This wikiHow teaches you how to create and install your own ringtone on iPhone through iTunes. Once you've added a ringtone file to your device, you can set it as your primary ringtone or a ringtone for a specific contact.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Making Ringtones
Step 1. Open iTunes
The program icons look like colorful musical notes (♫) on a white background.
- If prompted to update the program, click “ Download iTunes ” first and wait for the update to finish installing. You will need to restart the computer afterwards.
- If the ringtone file is already stored on your device, skip to the ringtone setup step.
Step 2. Make sure the desired song is added to iTunes
You will need to use iTunes to cut the song you want to set as your ringtone. You can add songs to iTunes by double-clicking the file (if iTunes is your computer's main music player).
If not, you can add songs by clicking the tab “ File ", choose " Add Files to Libraries… ” in the drop-down menu, and double-click the music file you want to use.
Step 3. Find the part of the song you want to use
Double-click a song in iTunes to play it, listen to the starting point of the song section you want to use as a ringtone, note the timing of that point, and listen again for 40 seconds before timing the endpoint of the song section.
- You can see a song's timestamp at the top of the iTunes window when the song is playing.
- The ringtone must not have a duration exceeding 40 seconds.
Step 4. Open the song information menu
Click a song to select it, click “ Edit ” (Windows) or “ File ” (Mac), and click “ Song Info ” (Windows) or “ Get Info ” (Mac) in the drop-down menu. A new window will open.
You can also right-click the song and select “ Song Info ” (Windows) or “ Get Info ” (Mac) in the displayed drop-down menu.
Step 5. Click the Options tab
This tab is at the top of the information menu window.
Step 6. Check the "start" and "stop" boxes
These two boxes are at the top of the window, just below the "media kind" section. After that, check marks will be displayed on both boxes so you can change the start and end points of the song.
Step 7. Enter the starting and ending points of the song section
In the " start " field, enter the timestamp for the ring tone's starting point, then do the same for the ring tone end point in the " stop " field.
Step 8. Click OK
It's at the bottom of the window. Changes to the song will be saved and the information menu window will close.
Step 9. Create an AAC version of the desired song
Make sure the song is selected by clicking on it, then clicking the "menu" File ", choose " Convert ” on the drop-down menu, and click “ Create AAC Version ” on the pop-out menu. The new version of the song with the ringtone duration will appear below the original song in the iTunes window.
- For example, if the desired ringtone segment is 36 seconds long, the new song created is marked by the duration information " 0:36 " next to it, and not the full/complete duration.
- If the option " Create AAC Version ” is not available, activate the option by clicking the tab “ Edit ” (Windows) or “ iTunes ” (Mac), choose “ Preferences… ", click " Import Settings ”, select the " Import Using " drop-down box, and click " AAC Encoder ” in the drop-down menu.
Step 10. Open the AAC file storage location
Select the AAC version of the desired song, click “ File " and select " Show in Windows Explorer ” (Windows) or “ Show in Finder ” (Mac) in the drop-down menu. After that, the directory where the AAC file is stored on the computer will be opened.
Step 11. Convert the AAC file to M4R file
This process will depend on the operating system you are using (eg Windows or Mac):
- Windows – Click the tab “ View ” → tick the box " File name extensions " → click the ".m4a" version of the song to select files → click the tab “ Home ” → click “ Rename ” → replace m4a with m4r at the end of the file name and press Enter → click “ OK ' when prompted.
- Mac – Select the AAC version of the desired song ("m4a" version) → click menu “ File ” → click “ Get Info ” in the drop-down menu → change m4a to m4r in the " Name & Extension " section and press Return → click “ Use m4r ' when prompted.
Part 2 of 3: Transferring Ringtones to Phone
Step 1. Connect iPhone to computer
Connect the USB end of the iPhone charging cable to the computer's USB port, then plug the other end of the cable into the phone's charging port.
Step 2. Click the iPhone icon
It's an iPhone icon in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window. After that, the iPhone page will open, including a list of content stored on the device on the left side of the iTunes window.
Step 3. Click Tones
This tab is under the "On My Device" heading, on the left side of the iTunes window. The “Tones” page will open after that.
Step 4. Add a ringtone to the “Tones” page
Click and drag the.m4r version of the previously selected song into the iTunes window, then drop it. After that, the ringtone will be displayed on the page.
Step 5. Click Sync
It's a white button in the lower-right corner of the iTunes window.
Step 6. Wait for the ringtones to finish syncing
This process only takes a few seconds. Once the progress bar at the top of the iTunes window disappears, you can disconnect your device from your computer (if you wish) and move on to the ringtone setup step.
Part 3 of 3: Setting the Ringtone
Step 1. Open the iPhone settings menu (“Settings”)
Touch the gray gear icon to open the menu.
Step 2. Scroll down and tap Sounds & Haptics
This option is in the same settings group as the
“ General ”.
On iPhone 6S and earlier, touch the option “ Sounds ”.
Step 3. Touch Ringtone
This option is directly below the " SOUNDS AND VIBRATION PATTERNS " heading in the middle of the page.
Step 4. Touch the ringtone name
In the " RINGTONES " section, touch the name of the ringtone you want to set as the primary ringtone. You can see a blue tick to the left of the tone indicating that the phone will use a custom ringtone for all incoming calls.
Step 5. Assign a new ringtone for a specific contact
If you want to assign a ringtone to a specific contact, follow these steps:
- Open the Contacts app.
- Touch the desired contact name.
- Touch " Ringtones ”.
- Select a ringtone.
- Touch " Done ”.
