When the iPhone was originally released, users were able to create their own iPhone ringtones by trimming a file to 30 seconds or less and changing the file extension to the Apple specific .M4R format. With the release of iTunes 7.4.x and iPhone firmware 1.1.1, the custom ringtones became disabled, or unrecognized by iTunes and the iPhone. Now with the latest release of iTunes version 7.5 and the most recent iPhone update, firmware version 1.1.2, custom ringtones are once again supported.
This is a relief to many since paying Apple one dollar for a song, then another dollar to convert that song to a ringtone was a bit of a waste. Here’s a step by step overview of how to create a custom ringtone for you iPhone with iTunes 7.5 and iPhone firmware version 1.1.2.
- Choose your music or sound (mp3)
- Use Audacity (or any other sound editing program) to cut the song to 30 seconds or less
- Add the song to your iTunes library
- Right click on the song in iTunes and convert to AAC
- Find the .mpa song in your iTunes Music folder. Most likely in C:\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music)
- If you don’t already have a Ringtones folder in your iTunes Music folder, create it now. Should be My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Ringtones
- Rename the .mpa song to .mpr (within Windows Vista, iTunes exports the file as .m4a – if this is the case for you, just rename to .m4r) (if you don’t see file extension, you can change this by selecting Tools > Folder Options > View (Tab) > Then uncheck the box for “Hide extensions for known file types”.
- Now add the Ringtones folder that you created to iTunes. Select File > Add Folder to Library and add the new Ringtones folder.
- The new ringtone should now appear in the Ringtones list in iTunes.
- Select the ringtones that you’d like to sync, or sync all ringtones.
- Sync the iPhone.
- From the iPhone home screen, go to Settings > Sounds > Ringtone on the iPhone.
- There is a grouping called Custom which should appear at the top of the list. Your new ringtone should be in that list.
Free iPhone Ringtones
CTU Ringtone – .mpr file
Crank Ringtone (Movie) – .mpr file
If you have any requests for other ringtones, let me know. If I like the song or the sound, I’ll gladly convert it for you.
57 Responses
ninja.s
November 29th, 2007 at 10:01 am
1Thanks for this great post. It will really help a lot of people out (including me) when getting ring tones on their phone. Thanks again, I really needed this.
Bryant
December 6th, 2007 at 7:52 am
2A few extra tips:
you must go back into iTune and load the ringtone through add file and located the new .mpr file.
1) When using Audiocity first export the mp3 song to a new mp3 song in a temporay director.
2) load up the mp3 in Audiocity and go to the ID3 tags and change the artist to Ringtones
3) Use trim function to get your 30 seconds of music and then export again to mp3 in temporary directory. Over writting extisting file is OK.
4) Add file to library from temp directory. then search under ringtones to find tune.
5) you now how to go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced>Importing>Import Using and change it to AAC format. DON’T FORGET TO CHANGE BACK TO MP3 AFTER YOU ARE DONE.
6) Go to the song and select and then right click and convert to AAC.
7) now you can go to your my music directory and go to the ringtones directory and find you tune and then rename the extension to .mpr
9) the ringtone should now be in the ringtones sync area.
10) You might want to go back and delete the files in your temp.
i.nconspicuo.us
December 6th, 2007 at 11:18 am
3What is the purpose of changing the artist to “Ringtones”???
Dido
December 8th, 2007 at 8:53 am
4Well I tried doing this with iTunes 7.5.0 and iPhone firmware 1.0.2 and it didn’t seems to work…
i.nconspicuo.us
December 8th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
5Upgrade your iTunes, and upgrade your iPhone firmware to v1.1.2
rames
December 10th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
6this works fine for me except one thing ,only one custom ringtone is availble on my iphone,means if i add 5 ringtones only one is shown in my iphone,please help me to resolve this.
i.nconspicuo.us
December 10th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
7I’ve only got 4 custom ringtones on my phone right now, I’ll try to add another soon and let you know what happens for me.
Good luck, and let us know if you find a solution before we post one.
Bryant
December 11th, 2007 at 5:30 am
8So you can have a directory called Ringtones that iTunes can store all your ringtones. Otherwise the ringtone gets put in the artist directory. This is not a required step but good for easy location of all ringtones.
Alina
December 18th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
9Hi
Have firmware 1.1.2 and iTunes 7.5 . I created the ringtones, they appear on the ringtone section of itunes but not on the syncing list nore my phone. have any idea why?
i.nconspicuo.us
December 19th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
10I’ve added 5+ ringtones with no problems… do you want to elaborate on the steps you took? How you add ringtones to iTunes, etc.?
danielle
December 26th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
11sorry if you have already answered this but is there anyway i can convert songs that i already bought on itunes and use them as ringtones. I realize i can change them to .mr4 and they can be used as ringtones but I dont want to use the fist 40 seconds i would like to use a minute into the song. Anything you can suggest?
