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To enable Visual Alerts in Ubuntu, open Activities, search for Accessibility, open the Hearing section, and switch on Visual Alerts. You can then choose whether Ubuntu flashes the entire screen or only the current window title. The same feature can be toggled from the accessibility icon in the top bar.
What Visual Alerts do in Ubuntu
Ubuntu can play simple alert sounds for certain messages and events. When Visual Alerts is enabled, Ubuntu adds a visible flash when one of those alert sounds plays. This provides a visual counterpart to an audible alert, which can help if alert sounds are difficult to hear or if you need to keep the computer quiet in a place such as a library. See Ubuntu’s official Visual Alerts guide for the documented behavior.
The feature is tied to alert sounds, not to every notification generated by every application. Ubuntu’s documentation does not say that enabling Visual Alerts converts all desktop notifications, chat messages, or application banners into flashes. It describes flashes for the alert sounds produced by the system for certain types of messages and events.
Enable Visual Alerts from Settings
Use this route when you want to turn the feature on and choose its flash area at the same time.
- Open the Activities overview.
- Start typing Accessibility.
- Select Accessibility from the search results to open the settings panel.
- Open the Hearing section.
- Find Visual Alerts and switch it on.
- Under Flash Area, select either Entire screen or Current window title.
The setting takes effect for supported alert sounds after it is enabled. The labels and location above follow Ubuntu’s current stable user-help documentation; other Ubuntu releases, derivatives, or desktop environments may use different labels or place the control elsewhere.
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Choose what Ubuntu flashes
Ubuntu documents two flash-area choices. The right one depends on how noticeable you need the cue to be and whether you want to limit the visual interruption.
| Flash Area | What flashes | When it is useful |
|---|---|---|
| Entire screen | The whole display flashes when a supported alert sound plays. | Use this when you need the broadest, easiest-to-see visual signal, including when your attention may be away from the active application. |
| Current window title | The title area of the currently active window flashes. | Use this when you prefer a more localized cue and do not want the whole display to flash. |
The Ubuntu guide does not document controls for flash color, duration, intensity, or per-application rules. Do not expect additional customization options in this setting unless your particular Ubuntu build provides them separately.
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Toggle Visual Alerts from the top bar
After the feature has been configured, the quickest way to switch it on or off is through Ubuntu’s accessibility menu:
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- Click the Accessibility icon in the top bar.
- Select Visual Alerts.
Ubuntu states that this menu item provides a quick on-and-off toggle. Turning it off here does not require you to revisit the Hearing settings; your selected flash area remains the setting you chose there.
Make the accessibility menu visible
If the accessibility icon or its menu is not present in the top bar, enable the menu in Accessibility settings first.
- Open Activities and search for Accessibility.
- Open the Accessibility settings panel.
- Turn on Accessibility Menu.
- Return to the top bar and open the accessibility icon.
- Select Visual Alerts to toggle the feature.
The menu-availability step is covered in Ubuntu’s accessibility-menu guide. If you only need to configure the feature once, you can leave the menu disabled and use the Hearing section directly.
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Use the keyboard to reach the accessibility menu
Ubuntu documents a keyboard route for users who cannot conveniently click the top bar:
- Press Ctrl+Alt+Tab to move focus to the top bar.
- Use the arrow keys to move focus to the accessibility icon.
- Press Enter to open the menu.
- Use the arrow keys to move through the menu items until Visual Alerts is selected.
- Press Enter to toggle the selected item.
This method requires the accessibility menu to be enabled. If the icon is not available to keyboard focus, return to Accessibility settings and switch on Accessibility Menu as described above.
What to expect when an alert occurs
- Ubuntu plays an alert sound for certain messages or events.
- With Visual Alerts enabled, the configured area flashes when that alert sound is played.
- The flash scope is either the entire screen or the current window title; there are no other areas listed in the cited Ubuntu guide.
- The feature is a visual alternative or supplement to the sound. It is not documented as a universal notification-display system.
If an application shows a notification without producing an alert sound covered by Ubuntu’s accessibility feature, Visual Alerts may not flash. That behavior is consistent with the documented scope: the trigger is an alert sound, and Ubuntu does not promise a flash for every application notification.
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Troubleshoot a missing or ineffective Visual Alerts option
The Visual Alerts switch is not where expected
Use the Activities search for Accessibility, then look specifically under Hearing. The documented path is Accessibility > Hearing > Visual Alerts. If your system uses a different desktop environment or a customized Ubuntu derivative, the stable Ubuntu GNOME labels may not match exactly.
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Open Accessibility settings and enable Accessibility Menu. The top-bar shortcut depends on that menu being available. You can still use the full Hearing settings page to configure Visual Alerts.
The menu opens but Visual Alerts is not listed
Verify that you are using the accessibility menu, not a different status or notification menu. If the item still does not appear, configure the feature through Accessibility > Hearing. Ubuntu’s stable help page is the reference for the documented interface, while release-specific or derivative interfaces may differ.
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The screen does not flash for a notification
First confirm that the Visual Alerts switch is on and that a flash area is selected. Then consider whether the event produces one of Ubuntu’s alert sounds. The documentation limits the feature to certain messages and events that generate those sounds; it does not claim that every application notification triggers a flash.
The flash is too broad or too subtle
Return to Accessibility > Hearing > Visual Alerts and change Flash Area. Choose Entire screen for the broadest cue or Current window title for a localized cue. Ubuntu’s guide does not list controls for changing color, timing, or intensity.
Compatibility and scope notes
The instructions are based on Ubuntu’s current stable user-help pages. Those pages do not identify a specific Ubuntu release number, and the search result does not provide a publication date. Treat the menu names and placement as the documented Ubuntu interface rather than a guarantee for every release, flavor, derivative distribution, or non-GNOME desktop.
Visual Alerts is a built-in accessibility setting. Ubuntu’s documentation does not list special hardware, add-on software, or a purchase requirement for enabling it.
Quick Recap
Recommended setup for different needs
- You need the most noticeable cue: enable Visual Alerts and choose Entire screen.
- You want less visual interruption: choose Current window title.
- You switch the feature frequently: enable Accessibility Menu so the top-bar accessibility icon provides the quick toggle.
- You primarily use the keyboard: enable the accessibility menu, then use Ctrl+Alt+Tab, arrow keys, and Enter to reach Visual Alerts.
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