i've resolved this by adding this code to my custom sso login plugin (https://community.nodebb.org/topic/3322/jsconnect-sso)
User.setSetting(uid, 'dailyDigestFreq', 'week', null);
User.setSetting(uid, 'notificationSounds', 1, null);
User.setSetting(uid, 'followTopicsOnCreate', 1, null);
User.setSetting(uid, 'followTopicsOnReply', 1, null);
User.setSetting(uid, 'sendChatNotifications', 1, null);