How to Set Songs as iPhone Ringtones

While there are tons of ringtone options on iPhone, none of them really express your individuality. You can use iTunes to turn a song into a 30-40 second ringtone. After syncing the new track with your iPhone, you can set it as your ringtone as usual.

Table of Contents

Create Ringtones

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Download and install iTunes if you are using Windows. You can use iTunes to create ringtones from your favorite music files on your computer and then transfer them to your iPhone. If you’re using a Windows computer, you’ll need to download and install iTunes. On Mac, iTunes comes pre-installed.

You can download iTunes for free from apple.com/itunes/download/ .
It is recommended that you use the latest version of iTunes because the syncing process will be easier.
Although there are many apps and websites that make ringtones, you still need to use iTunes to sync files with your iPhone after cutting the music. So isn’t it faster to create ringtones directly on iTunes.

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Download the song you want to make ringtone into iTunes. You need to add the song to your iTunes library before you can create a ringtone.

You can drag and drop songs into the iTunes window to add them to your library.
Or you can click File → Add File to Library (on a computer) or iTunes → Add to Library and access the file.
If you can’t add songs to your library, it may be because of an incompatible format. Refer to the online WAV to MP3 file conversion guide to change the song format.

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Listen to the song to find the right piece of music as a ringtone. The ringtone can be about 40 seconds long. Find the highlight of the song to make a ringtone.

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Remember the beginning and end times of the music. Record the opening and ending times for easier cutting.

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Right click on the song and select “Get Info” . This will open the file details window.

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Click on the “Options” page. You’ll see the Start Time and Stop Time fields below.

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Enter the time recorded in the previous step in the Start and Stop fields. Don’t forget to check the box next to each field to activate the new time.

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Listen to and adjust the music. Close the Get Info window and press Play to listen to the piece of music. You can return to the Options page in the Get Info window to adjust the time. Continue listening and adjusting until satisfied with the ringtone.

Remember that the maximum piece length is 40 seconds.

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Right click on the song and select “Create AAC Version” . You’ll see a new copy of the song appear in your library. The original is the full version and the new version is the cut ringtone.

If you don’t see the “Create AAC Version” option, click the “Edit” or “iTunes” menu and select “Preferences”. Click the “Import Settings” button and select “AAC Encoder” in the “Import Using” menu. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Right-click the new copy and choose “Show in Windows Explorer” (Show in Windows Window) (on desktop) or “Show in Finder” (Show in Finder) (on Mac). You will see a new window appear and the new copy is highlighted.

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Enable file extensions when using Windows. You will change the file format by renaming the extension, but this part is hidden from many users. If the extension is enabled you will see “.m4a” in the filename. If not, then follow these steps:

Windows 10, 8.1 and 8 – Click the “View” menu in the Windows Explorer window. Check the “File name extensions” dialog box to enable the extension.
Windows 7 and earlier – Open the Contrp Panel in the Start menu. Select “Fpder Options” or “Appearance and Personalization” and then select “Fpder Options”. Click on the “View” page. Uncheck the “Hide extensions for known file types” dialog box.

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Right click on the ringtone and select “Rename” . At this step, you can change the file extension.

Remember to right-click the file in the Explorer window, not in the iTunes library.

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Change the “.m4a” extension to “.m4r”. This is to convert the file to a format that iTunes and iPhone recognize as ringtones.

You will receive a warning that this action may render the file inoperable. Let’s just keep going.

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Open iTunes library. Return to the iTunes window showing the original song and the copy.

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Delete the iTunes copy, not the computer. Right-click the iTunes copy and select “Delete”. Select “Keep File” when asked. If you choose to delete the file, you will have to start over. You just want to remove the file from your iTunes library.

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Drag and drop the .m4r file into the iTunes window. Here’s how to add this file to your Tones library. You can transfer this ringtone to your iPhone. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Change Ringtone

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Connect iPhone to computer. If you’ve connected your iPhone to your computer before, you’ll see it automatically appear on iTunes. If not, you’ll be asked to do the initial setup on iTunes. The process only takes a few minutes, name your iPhone on iTunes.

Simply tap “Trust” in the window that appears on your iPhone’s screen.

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Open the Tones library on iTunes. Click the “…” button at the top of the iTunes window and select the “Tones” item. It has a bell icon. You will see a list of ringtones available in the library, including the one you just created in the previous step.

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Use the mouse to drag the ringtone. You’ll see a box appear on the left side of the screen, under “Devices” you’ll see your iPhone.

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Drop the ringtone file onto your iPhone in the left pane. Files will be transferred to iPhone immediately.

If you can’t switch the ringtone this way, select iPhone from the top row of buttons. Click on the “Tones” option in the left pane after selecting the device. Check the “Sync Tones” dialog box and select the ringtone you want to transfer to your iPhone. Click “Apply” to start transferring the ringtone to your phone.

Change Ringtone

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Open Settings on iPhone. After transferring the ringtone to your device, you can set it as a regular ringtone or assign a tone to a specific contact.

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Select “Sounds” . This is to open the sound preferences on your device.

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Tap the “Ringtone” option. All available ringtones will be displayed.

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Select a new ringtone. The ringtone you just added yourself will appear at the top of the list. Tap the track to set the ringtone as usual.

If you can’t find the ringtone, it may be longer than 40 seconds.

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Set new ringtone for specific contact. You can assign separate tones to each contact.

Open Contacts.
Tap the contact you want to set your own ringtone for.
Tap “Edit” in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Select the “Ringtone” option.
Select the ringtone you want to use.

Steps

Create Ringtones

Change Ringtone

Change Ringtone

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