How to add custom ringtones to your iPhone

The Apple iPhone is arguably the most popular smartphone in the world and since it arrived in 2007, Apple’s smartphone has come a long way. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the iPhone market share was only 37 per cent but it accounted for 50 per cent of revenues. Such is the popularity of the iPhone that we often forget the small things it misses out on.

ALSO READ: Every Apple smartphone launched since 2007

One of the features that the Apple iPhone does not support just yet is the ability to add your custom ringtones. If you are wondering if it is even possible to add your custom ringtones, then you are not alone. While some might think it would be as easy as changing the ringtone from settings, the process is a bit complicated, and it involves using iTunes. Here’s how to add custom ringtones to iPhone and set custom ringtone on iPhone.

Steps to add custom ringtones on iPhones

1. Get iTunes

When the iPhone debuted in 2007, it was mandatory to have iTunes to make full use of Apple’s mobile device. However, you are no longer dependent on iTunes with a modern iPhone but if you want to set a custom ringtone then you need iTunes. If you have a Windows PC then you can download and install the latest version of iTunes from Apple. 

2. Choose a sound file

To set up a custom ringtone on your iPhone, you will need a sound clip you want to convert and use as a ringtone. If you already have a ringtone then you must know that Apple allows a sound file that is a maximum of 40 seconds long. For ringtones longer than 40 seconds, iTunes will not allow you to copy that ringtone.

One of the ways to use a ringtone that is longer than 40 seconds is to cut only the part you want to use using an audio editor like Audacity or an online tool like mp3cut.net. Once you have the MP3 file to use as your ringtone, it doesn’t mean you can directly use it as your custom ringtone. 

3. Convert the MP3 file to AAC

On your iPhone, you cannot use an MP3 file as a custom ringtone and you will first need to convert it to AAC format. To convert the file, first add the sound file to iTunes and locate it in your media library.

ALSO READ: How to convert a video into audio

After reading the file, select it in iTunes and click File > Convert > Create AAC version. You can look under Library > Songs for the file after converting it.

4. Rename your AAC file

After the conversion process, you will find two copies of the same song in your iTunes library. There will be the original MP3 version and the new AAC version. You can see which song file is which by going to the “Kind” column and you can right-click the MPEG audio file version and remove it from your library.

Now, you have your ringtone as an AAC file but you cannot use it directly. You will need to change its file extension first for iTunes to recognise it as a ringtone file. While an AAC file has .m4a extension, your iPhone ringtone has .m4r extension.

To change the extension, drag and drop the AAC file from your iTunes library to your desktop or any other folder. Now, right-click the file, click rename and change the extension. If your file is named ringtone.m4a, change it to ringtone.m4r.

5. How to set custom ringtone on iPhone 

Now that you have a sound file in a format that matches your iPhone, you are ready to set a custom ringtone on your iPhone. To add that, connect your iPhone to your PC or Mac using the cable you use to charge your iPhone. 

Now, unlock your iPhone and tap the “Allow” option on the screen to enable the connection. If you are connecting for the first time, you might be required to enter the passcode and click on the device icon. Navigate to the Tones section under On My Device in the left sidebar and drop the .m4r ringtone file.

iTunes will sync the ringtone to your phone and it will immediately appear under the Tones section. Now, on your iPhone, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, tap on Ringtone and then choose your custom ringtone. All your custom ringtones will appear at the top of the list followed by default ringtones.

You can use the above steps to add any custom ringtone to your iPhone and even use iTunes to delete that file. However, on macOS Catalina, you can use the Music app instead to set up a custom ringtone.

On Mac, iTunes came installed and can be used right away but with the release of macOS Catalina, Apple stopped offering iTunes (more on that later). Once you have iTunes installed, here’s how to add custom ringtones to your iPhone.