Thanks!
i.nconspicuo.us
December 26th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
12Download Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and edit the song to the portion you want to use.
Craig
December 28th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
13i cant get the extension to change. how do you do that?
khnisa
January 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 am
14Good tips!! I always felt paying 2 bucks for a ringtone is a waste of money since I like to assign different ringtone to different people.
Jim
January 11th, 2008 at 12:56 am
15I followed the instructions correctly but it isn’t working for me. I got the file saved as an .m4r in the Ringtone folder. I add the folder with the new ringtone in it, to my iTunes library but it does not appear in the Ringtones on the right side. Also, I went back to the iTunes/Ringtones folder and the newly created ringtone is gone from the folder.
I did notice when I edit the :30 part of the song, for some reason it makes it :34 seconds long. Should I select :26 seconds long due to the :04 add on by GarageBand?
Any ideas how to fix this problem?
Thanks.
i.nconspicuo.us
January 11th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
16That’s wierd… try using a different audio editing program, or just try doing a 10 second sound clip. If neither of those work, you may want to make sure that you’ve got the .m4r file placed in the appropriate ringtone directory. I’m not sure where the directory is located on Macs.
Kyle Mayfield
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 pm
17I have cut the song to 30 secs converted the file to .mpa and then renamed the file to .m4r placed it in my ringtones folder on itunes music and its in my ringtones on itunes…i sync my phone and it shows up in the custom list…but doesn’t play any sounds ….any help?
Kyle Mayfield
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:33 pm
18i have cut my audio clip to 30 secs and converted it to .mpa..then renamed to .m4r put in itunes music/ringtones and itunes has it in my ringtones then i sync to my iphone…it shows up under custom ringtones…but it won’t play any help?
Christine
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
19Please help – I’ve gotten through Step 7, and I’m ready to throw myself out a window. What is an mpa. song and where can I find it?
Thanks.
Christine
January 24th, 2008 at 12:11 am
20Update – I’ve gotten through all of the steps (thank you) and the ringtone I created is in the ringtone file, but it doesn’t sync with my IPhone. My IPhone also doesn’t have a custom ringtone file.
Any suggestions? And by the way, the song I’ve used is Childhood Dreams by Nelly Furtado.
Thanks.
pat3sha
January 24th, 2008 at 1:29 am
21My itunes is 7.6.0.29 i right click on the song in my itunes but it doesnt have “convert to acc” it only shows “convert to mp3″ and convert “1d3 tags” what do i do?
i.nconspicuo.us
January 24th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
22You have to change the output settings in your preferences… you don’t want it to output MP3 files.
clark b
January 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
23I’ve been trying and cant find out how to do it, you think you could convert one for me?
i.nconspicuo.us
January 30th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
24Sure, I could do one for you… as long as I like the song you’re trying to convert!
Landon
January 30th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
25okay i think i might be running a newer software. i just bought my phone on 01/30/08 but i got the extenstion fixed and i could put it in the ringtone file but it will not sync. can you please help.
Neil
February 29th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
26when i try to sync my ipod it says the song couldnt be tranfered because the iphone cant play the sound
i.nconspicuo.us
February 29th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
27Did you convert the file to AAC format, or did you just rename it to M4R???
The file must be converted to the Apple AAC (M4P) format first.
Avraam
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 am
28i have a 1.1.3 iphone and i see the ringtones in itunes but not on iphone what do i do ?
Avraam
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
29Please answer asap i am i living in half an hour for dubai …
Thanks Anw For All ….
andrew
March 8th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
30hey guys i have a proble my ringtone is inside the iphone but it dosnt sound if any one of you know why please tell me why
chris
March 9th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
31thanks for this tutorial, it made my process a little easier and saved me some time.
Presto Chango
March 14th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
32Thanks Alot ! This was an easy step by step ! Really apreciate it !
Tyler
March 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
33I create the ringtone just fine, import into itunes just fine…but for some odd reason my iPhone will only allow me to have one custom ringtone. When I sync multiple one they all show up as duplicates of the same one. Any suggestions?
gamemaker
March 25th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
34hey i have itunes 7.6 and everything works up untill the ringtone should show up in the ringtone tab it just just not show up please help if you can
Vampirej
March 29th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
35Great. It works a treat.
I’m using itunes 7.6 and was only having some issues with sync by not ticking the “sync ringtone” checkbox on iphone… Doh~~
Thanks for the tips…
I have successfully sync’d 2 different ringtones, using the above method from mp3 format.
ive.shine
April 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am
36i got the ringtone in my iTunes library but when i sync it with my phone it does’nt apear in my phone? please help
ru...
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
37i.nconspicuo.us, pls pls pls help!!
I created 2 ringtones of 30 sec and 25 sec.Its under ringtones now in itunes.When i sync my iphone it says sync in progress…Done..
But where can i find them in my iphone?
Settings>sounds>rintone…its not there at all.
