Free Custom iPhone Ringtones using only iTunes
Written on August 07, 2008 by Jenny Kortina and 172 people have commented
Create free ringtones for your iPhone using only iTunes and songs you already have on your computer (This method only works with songs that are DRM free. To create ringtones using DRM protected songs please use this method). This method has been tested and works with iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.1 firmware.
To create custom ringtones using only iTunes:
- Right click on the song you are going to make into a ringer and select “Get Info.”
- Go to the options tab and go down to the “Start Time” and “Stop Time” check boxes. Check both boxes and input the time you want your ringer to start/stop. The ringer has to be 30 seconds or less. Click OK when you’re done.
- Right click on your newly “clipped” song and select “Convert Selection to AAC.” The song will be re-encoded using the start and stop times determined (If your menu item does not read “Convert Selection to AAC” and reads “Convert Slection to MP3″ (or some other format) please go to
iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > Importingand change the “Import Using” drop down menu to “AAC Encoder”). - After the song is done encoding navigate to your iTunes Music folder, locate your song, and drag it to your desktop. After the song is on your desktop go back to iTunes and delete the clipped version from you iTunes library (It won’t delete it from your desktop, it will only remove it from iTunes).
- Go back the song on your desktop and right click on your song and chose “Get info.” Go to the name and extension section and change the extension from .m4a to .m4r (or you can just change the extension right from your desktop)
- After the extension is changed simply double click on the file to add it to your iTunes library under the ringtones section. Sync your phone with iTunes and you’re done!
Remember to go back into iTunes and uncheck your custom start and stop times for the original version of your song.
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#1 Dezo Dates says:ah, boogie
#2 Hobbes Doo says:Cool method, though it seems a bit more work than just using GarageBand.
#3 Jenny Kortina says:Believe it or not the process only takes a few minutes once you know what you’re doing.
#4 RJToronto says:Brilliant tip!
To test it out, I just converted three tracks into ringtones in about 10 minutes.
Thanks, mate!
#5 Jas_purdue says:I realized this method a few weeks ago and it has been great making ringtones in a matter of few minutes without paying extra bucks. So far, I haven’t hit any constraints in terms of how long the ringtone can be or how many can we store on iphone 3g… A very useful application indeed.!
#6 Harold says:I’m surprised someone hasn’t written a simple program to do all that work for you. Wonder how long before Apple shuts that concept down. I smell a new version of iTunes coming out………….
#7 Goobi says:Freakin awesome! My friend on Windows was having a hard time creating ringtones with crappy ringtone makers. Can you believe it? An iPhone ringtone maker outputs the file as an MP3. Geez. Anyway, thanks for this.
#8 RaniLT says:how do you change the extension on your desktop??
#9 Jenny Kortina says:@RaniLT just rename the file
#10 lambreeee says:how do you change the extension on your desktop from m4a to m4r on windows??
#11 Adeel says:This rocks. Thanks Jenny.
RaniLT - to change the extension on your desktop you will have to first configure Windows to show the file extention (it is hidden by default). To do this follow the instructions below:
1. Open My Computer
2. In the menu bar, choose Tools and then choose Folder Options
3. Click the View tab
4. Uncheck the box for “Hide extensions for known file types”
5. Click on “Apply to all folders”
6. Click OK to close window
Now you should see the file extension of every file. Simply right-click the file and choose rename to change the extension from m4a to m4r. Finally, follow the same instructions to hide the exetensions.
Hope this helps!
#12 MacShill (Chris McCaw) says:Apple will find a way to bleed money out of it. The words “free” and Apple don’t mix well together.
#13 PC says:Thanks Adeel, the Windows adjustment works!
#14 Rich Cassady says:I am having trouble getting the file into the ringtones section. I got the m4r file name, but when I double click it, it just goes to my library, I can’t drag it over, and I can’t find how to get it to the ring tone section. Maybe I am just a tard, but please help.
#15 lok cheung says:whenever you need the original file of any song in your iTunes, no need to locate it yourself in the itunes music folder. just drag the song from iTunes to the desktop, and the file will be copy to. the original file in the itunes music folder, nor the song in iTunes, will not be deleted or modified.
#16 Earl Hickey says:No.12 - What percentage of the apps in the Apps Store are free?
#17 Nick Gorbikoff says:#16 Earl Hickey
How many of those free apps are made by Apple?
And don’t tell me about preloaded apps that come with Leopard or iPhone - you paid for them when you paid for your computer & operating system and or $200 & 2yr contract. Not saying it didn’t worth it - just saying as far as money making apple is worse than MS. At least MS provides lot’s of extra free tools through technet or it’s Express/Student programs.
#18 Tans says:Everything went as described up to getting the file on my desktop. However, when I did the right click on the file, there was no “Get Info” to click on in order to change the extension to m4a. I went into “properties” to attempt to change the extension was was told it was an invalid valid file and it would not change. What am I doing wrong? Please help. Thanks !!
#19 Tans says:Everything went as described up to getting the file on my desktop. However, when I did the right click on the file, there was no “Get Info” to click on in order to change the extension to m4r. I went into “properties” to attempt to change the extension but was told it was an invalid file and it would not change. What am I doing wrong? Please help. Thanks !!
