Nova Add a custom ringtone or alert sound
Upload a ringtone or chime, build a profile for calls, texts, emails and voicemail, and choose sounds for your browser and Android app.
In the sidebar, open Settings, then choose Ringtones under Communications. The page address is /settings/communications/attention, and its title reads Attention Audio.
Before you start
- These profiles choose sounds when a call rings, a text or email arrives, or a voicemail lands in your browser or Android app. Each teammate's browser has to allow sound; Android also uses the phone's notification settings.
- Custom uploads and per-customer sounds are plan features. The Custom sounds and Assignments tiles at the top say whether each is enabled for your workspace.
- Your role needs permission to read attention settings to open the page; uploading sounds and saving profiles need the upload and profile permissions. The permission grid near the top shows Allowed or Blocked for each.
Steps
To test what plays today:
- Under Browser test events, press Test incoming call, Test text, Test email or Test voicemail. The sound plays in your own browser, using the current defaults. Test browser ring at the top plays the incoming-call ring.
To upload a sound:
- Under Sound assets, find Upload custom sound.
- Choose an MP3 or WAV as the Audio file, type a Label such as VIP customer ring, and pick a Category: General for any event, or one of Incoming calls, Text messages, Emails or Voicemail.
- Press Upload. Nova checks the file before it can be used; its card says so while it waits, and Preview turns on once it is ready.
To build a profile:
- Under Reusable profiles, press Use as template on a built-in profile to start from a copy of it, or press New profile at the top of the editor beside the list to start blank. Edit opens one of your own profiles.
- Give it a Label and a Description, and leave Profile active on.
- For each of Incoming calls, Text messages, Emails and Voicemail: switch it to Enabled or Muted, pick a Sound or keep Use default system sound, set the Volume, and choose Loop (rings until answered) or Play once. Preview plays your choice.
- Press Save Profile. It joins the list under Reusable profiles.
What you see
- Sound assets lists the built-in sound packs and your uploads, each with Preview (and Download when the sound is a file). Pick a pack under Sound packs to narrow the list. Built-in sounds cannot be deleted; an upload has a bin button if your role can delete sounds.
- A profile with no assignment does nothing yet. To make it the organization's default or give it to one customer, see Give a customer or phone line its own ringtone.
- Ensure defaults at the top (shown when your role can change these settings) adds Nova's built-in sounds and profile, and an organization-wide default rule if the workspace has none.
- On Android, open Phone, choose Calls and press the sound settings button. Under Sounds & ringtones, choose Sound profile for your personal default or Workspace default to inherit. Customer and phone-line rules still apply. Set personal volume, event mutes and quiet hours there too.
- Under Phone sounds, choose a category to change its Android sound and vibration. Android choices take priority over Nova profiles. Calls ring until answered or ended; messages play once. Ongoing-call and background status stay quiet. These Android controls also work without custom profiles.
If something looks different
- The test and Preview buttons are greyed out: browser playback is off for your workspace by plan. Previews cannot run, and Nova plays no browser sounds until it is back on.
- Upload is greyed out: custom sounds are not part of your plan. Upload custom sound is missing altogether: your role cannot upload sounds.
- A sound card says NovaScan could not approve it: the file was rejected. Upload a different file.
- Save Profile refuses with a message about the label: give the profile a Label first.
- Android shows a category as silent: open that category under Phone sounds and choose an audible sound. Also check the phone's volume, Silent mode and Do Not Disturb. A Nova volume of zero, a muted event or active quiet hours keeps that event silent.