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Mac notification guide

Give Reminders its own notification sound on your Mac

So the reminder you set precisely because you’d forget is a sound you actually notice — not one more identical chime.

A calm colored band in Reminders’ color at the screen’s edge — a nudge you notice without a jarring interruption.
A calm colored band in Reminders’ color at the screen’s edge — a nudge you notice without a jarring interruption.

Why a reminder blends into the noise

A reminder is a note to your future self — and on a Mac it announces itself with the exact same alert sound as email, chat, and everything else. macOS only lets you switch the Reminders sound on or off.

So the thing you deliberately set because you knew you’d forget it blends right into the background of every other notification.

What you can do without TrillMark

How TrillMark makes reminders land

TrillMark reacts to the reminder banner. Add Reminders, pick a sound and a color, and a due reminder arrives as a sound you recognize plus a labeled flash — so it stands apart from every other notification.

Because TrillMark reads the notification, you can add a rule that makes a reminder whose text contains something important — “pills,” “flight,” a person’s name — louder than routine ones.

It reads that text only on your Mac, only to decide how to react, and never sends it anywhere.

Set it up in about a minute

  1. Open TrillMark and add Reminders.
  2. Give it a sound you’ll notice and a color; a quiet edge band is enough for a nudge.
  3. Optional: add a rule for high-stakes reminder text with a louder sound.
  4. In Notification settings, set the Reminders style to Alerts so it lingers, and turn off the system sound so you hear only the sound you chose.

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Give Reminders its own sound and a colored, labeled flash. Leave your email and I'll let you know the moment it's ready.

Questions about Reminders

Can I set a custom sound for Reminders on Mac?

Not from macOS alone — Reminders uses your Mac’s single alert sound, which macOS only lets you switch on or off. TrillMark reacts to the reminder banner and plays a sound you choose, with a colored, labeled flash.

Can one important reminder be louder than the rest?

Yes. Add a rule that matches the reminder’s text — a keyword or a name — and give it a louder, distinct sound. The text is read only on your Mac and never leaves it.

Will TrillMark flash the screen for a reminder?

Yes. Alongside the sound, TrillMark can flash the screen in a color you pick, labeled “Reminders,” so you notice it even with the sound off — useful if you’re Deaf or hard of hearing, or keep your Mac muted.