Want to make an iPhone ringtone with your own music? Just follow the step-by-step instructions below. Make sure to start out with songs that are mp3s or are otherwise DRM-free. *Updated for iTunes 11*
How to Make an iPhone Ringtone in iTunes:
1. Open iTunes.
2. Open Preferences in the iTunes menu at the top (it may be under Edit for Windows users):
3. Select the General tab:
4. Select Import Settings:
5. Click on the dropdown list after Importing Using:
6. Select AAC Encoder (it may already be the default):
7. Select OK to go back to the Preferences, then select OK again.
8. Select Music in the left iTunes sidebar and find a song you want to make into a ringtone:
9. You’ll need to find a 40 second or less section of the song to turn into a ringtone. Note (or write down) the starting and stopping point of the section of the song. You can see the time of the song in the play window at the top of iTunes:
10. Right click on the song, and select Get Info:
11. Select the Options tab at the top:
12. Enter the start and stop time of the clip in the corresponding boxes and make sure the checkboxes are checked when you are finished:
13. Click OK in the bottom right.
14. In the iTunes menu at the top, click Advanced, then Create AAC Version from the drop-down menu (in iTunes 11, it’s File –> Create New Version –> Create AAC Version):
15. You should see a second version of the song appear in iTunes, only with the shorter play time. Click to play to make sure it sounds how you’ll want the ringtone to sound.
16. We aren’t quite finished yet! Now we have to change the file format so that it will appear as a ringtone in iTunes.
17. Navigate to the folder where the new clip is stored on your computer (it will be in the same folder as the original version of the song). To find it in Windows, right-click the clip in iTunes, then choose Show in Explorer. For Mac, right-click and select Show In Finder.
18. Copy the song (press Control and C for Windows, Command and C for Mac), and paste the song in the same folder (Control and V or Command and V) so that a third version appears.
19. Now, change the file extension of the third version from .m4a to .m4r.
Troubleshooting: Don’t see the file extension? Windows 7: click the Start button, Control Panel–>Appearance and Personalization–>Folder Options–>View tab–>and uncheck Hide Extensions for known file types. For Windows XP: in the Explorer window, go to Tools –> Folder Options –> View and uncheck Hide extensions for known file types. For Vista: Organize –> Folder and Search Options and uncheck Hide extension for known file types.
20. Rename the file, if you want (for example, CoolRingtone.m4r). Note: If there are symbols such as underscores or hyphens in the name, you must remove them.
21. Important: In iTunes, delete the first AAC clip you made by right-clicking on the clip and selecting delete (if you don’t do this, iTunes might not accept the new ringtone):
22. Go back to the folder with the new ringtone file (.m4r file). Drag and drop the file into iTunes. Or import it by opening iTunes, select File, and select: Windows XP/Vista: Add File to Library, Mac: Add to Library.
23. Now we need to sync the ringtone to your iPhone. Connect the iPhone to the computer.
24. Click on your iPhone in the left sidebar in iTunes (Note: for iTunes 11, your iPhone can be found under Devices at the top right):
25. Click on the Tones tab, check the Sync tones checkbox, then check either All tones or Selected tones. If you choose Selected ringtones, make sure your new ringtone is also checked so it will sync:
26. Now click the Apply button in the bottom right (it may also say Sync. Click Sync if it does).
And that’s it. You’ve done it! The ringtone is now on the iPhone. Got to Settings on your iPhone, tap Sounds, and you can change to your new ringtone. If the ringtone doesn’t show up on the iPhone, follow the Troubleshooting steps below, else go to the Clean Up section for one important last step.
Troubleshooting
Did the ringtone not appear on your iPhone? Follow these steps.
1. Click on the Summary tab for your iPhone in iTunes:
2. See if the checkbox labeled Manually manage music and video is checked. If not, check it.
3. Click on Tones in the left sidebar (older versions of iTunes may say Ringtones instead) and find the ringtone:
4. Drag and drop the ringtone onto your iPhone in the left sidebar. The iPhone should begin synching immediately, and the ringtone will appear shortly on your iPhone:
More Troubleshooting
Problem: I don’t see Tones or Ringtones in the iTunes Sidebar.
