Why can't I hear audible pings?

Question

The ping manual says that ping -a will generate audible pings, but when I try this no sound is made.

What am I doing wrong?

see also [Terminal bell doesn't ring](http://askubuntu.com/q/228096/19466) — Janus Troelsen, Nov 16 '14 at 13:42
See: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/1668859 — guettli, Mar 06 '17 at 13:33

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 02 '10 at 23:18

12

From looking at the source, ping produces a bell by printing the ASCII bell char '\a', which is doing nothing, probably because the system beep is disabled.

You can manually try to produce the bell with:

echo -e "\a"

answered Dec 02 '10 at 23:18

João Pinto

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That's helpful. I'll troubleshoot the bell. – ændrük Dec 06 '10 at 07:11
This is likely a Compiz bug. If you disable Desktop Effects, you will probably hear the pings. – Dylan McCall Jan 20 '11 at 07:21
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Yep, here is your bug report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/537703 – Dylan McCall Jan 20 '11 at 07:31
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No ping or audio from the `echo` command on CrunchBang Linux (OpenBox) with no compiz. – SabreWolfy Dec 07 '11 at 13:41
@DylanMcCall thank you for providing a link to the relevant bug report. I added me to the "this effects me". I hope this gets fixed some time. Wow, in ten days this bug report is seven years old! – guettli Mar 01 '17 at 06:09

vaab · Answer 2 · 2015-09-17T08:16:41.893

compiz "eats" the sound and this is a reported bug, so it won't work in the graphical interface in standard compiz ubuntu sessions. (see this bug report, thanks to Dylan McCall comment for the URL).

If you really need the functionality, you could run your ping from a physical console (Ctrl+Alt+F1). But don't forget:

sudo modprobe pcspkr

As module pcspkr isn't loaded at boot time and actually drives the old PC speaker you should have in your computer.

You can add it to /etc/modules if you think you'll need it at a regular basis as this will have the effect to tell the system to load it at boot time.

Note: as it's a compiz issue, if you are using gnome-fallback session you shouldn't experience the issue. If this is the case, check your terminal program for options related to console bell.

Mr. Ronald · Answer 3 · 2020-02-03T08:05:35.410

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1 says it's missing a sound file. You can add it with the following command:

  pactl upload-sample /usr/share/sounds/gnome/default/alerts/glass.ogg bell.ogg

For a permanent solution add the command to ~/.xprofile

edited Feb 03 '20 at 08:05

answered Jan 07 '15 at 16:04

Mr. Ronald

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 24 '21 at 22:19

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In my case I am using KDE in Kubuntu. I had to tick a checkbox:

Search applications for Notifications, subtitle is Event Notifications and Actions
Then under Applications select Konsole.
Then select Configure Events...
Then highlight Bell in Non-Focused Session
Then tick next to Play a sound

answered Mar 24 '21 at 22:19

Joshua

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Thanks, this answer is suitable for recent Plasma versions (mine is 5.22.5). Still haven't figured out how to do the same under Terminator, though. But thanks, at any rate. – MariusMatutiae Jan 10 '22 at 09:47

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 25 '14 at 20:26

Because the question is not specified for Unity only, I'll make a little hint about KDEs Konsole. You just should specify a sound for a "Bell in Visible Session" which is under Settings -> Configure Notifications. For example I'm using sounds from /usr/share/sounds/ section. I don't remember is there such an option in Ubuntu's Unity terminal.

score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Nov 07 '18 at 01:42

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If you are using Terminator as terminal on Ubuntu 18.10, left-click the Terminator, select preferences/profiles, and there is the audible beep option.

edited Nov 07 '18 at 01:42

AlwaysTalkingAboutMyDog

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answered Nov 06 '18 at 19:48

user3523556

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered May 09 '22 at 14:07

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In my case; I just had to turn on/up the 'system sounds' in settings. (see screenshot)

answered May 09 '22 at 14:07

Aaron

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 20 '15 at 08:38

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In my case, audible bell was disabled because of xset -b in my ~/.xsession file and could be re-enabled with xset b.

answered Apr 20 '15 at 08:38

Cyril Bouthors

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Why can't I hear audible pings?

8 Answers8