Being able to choose your own ringtone on your phone is something that should be pretty easy, but not on the iPhone. Apple say that you can buy your ringtones through iTunes, but I’ve never found any on there. So how do you get round this? How do you get your own ringtone on your iPhone?
It’s actually pretty simple, and even more importantly its free and legal! All you need to create your own ringtones is iTunes on a PC or Mac and a song in either MP3 or AAC format that is DRM free. DRM files are normally songs that have been purchased online from places such as the iTunes Store, or imported to your computer using Windows Media Player.
Change import Settings to AAC
Before you start, you need to check some settings in iTunes. In the Preferences window, click on “Import Settings” on the General Tab and make sure that “import using” is set to AAC Encoder.
Show File Extensions
This step is important! If you’re on a PC, you’ll need to make sure that you can view file extensions (music files should show .mp3 or .m4a after the filename). If your PC doesn’t, you can change this by opening your “My Documents” folder, and clicking Tools-> Folder Options. On the “View” tab, you should see an option “Hide extensions for known file types,” Make sure that the box next to this is not ticked, and then hit ok.
Right, now for the fun bit. Find the song you want as your ringtone and play it in iTunes. iPhone ringtones can be a maximum of 30 seconds long, so you’ll need to know the start and end points for the song clip that you want to use, so play the song, and write down how many seconds there are to the part of the song you want as your ringtone. You’ll need the end time too, but this can only be a maximum of 30 seconds.
Select Start and End Times
By now, you should have the start and end points of your ringtone. Right click on the song in iTunes, and select “Get Info”
When the iTunes preferences window opens, you will see 7 tabs across the top, click on the options tab. You’ll see there is a space to enter start and stop times. Put in the times you wrote down earlier and make sure that both boxes are ticked – then hit “OK”.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dean and Snatch for pointing out that you need to ensure that you use : to seperate minutes and seconds, and not a full stop!
Create AAC File
Right click your song again, and this time select create AAC version (or similar.)
UPDATE: In the latest version of iTunes (Version 9.1) the ‘create AAC version’ option has been moved from the right click menu to the ‘Advanced’ menu at the top of the screen.
You should then see a second copy of the song appear in your iTunes music library. In order to change it to a ringtone you’ll need to drag this file to your desktop. You can then delete the 30 second version from iTunes and un tick the start and stop times on the original song.
Rename file to .m4r
Go to the file on your desktop and you should see its called “songname.m4a”. Right click it and choose “rename,” all we want to change here is the .m4a to .m4r. You can rename this song if you want, but the filename must end .m4r
iTunes Ringtone Library
That’s it! All you need to do now is double click the file to add it back to iTunes. If you click on the Ringtones link in the side panel, it should now be listed as a ringtone, rather than a music file.
Sync your iPhone with iTunes
All that is left is to sync your iPhone with your computer. If it doesn’t sync over straight away, make sure the “Sync ringtones” option is selected when your phone is connected.
UPDATE:A few people have had a problem with the ringtones showing in iTunes in the ringtones section, but they aren’t syncing to the phone. To fix this plug your phone in, and on the options screen, uncheck the ‘Sync Ringtones’ box, hit apply and then sync your phone. Once it’s finished, disconnect and re connect your phone. Go back to the options screen and re-check the ‘Sync Ringtones’ box and sync again. This resets the sync information in iTunes and your phone and your ringtones should now show up on your phone.
Download a printable instruction sheet (PDF: 300kb)
Give it a try and let me know how you get on – Got any great ringtones that you want to share with the world? Leave your comments below with the Song title and start/end times and share your creations!
Hello! I’ve tried to be so patient and follow every step of these instructions but have still failed to get my ringtone.
I have mangaged to get to the stage of having my 30second song, then when i drag to the desktop, the song name stays the same (you said it should end with a .m4a and change it to a .m4r) and it did not end with either, it was just the song name. In the settings it seems the song is still set as a .m4a but will not let me change it.
Im lost!
Any suggestions?
Thanks you muchly…your help so far has been great…i just need to complete that final step! :)
Cheers
Hi Andy
I have tried this but it says it cannot convert to AAC as the file is protected.
Any ideas?
Many thanks,
Jamie
Excellent, glad it’s all working for you!
:) :) WOAHOOOOOO!! :) :)You did it you beauty! That is fantastic, I love my iphone and have waited 2 years to use my own ringtone The Stargate Theme, thank you so much!
Hi, it might be that it’s not renamed properly. delete the shorter track from your itunes library, but tell it to keep files if asked.
go to your folder where the file is, and double check that its’ .m4r – if it is, there are 2 things you need to check – first off, repeat this bit
if that wasn’t set correctly, you might have been changing the filename, but only the bit before the extension – by that I mean you might have been calling it ringtone.m4r.m4a – which is why it won’t work.