On my previous comment, it should have been m4r. Thanks
#20 Bigtymer says:Why go through all this hassle when you can use iPhoneRingToneMaker or iToner. Such they cost a few bucks, but they sure save you a lot of time doing these 6 steps over and over
#21 quehegan says:Was already posted on stopgeek.com on July 17
#22 Tans says:#11 Adeels suggestion did the trick. I was able to change the extension. Thank you. It works great !!!!!!!!!!
#23 la_florecita says:OH GOOD GOD, you have made my day!!! No lie. Thanks so much for this.
#24 Steve says:If you do this, and the file doesn’t show up in your Ringtones folder, it’s because you didn’t delete the original file you made. Delete it, then try moving the m4r file in, and it should work.
#25 Harbinger says:Brilliant!!
#26 Tyler says:Very nice tutorial, works flawlessly, thanks. Dugg!
#27 Roland Brezina says:My iTunes 7.7.1 has an option on RMB called “Create Ringtone…”
#28 kortina says:Best iphone tip ever. Thanks, Jenny.
#29 angela Stephens says:Great tip. Thank you. If only I could get it to work on my iPhone. I think I’m having sound problems in general because even the default ringtones aren’t working.
#30 Rich Cassady says:This much better managed using Garage Band. Here is how.
http://lifehacker.com/software/how-to/create-custom-iphone-ringtones-the-free-and-apple-way-334073.php
#31 Taryn says:this works flawlessly! awesome! thanks!
#32 Adam Brown says:I’m able to do everything but the last step, that is geting the m4r file off the desktop and into my ringtones on itunes. What would cause this or what am i doing wrong?
#33 Rich Cassady says:the easiest way, (other than using Garage Band 4, which does it automatically, is just finding your ringtone folder and copying the file in there.
#34 Rich Cassady says:Now that we have mastered Ringtones, does anyone have an idea how to change the text message alerts? There are only 6 on the phone. 5 suck, and I am tired of the 6th one. I was hoping to find an alternative to Jailbreak.
#35 David Zetter says:I did everything that rich Cassady did, but I still cannot get the file to copy to the ringtone section of iTunes. What gives?
#36 Rich Cassady says:Are you using Garage band? That is the easiest way, providing you have version 4. If not, to get the song back, find your ringtone folder, and copy the newly made ringtone into it.
#37 Dr Love says:works like a charm. thanks for the tip.
#38 Sequoia McCaw says:Apple just announces a $30 million dollar profit right off the bat from their applications store. The least they could do is give you free ringtones. And it looks like the applications developers is where the new goldmine has been found.
#39 Jenny says:i can do everything except the last part i changed the
extention to .m4r on my desktop and i deleted the one
in itunes but when i double click the one on my desktop
it wont open in itunes
#40 David Zetter says:I gave up since it did not work. I downloaded the iPhone RingToneMaker and used it for the trial (3 ringtones). It worked perfectly, so I paid $7.50 for the full version. This is a no brainer since the other way didn’t work. Just Google iPhone RingToneMaker. It is definitely worth $7.50.
#41 Sean says:While double clicking the file to change the name, I accidentally added the m4a file back into my library. Didn’t realize I had even done it. Had to delete the file again from my iTunes library for the ringtone to accept. Just posting for some of the last steppers in case they have done the same thing…
#42 housewhitesp says:house dog frog go frog student
#43 Alexa P says:Hi, i have followed all the step to putting the song onto the desktop and then i read the blog on how to go to my computer in order to change m4a. to m4r. however im using vista….. and i don’t have a menu with any sort of tools that could help me. How do i get around this on vista.
Thanks
#44 Rich Cassady says:Its a lot easier than you think, just right click on the file and change the extension from m4a. to m4r, then put it in your ringtone folder. Do a search for ringtone to find the folder.
#45 jawed says:hi thanks, everything worked except the part it even shows on my iphone’s rington section but it doesnt show the ringtone in iphone itself
#46 Piyush says:no comment
#47 Rich Cassady says:Did you put the file in your ringtone folder?
#48 jawed says:To: Rich Cassidy
yes i did still didnt work, but i found IphoneToneMaker for free from a website (with keygen) and it works perfect and is easier
#49 WB says:Much better than paying apple more $$$$!
#50 Jolie says:I made 3 ringtones and synced phone but only see 2 on iphone even though I see all 3 in the ringtone folder on itunes. what am I doing wrong? Thanks for any help.
#51 jane says:i have 2 ringtones and tried to put them both on- but instead, my iphone just shows one of the songs twice. any ideas?
#52 Ghetto Yoots says:This guy wrote a similar blog last year. He offers a lot of suggestions on how to get around certain problems not listed here. He covers doing the same stuff using Win and Mac computers. I’ve used his instructions quite a bunch and it works really good. I had some of the same problems that people are asking here. The suggestions he wrote solved my problems.
http://www.edzachary.com/2007/12/make-free-iphone-ringtones-using-itunes.html
#53 renee says:One thing to be careful of:
make sure that your iphone ringtone syncing is turned on in iTunes. it is not turned on by default.
