How do I find out what app is randomly playing a sound file on my S6 (5.1.1)?

walkerlw

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Jan 26, 2016
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Every once in a while, for no apparent reason, a particular sound file will play and reverberate though out the office. There is no notification or indication as to what is playing the file. It was cute at first but now I'm ready to toss the phone through the window. I've restarted the phone, deleted and reinstalled several suspicious apps as well as the sound file itself to no avail. Just wondering if there is a way to look at the running services/processes to tell what's doing it.

Appreciate any help.
 
You can see all background processes running in your phone in the Application Manager, but not sure that'd tell you which app is triggering the notification.

Now, is it an audio file, a notification, a system sound? If it's an audio file (like an ad) it might be an app pushing ads to your phone, and an adware/malware scanner might help find which app is doing it. If it's a notification or system sound, it might be a bit harder to diagnose but we could try.

Also, does it do it randomly or can it be 'predicted' (i.e. it does it every couple of hours or at certain times of day)? If so, you can turn your phone on in Safe Mode. This stops all 3rd party apps from loading at boot, so only apps you specifically choose to run will do so. That can help pin-point which app, if at all, is causing it.
 
My Galaxy s5 started doing this same this the other day. I have tried looking for background apps running but nothing seems to stop it except restarting the phone till it does it again. Any other ideas?
 
it is probably an app you have disabled notifications for. the app can still play sound notifications but will not be able to show them in the pull down area
 
It's the app optimization feature. I get the same thing once a day. I believe it can be disabled in the settings, battery

Posted via the Android Central App
 
It's the app optimization feature. I get the same thing once a day. I believe it can be disabled in the settings, battery

Posted via the Android Central App

But the app optimization does show a notification, doesn't it? That's what most users complain about (myself included), that there's no way to get rid of those notifications other than turning the feature off!
 
you can hide the notifications. tap on more and tap on block notifications
Screenshot_2016-02-01-19-49-14.png
 
Mmm... mine doesn't have that (Note 5, T-Mobile and a factory-unlocked TabS 10.5). Just optimization delay, edit, and delete options. From the localization terms I assume yours isn't an US device (optimise VS optimize)?