Not so. My late 2012 Mac mini will chime through my Harman Kardon sound system (headphone jack) or through headphones (connected via a USB iMic).
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2017 iMac Owners - They killed the chime???
- Thread starter camresu
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I did a test... and you were right, and I was utterly wrong! And actually I'm now quite impressed by the volume and bass of the little in-built speaker!
I no longer have chimes on the new 2017 iMac. Apple says that it should have chimes. I have gone round and round with tech support - they concluded that I must have a hardware problem. Either we all have hardware problems or Apple tech support needs to be educated.
The latter. Apple actually officially killed the chime last November with the Late 2016 MacBook Pro. The startup tone is dead.
NY Magazine posted an interesting article in November where they discussed the chime's demise with its creator.
I've been setting up new 2017 iMacs for faculty at work and noticed the lack of a startup chime. Some Googling led me to this thread.
WHY, Apple, WHY? I mean, you can debate whether it was *necessary* or not, but you can't deny that it's a long standing tradition that Macs have a startup chime. The chime goes all the way back to the first Macintosh, and before that to the Apple ][ with autostart ROM (1978) when it was a simple beep. That's 39 years of Apple tradition, now gone. And it's not even a feature that's hard to implement or adds anything to the cost of the machine.
This makes me sad. I'll probably get over it in a few but still. They really should have kept this around.
WHY, Apple, WHY? I mean, you can debate whether it was *necessary* or not, but you can't deny that it's a long standing tradition that Macs have a startup chime. The chime goes all the way back to the first Macintosh, and before that to the Apple ][ with autostart ROM (1978) when it was a simple beep. That's 39 years of Apple tradition, now gone. And it's not even a feature that's hard to implement or adds anything to the cost of the machine.
This makes me sad. I'll probably get over it in a few but still. They really should have kept this around.
Watch my lips.
BUYERS DON'T WANT IT PERIOD. That is why apps to mute have been so popular. Tradition goes nowhere with computer users. Now if it started in 1244 that would be tradition.
BUYERS DON'T WANT IT PERIOD. That is why apps to mute have been so popular. Tradition goes nowhere with computer users. Now if it started in 1244 that would be tradition.
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Sadly I was unable to restore a startup chime on my 2017 iMac. I will forever miss that boomy chime that came through the huge great iMac base heavy speaker upon booting up. Had no luck with bootaudio using nvram command via Terminal.
I can never understand why normies users would care about the chime, it is not like they ever shut down and reboot their Macs instead of closing and waking it back up by the lid.
The startup chime is essential in confirming the computer is actually starting up while trouble shooting. On my iMac 2017 I had a short freak out of not being able to boot after RAM installation, and I got no chime no screen no fan until like a minute before the grey Apple screen shows.
The chime should have remained the factory default, and continues the ability to be muted, perhaps with a more user accessible way like Sys Pref/Energy.
The startup chime is essential in confirming the computer is actually starting up while trouble shooting. On my iMac 2017 I had a short freak out of not being able to boot after RAM installation, and I got no chime no screen no fan until like a minute before the grey Apple screen shows.
The chime should have remained the factory default, and continues the ability to be muted, perhaps with a more user accessible way like Sys Pref/Energy.
It could have been parameterised, defaulting to off. Personally, I miss it--32 years of Macs making either beeping or bonging noises at boot are arguably a tradition.
Thanks for posting this because I've just been wondering why my new iMac doesn't chime. The noise is a bit of a nuisance when I start up in the morning (in case it wakes hubby) but sometimes you need to hold down certain keys (after hearing the startup bong) while you restart your Mac. How do you know when to press the keys if you can't hear the chime? This is my first new Mac in over 20 years (all others have been second-hand, generally from TradeMe) so I'm naturally very excited.
The screen will change from totally black to grey. It's subtle but easy to see if you're looking for it.
Hit the keys the moment that change occurs.
Mine isn't. It goes from black to eventually a login or the windows circle. Maybe I just have the screen too dark?
Yes, I would venture to guess that if you raised the brightness to about 85% or higher it will be easy for you to see.
Reducing ambient light may also be helpful.
Finding out the loss of the boot chime on the new iMacs makes me happier knowing that I got the late 2015 instead of the 2017. I'm someone who has been using Apple products since the 80's and there are just little things about apple computers that have set them apart from standard PCs. For years the Apple OS was always the best for people with special needs,vision, hearing , etc. Now Linux, and Windows, have gotten quite a bit better, so the reasons I've stuck with apple for computers isn't like it used to be in years past. I have to say that I still like Apple mobile devices, and macOS is still a nice OS, but for a desktop computer, I've started considering laving the mac and going with a typical PC now. I will probably use the current iMac I have until I can't anymore then switch. The only pain will be is investing in new software for a different platform.
Thanks. I will try to remember that. On my 2008 8-core Mac Pro I had to buy Boom just so I could get a decent level of sound on some CDs recorded at a low level, and I often forgot to turn Boom down afterwards, which meant the Mac's chime on booting for the day (usually around 6am) was fit to waken the dead, never mind sleepers.
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I've been using Macs since the 80s too (1 May 1986 to be exact—MacPlus). I wouldn't know where to start if I bought a Windows machine. There is so much cheap junk out there. Then there is the nightmare of learning to look after the machine. Most of my friends go running to Techies when they have software problems.
There's no need to wait for a change from black to gray on the screen. The chime/chord was eliminated because originally it was a signal that the POST (power-on self-test) was finished and you could now press startup key combinations, etc. POST is now so fast that there's no need to wait for a signal. Press the power button, then you can immediately press your startup key combinations.
With a wired keyboard, yes.
I use the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and if you press key combinations before the backlight engages they are not recognized 100% of the time. It did work when I connected the keyboard with a Lightning cable.
I suspect this has nothing to do with the POST but rather that Bluetooth does not connect immediately at power up.
If you use a wireless keyboard, wait until the screen changes from pitch black to grey and then press the keys.
I for one I'm glad Apple got rid of the chime, for sometimes when I want to restart my computer in the middle of the night I don't want to be waking people up with that chime. Though I suppose they could had it as an option to have the chime for people who wanted it.
Well I wouldn't consider a dual booting user a "normie". I was referring to the fact that a Joe average user probably never shuts down his Mac in the same way he never shuts down his iPhone, thus never has the chance to be bothered by the chime.
Either way, the chime is important indicator of boot confirmation for dual booters, taking it out is a negative in that case.