In Ubuntu, open Settings → Accessibility, choose Sound Keys in the Seeing section, and switch it on or off. The change is applied immediately. When enabled, Ubuntu provides an audible cue when supported lock keys change state, helping you know whether a key such as Caps Lock or Num Lock is active without looking at the keyboard.
What Sound Keys does
Sound Keys is an accessibility setting built into Ubuntu’s desktop environment. It produces a tone when a lock key changes between its enabled and disabled states. This is useful when you cannot easily see the keyboard indicator, when a laptop has no indicator lights, or when visual confirmation is inconvenient.
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The exact list of keys can vary with the desktop release. Ubuntu-oriented instructions mention Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock. GNOME-family documentation describes beeps for Num Lock and Caps Lock. Treat the feature as audible feedback for lock-key state changes rather than assuming that every Ubuntu flavor will announce every lock key.
Sound Keys changes the feedback you hear; it does not change what the keys do. Caps Lock still changes letter capitalization, Num Lock still controls the numeric keypad mode where supported, and Scroll Lock retains whatever behavior an application assigns to it.
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Enable or disable Sound Keys from Settings
The graphical method is the supported choice for most Ubuntu users because it shows the setting that applies to the current desktop and release.
- Open Settings. You can select the system menu in the top bar and choose the gear icon, or open the Activities overview and search for Settings.
- Select Accessibility in the Settings sidebar.
- In the Seeing group, select Sound Keys. Selecting the row exposes its control; on some releases the control is shown directly beside the row.
- Set the switch to On to hear tones for lock-key changes, or set it to Off to stop those tones.
- Press a lock key once to test the result. The Ubuntu-specific procedure says the change takes effect immediately, so you do not need to apply a button, log out, or restart the computer. Close Settings when you are finished.
Testing the change without losing track of the state
Use one key at a time when testing. Press Caps Lock and note whether a tone accompanies the state change, then press it again to return to the previous state. If your keyboard has a numeric keypad, Num Lock provides another test. This approach separates Sound Keys from application sounds: you are testing a lock-state transition, not a notification or typing sound.
Ubuntu releases and desktop labels
Menu organization is not identical across every Ubuntu release, flavor, or GNOME-based distribution. The Ubuntu 24.04 guide shows Sound Keys in the accessibility settings, while a current GNOME-family support page places the equivalent control in Universal Access and describes it as a toggle that beeps when Num Lock or Caps Lock is turned on or off.
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If you do not see an item named Sound Keys, look for an accessibility or Universal Access page and read the entries under a group related to seeing, hearing, or keyboard assistance. Do not assume that a missing label means the feature is unavailable: a flavor can expose the same GNOME setting under a different heading. Conversely, a different desktop may not implement the GNOME control at all.
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The wording “Sounds Keys” sometimes appears in community questions about the terminal setting. In the graphical interface, the label documented for Ubuntu is Sound Keys (singular “Sound”).
Command line: the gsettings schema for “Settings > Universal Access > Sounds Keys”
A community answer from 2019 identifies the GNOME setting as org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enable. This is a version-sensitive community reference, not a guarantee that every current Ubuntu release exposes the same key. Check the schema installed on your computer before changing it.
Inspect the key first
Open a terminal and ask gsettings whether the key exists and whether it can be changed:
gsettings writable org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enable
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enableThe first command reports whether the key is writable. The second prints its current Boolean value, normally true or false when that schema is present. If either command reports that the schema or key is unavailable, use the graphical Settings page or inspect the schemas installed by your desktop instead of copying the command unchanged.
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Set the option
When the schema and key are present, the corresponding commands are:
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enable true
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enable falseUse true to enable audible lock-key feedback and false to disable it. The setting is stored for the current desktop user. You can verify the result with the gsettings get command above, then press a lock key to check the audible behavior.
Why org.gnome.desktop.sound event-sounds is not the same setting
The original community question recorded org.gnome.desktop.sound event-sounds as an initial guess. That key controls a broader class of desktop event sounds; it is not the accepted schema name for the Sound Keys accessibility toggle. Changing general event sounds can affect other interface feedback without enabling lock-key announcements, so use the accessibility keyboard key only when it exists on your release.