Go into Preferences–>General, and under Show make sure the Tones checkbox is checked.
Problem: You get a scary message “All existing songs, movies and TV shows on the iPhone will be removed.”
You likely received this message because you’ve never synced your iPhone with iTunes before and therefore don’t have a back-up of your iPhone data. Cancel the current sync. Unplug your iPhone and plug it back in again. Right click on your iPhone in the left sidebar and select Back Up:
Now that iTunes has an image of your current iPhone to work from, right click on it again in the left sidebar and select Sync.
Clean Up
You made the ringtone, but there’s one clean-up task to do. We need to fix the Start/Stop time of the original song. Otherwise, the next time you play the song, it won’t play the whole thing. In iTunes, right click the original song, select Get Info –> Options and reset the Start/Stop time by deleting the numbers and leaving the fields blank. All done!
Thanks… I got it to work perfect.
More helpful info: also when finish making the ring tone, go back to the original song, get info, click other and unchecked the start and end time. it will automatically rest the time when you exit out that section, you will not have to manually put the end time in
my bad i see u already have that in your instructions… lol
You are the man, much easier than doing with a trial version mp3 splitter.
May GOD bless you with a super hot wife
Works like a charm! Thanks for your excellent instructions, and for saving me from becoming one cranky new iPhone owner.
YEAH it works perfectly! Thanks a lot! It helped me sooo much… You’re a GENIUS man!
Thanks mate, you’re the best! Already created a fine collection of my favorite personalized ringtones. Awesome!
The m4r file is showing up on my iTunes ringtones library, and also in the list when I click on Devices>Ringtones, but it’s not making it to my new 3GS iPhone. Any ideas?
THanks,
Roz
Thanks so much!! I was just about to pay for some ringtones from itunes and I found this site. You are a life and moneysaver! LOL!
This site is totally awesome! I am in no way a computer geek…so..needless to say it took me awhile to get everything to work, like several hours…but I was determined to get this to work! I tried several other sites and this is the onoly one that step by step…got me through it! I am running the newest version of Itunes, so I am sure they are trying everyway they know to block this! Anyway,..thanks!
Thanks for the post, Everything worked just the way it has been documented on here.!
Rgds
Brilliantly done. I have only been an iPhone user for a little over a week now but your guide worked like a charm.
Thank you so much.
in my iTunes..i don’t have a tab that says iTunes. it’s just file, so on.. ??
This took a few tries, but it definitely works.
Thank you so much! I was trying to figure this out for forever; this is the first website that helped me and was straight forward. :)
thank you so much! that worked perfectly!!
can you tell me how to do step one? thanks in advance.
:)
WORKED GREAT! thank you so much man
I spent all day trying to figure this out and looking all over the internet. Yet, this seemed to be the only thing that worked for me. thank you so much!
Keep up the good work bro………..cld get the work done in 5 mins
Thank you…. I have created a ringtone but now i can not get it to appear in my ringtones folder….i have it in a ringtone playlist and it is in my phone….but how do i get it to be a ringtone on my phone now…or how do i get it to be in the Ringtone folder on the left side bar…. thanks
Incredible! It worked! Wish I knew this before now!
Awesome!! Tried so many different ways but this works perfectly!
Super killer, thanks ! Worked like a dream.
i’m stuck on finding the “tools” to “hide extenstions”. the song opens up in windows but it won’t let me change the file extension type. :( help!
I walk through all the steps but my m4r will not copy into my itunes and I don’t know what to do to get it there. Can anyone help?
hey Katie…I had the same issue.
Try going into Devices > iphone > “Ringtones” tab
it might already be there…it was for me.
Great instructions BTW…I was at first daunted, but very simple in the end.