Once you’ve checked both of those and are sure that it’s set correctly, import it into itunes again. It shouldn’t show in your music library folder, only in your ringtones section.
Once it’s there it should sync over the next time you plug your phone in – provided you’ve set itunes to sync ringtones.
Hello Andy
I have followed the instuctions to the letter several times, and have got as far as mr4 it’s in the folder as a ringtone but in the library it’s the same as the orginal track just not as long. I have also checked how the time is set out and it has the : between the number for 30 secs, I have also tried syncing etc., and nothing is working!! :( CAN YOU HELP PLEASE?
Hi Lorrie,
I think the latest version of iTunes is responsible for the changes – the most noticeable that I’ve found is that the ‘convert to AAC’ option is now in th emenu bar under ‘advanced’ rather than on the right click option.
Glad you managed to work it all out ok.
Brill – method works a treat.. my version of itunes has a couple of dialogue boxes in different places bbut if you follow the logica above it works great
Thanks, was able to create some good ringtones following your detailed instructions….. much appreciated. :o)
Hi Rider,
Thanks for the tip, it works perfectly!
Just to say a big thank you for this, I managed to get some good ringtones! Hooray!
Not possible yet, not without jailbreaking anyway.. .if the rumours are true, this could be set to change in the next version of the OS, iPhone 4.0, which might see a release as early as 14th March, but that’s not confirmed!
What a legend u r, at last, some good ringtones
Thank u sooooo much :)
You ROCK! I’ve been trying all sorts of stuff to get a custom ringtone, including iTunes own “Create Ringtone” thingy which kept giving me a “itunes could not connect to the itunes store. an unknown error occurred 11556” message. Bad Apple ;)
Thanks SO much for posting this!
Now… How to create custom SMS/Email alerts…? Anyone?
Just got my iPhone and I was mad that I couldn’t figure out how to make songs ringtones. I are a god send!!!!! Thank you soooo much for this article!!! YOU ROCK!
andy you are a star, thank you so much! i’ve only been trying constantly for 4 days to do this and i just breezed through all your recommendations! Cheers Christine
thank god for that. nice one pal.
Its probably worth pointing out that these instructions were put together using an older version of iTunes than is currently available. I’m going to get this updated over the next few days and will write a new post if there are any changes!
Andy
Well, it looks like Apple have a new version of software in the pipeline, with some kind of announcement expected around th 27th Jan, lets hope ringtones is one thing that gets some attention.
Some people are having problems syncing with their phones afterwards, only way to fix this is to untick sync ringtones, sync your phone, restart your phone, then re tick sync ringtones and sync again.
That should force it through.
And yes, currently, the only way to change your sms tone is to jailbreak, which has a number of security risks and is something I wouldn’t recommend you do.
Great site and advice. I followed all steps and have the same problem that Ali had earlier. I dont get it why are apple so reluctant to letting people create there own ringtones. :(
All i wanted was the mario theme tune as my ringtone and the rank up/promotion sound from cod mw2 as my message tone.
I have been able to create sounds as ringtone and are showing in ‘ringtones’ in itunes but wont show anywhere in my iphone after syncing.
Also after reading loads on the internet the only way i can change my message tones is to jailbreak my phone which i really dont want to do. :(
Andy, I am eternally indebted to you…..I now have it working….
Excellent, many thanks again…. Ron
Hi Ron, sorry for the delay. If you’re getting that message its normally because you’re using a different PC, have reinstalled iTunes or are logged on as adifferent user. If you choose erase and sync, it will wipe your phone, but if the music that is on it is the same as is showing in itunes, it will just put it all back again afterwards.
Andy
Hi Andy,
I have carried out all your above instructions plus your ‘update’.
When I carry a sync, I get a pop up box, saying that my iphone is synced with another itunes library, and gives me the option to either ‘Erase & Sync’ or ‘Cancel’.
At this point I have cancelled in case I lose any information from my iphone.
Do you have any advice that I should try, or should I just ‘Erase & Sync’. I’m not sure why it thinks I have another itunes library.
TIA Ron
Hi,followed instructions above and it worked no problem. Had just purchased ” in between days” by The Cure and just converted the first 30 secs. re connected my phone and ring tone was there waiting for sync
Hi Ali,
If you can, try creating a ringtone from a song that you’ve imported from a CD rather than downloaded.
if that works, it’s something that Apple must be working into the songs to stop people from doing it.
Hi Andy,
No probs, thanks for your help…
Tried it with a few downloaded tunes, still the same results. I upgraded my iTunes to the latest one. Still no joy!?
Ali
Hi Ali, sorry for the delay getting back to you – didnt see your comment til this morning. Some people have said to me that they’ve had problems doing this with a song that they’ve purchased in iTunes. The song you’re using, is it one you’ve ripped from a CD or one that you’ve downloaded in itunes?