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Sound Keys is not listed
First confirm that you opened the main Accessibility page rather than a keyboard shortcut panel. Search the Settings application for “Sound” or “Universal Access,” because some GNOME-based interfaces group the control differently. Check the exact Ubuntu release and desktop flavor as well; the Ubuntu instructions and GNOME documentation do not promise identical navigation on every system.
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If the graphical control is absent and the terminal reports an unknown schema, that combination indicates that your current desktop does not expose the GNOME setting under that name. Do not create a new key or edit unrelated sound settings to compensate. Use the controls your desktop provides, or consult documentation for that desktop environment.
The switch is on but no tone is audible
Verify the state with a single lock key and make sure the computer’s normal output is not muted or routed to an unexpected device. Test with both Caps Lock and Num Lock if your keyboard supports them, because the set of announced keys can differ by release. A working Caps Lock tone does not establish that Scroll Lock will also be announced.
Check the switch again after testing: pressing a lock key changes its state, but it does not change the Sound Keys setting itself. The setting should not require a restart; if you changed it in Settings and immediately test a key, the new preference should already apply.
Tones continue after you selected Off
Return to Settings → Accessibility → Sound Keys and confirm that the switch is actually off. If you also changed desktop event-sound settings or enabled an accessibility utility, those may produce other sounds that are easy to confuse with a lock-key beep. Test by pressing a lock key once, then stop interacting with other controls so you can identify which action triggers the sound.
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The command returns an error
Copy the schema and key exactly, including periods, hyphens, and the underscore in togglekeys-enable. Run the read-only gsettings get command before attempting a write. An “No such schema” or “No such key” message means the 2019 community answer does not match the schemas installed on your release; it is not evidence that the command needs administrative privileges.
Do not run the command with sudo. GNOME settings are normally per user, and changing another account’s configuration can leave the graphical session and terminal showing different values.
Scroll Lock is not announced
This can be normal. Ubuntu-specific guidance names Scroll Lock along with Caps Lock and Num Lock, while GNOME-family guidance only names Caps Lock and Num Lock. The documented behavior therefore depends on the release and desktop implementation. If Caps Lock and Num Lock produce feedback but Scroll Lock does not, the difference is consistent with those documented variations rather than proof that Sound Keys is broken.
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Choosing whether to leave it enabled
Enable Sound Keys when an audible confirmation reduces uncertainty about lock states. It can be particularly helpful on keyboards without indicator LEDs, for users who cannot reliably see a small status light, or when working away from the keyboard.
Disable it when tones interrupt concentration, conflict with a quiet environment, or duplicate clearer visual indicators. Because this is a simple software preference, you can switch it temporarily for a specific task and return to the same page later. No additional hardware, package, or accessibility product is required.
What the available documentation establishes
The Ubuntu-specific step-by-step instructions were published in September 2022 and describe the Accessibility → Seeing path and immediate application of the switch. A System76 support page, updated August 14, 2026, gives a recent GNOME-family description of the feature as a beep for Num Lock and Caps Lock, but it documents that vendor’s GNOME-based environment rather than every Ubuntu flavor. The terminal schema identification comes from an Ask Ubuntu answer dated 2019.
Those dates explain why labels and key coverage may differ. For a machine running a different release, trust the labels displayed by its own Settings application and use gsettings only after confirming that the schema exists locally.
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At-a-glance reference
| Task | Where or how | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Enable tones | Settings → Accessibility → Seeing → Sound Keys → On | Ubuntu instructions say the change is immediate. |
| Disable tones | Use the same switch and choose Off | No restart or separate apply action is documented. |
| Check the terminal setting | gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.a11y.keyboard togglekeys-enable |
The schema comes from a 2019 community answer and may vary by release. |
| Keys mentioned in documentation | Caps Lock and Num Lock; Ubuntu guidance also mentions Scroll Lock | Do not assume identical key coverage on every desktop. |
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