Thanks soooo much!! Worked perfect
When syncing the ringtone to the iphone, it deleted all of my other music and videos? I have no idea why…I have chosen to manually manage my music. Any suggestions?
Thanks goodness Apple removed DRM protection from iTunes, that removes a step from the process. I’d like to add that many people don’t have a bluetooth to transfer their ringtones to their phone so they’ll to use an app like Data pilot to copy any music files from your hard drive (usually in “My Documents/My Music” on Windows) to your phone.
I must have an older version of Itunes or an extremely new version of ITunes.
My problem is that I have an unlocked Iphone that works on Tmobile. It has its selected ringtones. I would like to add more to it.
I can not upgrade according to the “keymaster” who unlocked it and I have to get SmartPhone via Tmobile.
However as I go off on a tangent, I need to know how to create a ringtone and put it onto my iphone.
by the way I have a 1st gen.
Not rich like a lot of people, but its a start.
Can someone send me some instructions on how to do this? and as I am a blond, yes, I need step by step.
Erwi36@yahoo.com
Thanks.
Eric.
this is brill, worked first time and im very pleased that it worked :) thankss.
i cannot get from step 16 and down on.. i need help!!!
I had trouble doing this with files purchased from iTunes originally (ones that were called “ringtones” and that I already thought were in the proper format. iTunes wanted me to pay again to convert them to ringtone format!), rather than from files ripped from CDs.
It appears there is a catch with the method described above when trying to use songs originally purchased from iTunes and already in AAC format, unless you do the following first:
1. Convert the AAC file you donwloaded from iTunes into an MP3 file (fortunately the new DRM-free iTunes allows you to do this easily now, rather than having to burn to CD first and then burn the CD back onto your hard drive as MP3 to get rid of the DRM).
2. After converting the AAC file from iTunes into MP3, convert the MP3 file back into AAC.
3. Then change the file extension of the newly reconverted AAC file to .m4r
4. Now, rather than appearing as a music file, the file will appear in iTunes as a ringtone and will sync easily with your iPhone.
Everything worked like a charm, installed to phone, even changed the settings to the ringtones, which I can listen to on my phone. When I receive a call though, they don’t play? My old settings play. I restarted my phone, but this didn’t solve the bug. Any suggestions? Ideas? What do you think I am doing wrong? Thanks :)
Let me just say….duh….the number I was using to test with had a custom ringtone for what used to be my default ringtone. Worked beautifully, thank you for the excellent explanation as well! :)
Instructions worked very well thanks. The import using AAC (step 6) is key, otherwise the Advanced menu says “Create MP3 Version” or whatever other format is currently selected. Also the 40 second limit is strict. My tune began as 40.803 seconds and it would not appear in the Ringtones menu for selection to sync with my iPhone.
this is such an amazing resource!! this worked amazingly well!! THANK YOU!!!!! :c)
( i was Hating the ringtone options on itunes)
Excellent step-by-step instructions. Worked perfectly for me on the first try.
Now I can finally have ringtones that I actually want, without having to pay – yet again – for music that I’ve already bought (often three or four times as formats have changed over the years).
I’ll definitely recommend this to anyone I know trying to figure this out.
After Step 14 “Create AAC veriosn”, I get a message that says ” could not be converted because protected files cannot be converted to other formats”.. the song I am trying was downloaded from the iTunes store? Can anyone help me unprotect the song so I can convert to a ringtone
everything worked except when i copied the ringtone to my library, it does not show up. i have the newest version of itunes and an iphone 3g. please advise.
Worked fine, even with an underscore mistakingly in the ringtone as in “test_ringtone” but I also had a similar problem described above: it zapped all the music and videos from my iPhone, had to reload them…
If you try to sync your newly created ringtone you will get a message, your music and videos will be deleted. So don’t sync. The fix is to drag the newly created ringtone to the iPhone icon. DO NOT drag it to the “ringtones” submenu under the iPhone. Just move it to the iPhone icon itself. For some reason this works and leaves your music and other files on the iPhone intact.
Perfecto ! Thanks for the very detailed process.