No “custom” at all..Very curious..Please help…!!
I am using itunes 7.5 and iphone 1.0.2
Is that possible with this version??
pharren985
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm
38ive done everything except change the file extension i have vista and i know it was said to go to tools to uncheck the box but where exactly is tools located?
Lily
April 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
39Ok, so i have tried every different way that every different blog posting has said to try to convert an iTunes song into a ringtone for my iPhone and none has worked. I can get up to changing the file name to .m4r but when i try to add it back to iTunes, nothing happens, it won’t even show up in the itunes library as .m4r or the ringtone section. I have the 7.6.2 version of iTunes and whatever the most recent firmware software for iPhone is. Please help because i feel like throwing both my iphone and macbook out the window!!!!
Sasi
May 4th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
40I successfully converted one mp3 song as iPhone Ringtone. And its working perfectly. But when I try to do one more song from MP3, in iPhone it shows in the Custom Section the new ringtone appears with the old ringtone name which i converted earlier from MP3 and same tune not the latest tune too. But in iTunes, iPhone Ringtone folder shows that it has 2 songs with correct name but playing one tone there too.
How to fix this issue.
Nikita
May 18th, 2008 at 4:51 am
41Thanks !!!
Gteat posting. clear and easy.
Cheers !
Nikita
blahblah
May 31st, 2008 at 2:45 am
42uhm hi.. i cant figure out how to do step 8.. how do i add the folder to library?!..
thanks!
Oliver
July 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
43Hi, I followed all of the above steps but when i look on my iphone after syncing, there is no custom folder inside my riongtones folder, so the ringtones don’t show up. can u help please
i.nconspicuo.us
July 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am
44Hi Oliver,
Are you using a Mac or a PC?
These steps have worked time and time again for me while using a PC. If at first you don’t succeed, try again.
Oliver
July 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am
45hi thanks for the reply. i’m using a PC.
but i’ll keep tryin as you say .
thankyou
Mike
August 6th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
46Finally, a solution! I had the same issues as many who’ve posted here: followed all the steps above and the 30-second ringtone appears everywhere appropriate in iTunes but NEVER in my iphone. My last ditch effort: I downloaded iRinger (google it), imported the song, and exported to itunes. I opened itunes, and the newly created ringtone automatically appeared under the Library ringtone folder. After a sync, the much anticipated Settings->Sounds->Ringtones->”Custom” folder shows up in my iphone. I’ve got my custom ringtone…good lord, finally. [I'm using a 16GB iphone 3g and itunes 7.7.0.43]
Wan
August 26th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
47Hi. I tried what you’ve said. I converted the ringtone from mp3 to m4a, and when I tried to add new folder on the itune it did not appear. When I checked my iphone in ringtones section there were nothing in there?? I don’t know what to do. Any suggestion? Will appreciate a lot. Thanks in advance.
Victoria Riley
September 13th, 2008 at 12:45 am
48Thank you Mike !! iRinger is brilliant !! I’ve got my ringtone back and I know when it’s my phone again !! Couldn’t stand those dreadful ones the damn thing came with.
viji
September 17th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
49Hi, I tried upto upload the ringtone, I see the ringtone on my ITune window , I don;t see it on my iphone. there is no custom folder
angellosim
October 20th, 2008 at 11:54 am
50i follow the instruction that you gave about the ringtones but i can see the ringtone folder in my itune.I have the itune 8.0 and my iphone is 2.1 version please i don’t know what else ia can do.Please answear me.
ballakid3497
December 27th, 2008 at 9:43 am
51ok well, i did all the steps u asked me to do to get free ringtones, i did them all, my ringtone is in my iTunes music library, but for some reason whenever i sinc my phone up it doesn’t work, please help if you have the time
Maty
December 28th, 2008 at 12:05 am
52how about converting sounds into message tones?
Lex
January 21st, 2009 at 2:57 am
53Not sure about PC users, but for Mac, you have to copy the ringtones out of the folder on to the desktop and then change the name to m4r before dropping them back in otherwise it won’t work. Check the tutorial on outerspaceringtones.com it breaks it down really well, I’ve followed these steps and it worked perfectly on OSX.
Chan
February 10th, 2009 at 9:18 am
54Apple Newbie; seems straight forward except for one thing… do you need to jailbreak your phone to do this? If not, everything went fine for me and I can not see the ringtone on my folder.
Yara
February 24th, 2009 at 2:53 am
55oh wow its like u guyz are talking a whole new different language !! i’m not so good with computers therefore i can’t relate to the whole m4a acc m4r thing!!! so i might as well shut up and enjoy the marimba ringtone!
Chan
February 24th, 2009 at 11:47 am
56Figured out it was a hyphen (-) in the file name that was messing things up. Also found this stite that will do it all for you!
http://audiko.net/
CLC
March 19th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
57This worked great for me. I had a few kinks but after I figured them out it worked fine. Thanks!
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