If you got it through itunes, try it with a different song – one that you’ve burnt from a disc or downloaded from an mp3 store such as amazon or hmv.
let me know if this works.
Andy
Hi,
Gret instructions! all worked like a dream apart from the last step. I cannot get the created m4r file to show in my ringtones on the iPhone. I have turned the sync off applied, disconnected, reconnected and sync’d many times. The ring tone is listed in i-tunes under ringtones when I click my i-phone.
Any ideas?
keep the great work up!
Regards
Ali
Hi, If they’re not showing in ringtones in iTunes, then that normally means the files haven’t been renamed properly. Double check the ones on your desktop and you’ll probably find that they’re called ringtone.m4r.m4a.
The way round this is to double check that you’ve got file extensions visible and then try renaming them again. first part of the guide should tell you how to make sure you can see file extensions.
Andy
Hi just got my iphone so really pleased to find I can set my own ringtones,I have done all the steps but I do not have ringtones under the library on the left side in my itunes, any ideas?
Many thanks, it worked a treat !! Brills…….
Hi, If its still opening in the music tab its because the the file extension hasn’t changed. If you’re on windows, double check the first steps to make sure that you can see the file extension on file names. If you’re only seeing the file named as “ringtone” on your desktop and are changing it to “ringtone.m4r” that won’t be changing the file extension (file will then be called ringtone.m4r.m4a)
You need to make sure you delete m4a and replace with .m4r. if you don’t it will always open up in the music tab.
Andy
Hi Andy mate,
tried the above instructions to the tee but no luck. After ive done it all and renamed with m4r at the end and double click to play, it plays the 20 second clip from the music library, not from the rigntones tab.
Ive been havin issues with itunes version 9 though (constant freezing) – to the point where ive re-installed iutunes 8.2
Cheers fo rthe advice, atleast you tried to do something apple never do (make things easier for apple users)
I got my ringtones from following the instructions and it worked fine and I have loaded the new Iphone software.
it was easier to use than Garage
so thanks to the person you worked this out
roverts
This problem was happening before and after upgrading to v3.1. It definately sounds like an Apple strategy to make us pay for ringtones but I also have a problem trying to create a ringtone in iTunes even when we use a song purchased from the iTunes store. I just get an error message: “Unknown error (11556)”. I can’t even pay for a ringtone at the moment, Apple’s loss!
Seems strange that people are having problems with this – I’m guessing the recent upgrade to 3.1 is causing problems – presumably because apple now sell their own ringtones.
I’ve not tried to sync since the upgrade, so will try again this afternoon and update the post if anything changes.
andy
We have 3GS iPhones v3.1 and iTunes v9. We have a few “m4r” ringtones showing in our ringtones folder in iTunes and they all play. After many sync attempts and powering off and on, Checking and Unchecking etc etc the ringtones will not display in our “Settings>Sounds>Ringtone” list. We can only select standard ringtones. Until Apple or someone solves this problem, We are putting our iPhones on silent. Thanks anyway.
Did that. Anyways, I’ve given up. Thanks anyways : )
If it’s not working, chances are it’s not been renamed properly, double check the file name and make sure it’s ringtone.m4r not ringtone.m4a or ringtone.m4a.m4r
Hi, Im having a problem adding it to itunes library, either as a music file or ringtone?…any ideas? Tried just doubleclicking but no joy?
Definitely is. I’ve more or less given up… I’m just curious as to what I’m doing wrong…
Tiff
thats really odd then. sorry to ask but just want to check we’re on the same page :)
Ringtone is showing in ringtones section of iTunes
Ringtone can be played in iTunes
when phone is connected, ‘sync ringtones’ and ‘sync all’ is ticked
Definetly is!
Is the ringtone definitely showing up in the ringtones section of itunes?
I’ve tried this 3 times now and still nothing. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong…
Tiff
a few people have had this problem, plug your phone in again and un check the sync ringtones box. sync your phone and unplug it. plug it back in, re check the sync ringtones box and sync again. that should cure it.
Hey,I’ve done everything and so far it’s all worked. This is where I’m stuck…. My song is in the ringtones tab and renamed and all and i’ve deleted the 30 sec version from my itunes library. When I sync my phone and the ringtone is selected to sync it does not copy over. Under sounds on my Iphone 3g, there is no custom option where my tones should be found. I tried restarting my iphone and syncing many times, I even tried a few other songs. They just won’t copy into my sounds on my phone. HEEELP!
It’s strange that it’s not adding it straight to your itunes library – but if you’ve found the file in windows explorer i wouldn’t worry too much as you can just double click it to add it to the library.
If the file you found in windows is a .m4a file, rename it to end .m4r before you double click it and it’ll actually save you a few steps!
Hi Andy,i followed instructions as above,worked fine first time. from then on when i right click on song again and create AAC version it does not appear as a second copy in itunes music library.
finally found file in windows explorer.
Please help
Many Thanks Paul