Those weird PC noises you've heard are coming from the Epic Games Launcher

Date:
Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Description:
Epic Games Launcher has been playing odd 'party chimes' randomly, and Epic isn't letting users turn them off.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Epic Games Launcher has been identified as the culprit behind mysterious chimes on users' PCs Epic has confirmed it's planning to update the launcher to reduce the frequency of its 'party chimes' Users have requested a feature that turns off the chimes altogether Multiple PC users have recently noticed mysterious sounds playing at random, and it appears the Epic Games Launcher is the culprit.

As reported by TweakTown , a Fortnite news page on X discovered the Epic
Games Launcher randomly playing sounds on their PC, as several audio files matching them were found in the Epic Games 'social chimes' folder. Each sound represents actions in a game party, such as a party user leaving,
push-to-talk activation or deactivation, and message notifications, which sounds bizarre as this occurs even when users aren't in Epic Games parties. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Epic has since confirmed (via a FortniteStatus X page) that the 'party
chimes' were playing more frequently than necessary, and it is now updating the Epic Games Launcher to 'narrow which events play a sound while the launcher is in the background'.

These party chimes are sounds I've noticed on my Windows 11 system, playing
at very random intervals, and sometimes even when the launcher isn't visibly open. The sounds aren't accompanied by pop-up notifications either, which
only added to the confusion for me and many other PC users previously trying to pinpoint the source. You may like Epic Games Store will join Nvidia
GeForce Now with full Linux support soon Microsoft admits Windows 11 update breaks audio but it's working on a fix Microsoft's investigating reports of games crashing after Windows 11 update Thanks for providing feedback about this, @FireMonkey!
After taking a look, these party chimes are triggering more often than we intended. We're updating the Epic Games Launcher to narrow which events play
a sound while the launcher is in the background, so you'll hear fewer of them when you're not actively using it. September 19, 2026 (Image credit: Future) TweakTown states that Epic plans to introduce an option to toggle the chimes on or off in the future, but, surprisingly, a toggle option isn't a top priority as of now especially since user replies berate Epic for not including an option to remove the sounds altogether.

For now, at least, a quick workaround is to delete the files from the directory as follows: Program Files (or Program Files x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Extras\SocialChimes . It's worth noting that this is only a temporary fix, as Epic Games Launcher updates will likely overwrite this and place the files back into the directory. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Perhaps this entire case serves as yet another reason to use Steam for many users, where bugs are rare occurrences but at the very least, PC users can rest knowing there isn't some unwanted or unknown application running on
their system. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred
source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/hearing-odd-sounds-on-pc-but-cant- trace-their-source-epic-games-launcher-could-be-the-culprit-and-epic-wont-let- you-turn-them-off-for-now


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