Jim, there is probably an easier way but if you burn a protected song onto a CD, then reimport it, it will not be protected anymore.
I was wondering if I could use my fav songs as ringtones and this web-page appeared as charm and saved my life coz no one would like to pay iTunes for the 2nd time when the song is already purchased from iTunes.Thanks a lot.
I just wanted to say thank you!! I tried a similar way a few nights ago to make a ringtone for my iPhone. I made the ringtone but it wouldn’t sync to my iPhone.
I followed your steps one by one and it worked flawlessly!! It was so simple!!! Thanks again for clear & concise instructions. :)
THANKS for such clear instructions! I successfully made ringtones of my grand-daughter’s chatter and am now happy to hear my phone ring!
Thank you, guys. I’m glad they’re helping you out!
These instructions are amazingly….instructional! ha. I was able to follow everything through except..my ringtone doesn’t show up in the ringtone tab?? It shows up on itunes though? PLease help! :)
Fantastic information, really easy to follow with the step by step instructions. I got it working first time which is practically unheard of!
Keep up the good work!
I went through the instructions about 10 times and could not get it to work, then I found my mistake. I was typing .mr4 for the file extension instead of .m4r o_0 Everything works great now, TYVM!!!!
great. i had tried a number of other site’s instructions and they didn’t work. this was super helpful. thank you!
Awesome! Worked perfectly on the first try. Thanks for the clear instructions!
ugh! I was able to convert to m4r but it would not drag into the ringtones category! I’m stuck. Please tell me what I’m missing here.
I can’t find the “organize” tab to Vista: Organize –> Folder and Search Options and uncheck Hide extension for known file types.
Please help :(
itunes shows the ringtones, but when I sync, I only get some of them. This is even though they show that they will sync. What fixes this problem please?
Thanks so much for a great step by step instruction! I love all of my Apple/Mac products, and to know people kind like you exist who care about how all these products are used and freely share their knowledge is heartwarming.
Thank you!
God bless,
Linda Lauren
Note that your original file cannot be an AAC file, or “Convert to AAC” will not truncate the song. (Took me forever to figure out why it wouldn’t work.)
If you have an AAC file you desperately want to use which is too long, you can either go roundtrip to MP3 and back (changing the Encoder to MP3 in “Import Settings” (just like in step 6), and perform steps 2-7 and step 14 to “Convert to MP3” before resuming at step 2 to turn things back to AAC). OR you can just download something like Audacity and crop the song yourself. :P
I’ve done everything right, but the ringtone’s still not showing up on my iPhone. I tried to do the playlist thing but the ringtone won’t drop into the playlist for some reason….
In my experience there seems to be a maximum file name size, maybe 12-16 chars or something; at least the .m4r files I had in iTunes only appeared in the iPhone’s ringtone list after I shortened the (longer) names.
Thank you so much! This was the only problem I had with the iphone. I wanted my old ringtone on it so bad and now I have it.
YES! If your ringtone isn’t appearing on your ringtone list, SHORTEN THE NAME. :)
Great tutorial. Thank you so much for making this, I will send it to my niece who asked me this very question a few days ago.
Cheers!
Missy
I didn’t see file m4r on the playlist anyway I click at my iphone on the left and ringtone tab and it’s there. Great!! I got my cool ringtone now. Thank you so much this website help a lot. :)
YOU ARE THE MAN!!
thank you so much – works perfectly. GarageBand ’09 was driving me nuts – for creating ringtones it does *not* “just work”: in fact, it creates files that have about 20 seconds of audio and then then fade out for the remaining 20. it sucks. your method, by contrast, works great!
you are the ONLY one who could explain this on the entire internet. FINALLY got Michael Jackson’s Human Nature as my ringtone!!!!!
You rock! Thanks.
I got as far as step23, found the ringtone in Library-Ringtones but when I clicked on iPhone-Ringtones it wasn’t there, not sure what I did wrong, it took me a few attempts to get this far tbh… HELP! :)
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