Ghz PB has lost its crunchy emptying trash sound.
June 9th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I experienced the same problem. The solution for me was to uninstall Logitech Control Center; voila, sound was back. I’m never touching Logitech mouse software ever again.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:30 am
omg thank you!!! Right after I got my g5 back from it’s dicidedly bad choice to cool itself directly with the water from its own pipes, I had this problem with mail….. It’s freakin’ nerve racking when the volume is up and a message comes in…. Kinda like a jet airliner meets and scratches a giant blackboard!! I’ll give this a shot and thanks again!!!
June 9th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Hi, chalk me up for someone who has never had a problem with the Mail.app sound since installing Leopard on at least two machines!
June 9th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Thanks for this, it’s been hugely annoying not having a new mail alert since October.
I must say, it’s rather immature for the above posters to blame the problem on users when it’s obvious that we did not disable our new mail alert on purpose. It’s so nice of you guys to assume that we are somehow anti-Apple idiots because we are noting a small bug in their mail program that affects us.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:11 am
I was happy that when I spoke with Apple about this, they at least acknowledged that it was a problem they are working on. Doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult to fix, but time will tell. Thanks for the temp fix. I’ve been using Growl as a workaround ’til now. and to all you naysayers…meh.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
There’s still that little problem that the “new mail” sound goes through the “Output” audio source, not the “System” audio source….
June 10th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
That sounds ugly.
You will have to forgive me — I’m a journalist not a techie. Is it as bad as it sounds? Can anything be done?
June 16th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Me having the very same problem since 10.5.0, including 10.5.3. Otherwise I am a very happy Leopard-camper with no issues whatsoever; and I like Leopard.
So I do think that it is a problem of Leopard Mail. VERY annoying, ridiculous that Apple hasnt been able to fix it, eight months or something after Leopard’s release.
Thanks for letting people know that they are not alone out there w/out notification sounds, I searched twenty times Apple’s discussions (it’s true: SOMETIMES it does work, but there seems to be no pattern, like: Mail in the background, or something), and for providing the script.
June 16th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
May I ask additionally: Would it be worth the effort to throw away com.apple.mail.plist (maybe more? and, accordingly, reconfigure all of your mail accounts, etc) in order to “reset” Mail? Has anyone tried?
When I moved to Leopard from Tiger I did a clean install (though no zero’ing of the harddisk of the Macbook Pro), and then used Migration Assistant to move my data, including mail and Mail’s accounts. Worked well.
I keep wondering if there is some unwanted heritage, or legacy of Tiger’s Mail remaining in my Leopard Mail (‘s prefs), causing the confusion regarding notification. Possible?
June 19th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Lots of people are having this problem. Check it out: http://gimmemyalert.blogspot.com/
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Thanks so much. I had been looking for a solution for a long time but gave up. Then I decided today after updating to 10.5.4 to see if it was fixed. Nope, so I did a google search……and here I was directed.
And to all the others who say that theirs works fine, great, however for many of us it is broke. It is broke on 2 of my MacBook Pros. 1 of which I bought with Leopard on it. The other I upgraded from Tiger and that is when it broke. Apple should have fixed it a while ago.
Thanks again!!!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:07 am
Re Hans Taktmann: I have tried deleting the file that you mention several times, and I have not had any success. Still no new mail sound.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Thanks for posting. Even after a new OS install, I am still having this problem. I followed your steps and still not alert sound, I’m afraid. Any suggestions?
August 8th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Thanks for this. New MB recently (came with 10.5.3) and low and behold… no mail notification. On a rare (like 1 in 1000) it might go off, but that was it.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
@Greg said – “What are you talking about? The new mail alert works just fine, and always has. If it is broken on your system it is likely because you broke it. Why would you expect an Apple Update to fix your mess?”
Greg, when I stuck my nuts in a vice and tightened it, it didn’t hurt me a bit. Therefore, it couldn’t hurt anyone. I recommend you try it.
August 18th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I get the new mail sound, but its totally random and unrelated to whether I have new mail or not. Sometimes I think I have a “no new mail” sound. Is there supposed to be one of those?
Anyway, its broken, and always has been on Leopard. After 4 revisions, I thought it might be fixed, but unfortunately not, luckily I can see the Dock icon and the number on it…
September 16th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I just spent an hour on the phone with an Apple Tech who 1. didn’t mention that this is a wide-spread problem and 2. had no idea how to fix it and 3. wasted an hour of both our time fooling around with stuff I had already tried. Here is the REAL rub – I am on a BRAND NEW MacBook Pro with Apple installed aps from the factory – the Neew Mail Sound never worked right out of the box from the first time it was turned on. Clearly, I didn’t mess it up!
July 13th, 2009 at 2:32 am
Why do you use this applescript? You can select a “play sound” action for the rule in Mail. Or doesn’t it work as well?
August 4th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Thanks – that worked a treat! It’d been driving me mad.
August 6th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
No need for an AppleScript anymore. In the rules you can choose to play a sound now as one of the actions.