Make Your Mac Keyboard Sound Like a Typewriter with Noisey Typer

Jul 14, 2012 - 32 Comments

Mac Typewriter sounds app - Noisy Typer

If there’s one thing that modern keyboards and Macs are missing compared to old fashioned typewriters, it’s the loud typewriter sounds of yesteryear, because let’s face it, who doesn’t like an incredibly noisy keyboard? NoisyTyper is a hilarious Mac app that satisfies the need that nobody has, with different key and typing sounds for letters, spacebar, delete, scroll up and down, and even the classic ‘ding’ carriage return. Once loaded, it works across all applications, guaranteeing those sounds from last century will follow you regardless of where you type on a Mac.

You really have to watch the video embedded below to get an idea for just how noisy the app is, or download it yourself and find out the hard way.

I think this app is hilarious and while it has a retro kick to it, it would also make for an excellent prank to play on unsuspecting colleagues and roommates.

There’s a brief multi-step installation process:

  • Get NoisyTyper free from Fffft.at
  • Open System Preferences from the  Apple menu and click “Universal Access”, then check the box for “Enable access for assistive devices”
  • Launch Noise Typer, it’ll sit not-so-quietly in the background
  • Start typing and try not to laugh

Because Noisy Typer runs in the background so you’ll have to quit it by typing “qaz123” or by finding it in Activity Monitor and killing the process.

Just in case the app isn’t enough for you, there’s always the ridiculous full-on USB typewriter iMac conversion kit for the dedicated.

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Posted by: Paul Horowitz in Fun, Mac OS, Retro

32 Comments

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  1. Baobabus says:

    You can get Loud Typer application from App Store. It works on the latest version of macOS and features different sound themes, including typewriter.

  2. ninose says:

    I love this app. It’s so much fun typing and hearing the old fashioned keyboard sounds. But sadly, it’s a 32bit app which means it may no longer work on Mac OS Catalina as Catalina supposedly doesn’t support 32bit apps. Does anyone know how it could be updated to 64bit? It’s open-source, but the developer is unreachable.

  3. Sebastian says:

    I love it!

    FYI: I am using OS X El Capitan and I had to drag and drop the NoisyTyper.app to Security-List…

  4. Sean says:

    Still works fine in 10.10.5

    As an old touch typist I really like it. Learned to type in high school class. Might be the only class from HS that I still use productively to this day, and on a daily basis.
    Re. usefulness, I remember reading about a study they did years ago about typing on a computer keyboard with and without feedback sounds. They found that feedback sounds trick the brain, in turn tricking the fingers, that there is more “physical” key travel when typing with sounds.

    And THIS might be useful, at least to me, when considering getting and typing on a new 2015 Macbook. I tried one in an Apple Store and thought, there’s no way I could work, i.e. type on that keyboard all day. Not without the key travel and tactile feedback you get from a keyboard like the one on the 13″ Air, which I consider the best I’ve ever used.

  5. Pete Hayes says:

    Do NOT download this! It infected my Mac and several months later, I still have not been able to get rid of it. The keyboard does weird things now and it attacks my computer at random.

    • Sean says:

      Pete, that’s a pretty serious charge. I’ve been using the app for a few days now and it works as advertised.

      Could you elaborate re. the problems? What do you mean by “infected”? and “attacks”? Wow.

      Have you tried to deinstall it? Remove it from Preferences, etc.?

  6. Marco Antonio Valencio Torrano says:

    I not did install on Mountain Lion (10.8.3).

  7. ayesha says:

    i can’t get it to work. added it under accessibility for mac mac OS X yosemite 10.10 and still nothing

    • Harold says:

      I’m running 10.9.3, and you have to enable it a little differently. The following was cut and pasted from another forum.

      Noisy Typer does work on Mavericks. All you have to do is go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility and drag the app onto the list (you might have to click the lock in the bottom left corner to make changes). Then you can open the app and it should be there with the checkbox already ticked (if it’s not, try dragging the app onto the list while it’s running).

  8. Chris says:

    How do I unzip this file on my MacAir?

  9. Joey says:

    Yeah, Keyclick is a great little utility. Has actual usable, customizable feedback sounds instead of novelty typewriter noises.

  10. Thomas says:

    Seriously, this can be quite useful, e.g. me using headphones and wanting some keyboard feedback.
    I tried and quickly switched over to Keyclick. The (carriage) return is quite satisfying :)

  11. Sid says:

    takes about +/- 1% of the cpu.

    but I do enjoy this while I’m typing!

  12. JDMR says:

    The only thing more perplexing to me then the fact that somebody would actually want to use this is that somebody actually took the time to make it.

  13. Tony says:

    is it just me or does this app make your mac use significantly more resources (and therefore hotter) ??

  14. kasra says:

    i can’t close it.i don’t know where i should type (qaz123)
    plz help me

  15. Marcos says:

    lol…I’m already laughing

  16. Andre says:

    I can’t find a way to install it. I don’t see “Universal Access” in my preferences.

  17. Ed says:

    It’s probably a MBA 15″ with a matte screen…

  18. Teak says:

    What computer is he using in the video?

    It looks like a cross between a MBA 13″ and a MBP 15″…

  19. don says:

    Hey. How can i install it? How to launch it?

  20. RJM says:

    Only useful as a joke. I put in on my girlfriend’s laptop and it drove her insane. It was hilarious.

  21. ruurd says:

    Yes well, that gave me flashbacks. I used to have that on OS6… in 1995. http://braincore.blogspot.nl/2012/07/i-getting-flashbacks-here.html

  22. Adam says:

    LOL so useless but I love it, going to put this on everyones computer Monday morning.

  23. Desidério Ortelá says:

    this is so freaking awesome!!!

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