Understand why sound notifications may not play for new Crisp messages and what alternatives to enable.

Most sound issues are caused by browser behavior rather than Crisp. Modern browsers often mute hidden tabs after a few minutes to save battery and prevent unwanted sounds.

Browser sound limitations

Browsers such as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox can mute tabs that are hidden or inactive. This can prevent a sound from playing even when a new Crisp message arrives.

Example scenario:

• Tab A → a page with the Crisp chatbox is open
• Message sent → you send a message through the chatbox
• Tab switch → you switch to another tab, such as Facebook
• Delayed reply → the visitor replies after a few minutes
• No sound → the browser muted the hidden tab, so no sound plays

This limitation affects Crisp, other chat widgets, and many web apps. It cannot be reliably bypassed from the website side.

For chatbox visitors

If a visitor does not hear the chatbox sound and does not read your reply in time, Crisp can still notify them by email when the conversation state allows it.

This fallback helps visitors return to the conversation even when the browser muted the hidden tab.

For Crisp operators

For your team, enable push notifications and keep the Crisp Inbox focused when you rely on sound alerts.

Recommended setup:

• Push notifications → enable them in Settings → Account → Notifications
• Desktop app → install the Crisp Desktop App from Crisp Apps
• Focused Inbox → keep the Crisp Inbox focused when expecting sound notifications

Updated on: 03/05/2026