#54 josh says:where does the clip of the file get saved to?
#55 Rich Cassady says:You put it in your ringtone folder, which is in your itunes music folder.
#56 Wakko says:Thank you, this is pretty cool
#57 M0ntY says:How do you make a “custom” sms text message alert on the iphone? Please throw a hint.
#58 brian says:when i make the aac file it makes the original file i made the ringtone from only play from a certain time and won’t let me play the whole song.. help!
#59 Rich Cassady says:There is no way that I know of that you can make a text message alert. Apple needs to get on that.
#60 Rich Cassady says:You have to remove the time restraints you put on when making the ringtone.
#61 ang says:rich- im having the same problem. what do you mean “remove the time restraints when making the ringtone”?
#62 Jolie says:Brian, remove the time restraints like this:
Uncheck your custom start and stop times for the original version of your song.
#63 Klaus says:If you don’t want to make your own ringtones - have a look at RingtoneFeeder:
http://www.ringtonefeeder.com/
there is a free feed to try it out
#64 Herb Real says:I like this method better since my garageband is the older version! Thanks!!!!
#65 brisfish says:For me at least i dont have to cut the track time down to 30 seconds, this way when you use a song for your alarm clock it will play the whole song…or most of it. As a ring tone it automatically only plays the first 30 seconds.
Thank you very much for this tip!
#66 Rich Cassady says:No phone that I know of will let a ring tone be more than 30 seconds. That is just wishful thinking.
#67 aasdfghjkl says:when i right-click on the song on my desktop (windows xp) it doesnt say
“get info” wat do i do??
#68 Deepak singh says:iPhone
#69 Shifter says:AMAZING!
This is just what I was looking for! Thanks to all commenters for continued troubleshooting, every time I hit a snag I just read further in the comments and everything works out perfectly. Thanks to all!!
#70 Jeremy says:Once I’ve done all this, how do I make it my ringtone on my iPhone.
I know…I’m an idiot.
#71 Rich Cassady says:IF you want it to be for all ringtones, then you go to settings\Sounds\Ringtone. To make it for just one person, go to contact\Contact name\ringtone.
#72 crazy toney says:Thanks for getting this info out! This is the process I use to make my free ringtones - http://www.crazytoney.com
#73 Susan Hilton - Texas Aggie Realtor says:I did GREAT until #6 - After the extension is changed simply double click on the file to add it to your iTunes library under the ringtones section. Sync your phone with iTunes and you’re done!
I double click and it plays the 30 second song but won’t let me add it to the ringtones section. I want to add it to my iPhone. HELP!
THANKS!!!!
#74 crazy toney says:Susan, I have noticed that sometimes I need to restart itunes and then double click on the .m4r
#75 amber payne says:it worked for me once, now itunes isn’t converting the time….it will only play for the length i tell it to, but it won’t convert it to 30 secs…just bought this thing…is it operator error?? pc’s were NOT this difficult!!
#76 manda says:Holy crap! You are my new hero! Thank you!!!!!
#77 Tiff says:how come it will only let me place 5 custom ringtones??
#78 Rich Cassady says:Have you tried manually putting them in your ringtone folder?
#79 Simon says:It is not working on iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.2 firmware.
#80 Jordan says:Rich Cassady i have the same problem as you i cant get the ringtones to show up in the ringtones section. have you figured it out yet how to make it work? Please help
#81 Ady says:It worked for me on iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.2 firmware. Thanx a bumch for a great tip.
#82 Ady says:It worked for me on iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.2 firmware. Thanx a bunch for a great tip.
#83 Clewsy says:Just got i phone, ringtones were very bland, this is just what i was looking for, tried it 3 times and never had a problem, Thanks
#84 homenightfre says:deliver german clean water letter me australia glass england
#85 Rich Cassady says:I use Garage Band and it works without a hitch. It will automatically add the new ring tones to your ringtone folder. If you put one in that folder, and it does not show up. Do a search and make sure you don’t have 2 ringtone folders.
#86 Altius says:just tested this in iTunes version 7.7.1 (latest as of Sep 8 2008) and this still works. Thanks a bunch
#87 Guy says:Has anyone tested if it still works in the new itunes 8 ?
#88 seawomanuniv says:greed red trust no house land dog this yahoo
#89 JD says:I just did this using the new iPhone Update 2.1 and iTunes 8….freaking sweet!!!!
#90 reeeen says:i have read every single comment made, even checked out edzachary’s site & i still can’t get it to open in itunes as a ringtone. for 3 days now i’ve tried & it goes back into my library as a 24 sec clip. i shortened the time frame from the original 30/restarted itunes/inserted the space before the extension/blah, blah - all of the tips and STILL NADA! WTF? Using itunes version 7.7.1.11 and the new 3G 8GB. anyone? please. i’m jealous of all the successful peeps. tear.
#91 JD says:update to the new iTunes and I can help u
#92 Victoria Riley says:I’ve done all this. It’s showing up in my itunes as on my iphone, but it isn’t actually on my iphone (IYSWIM).
Any ideas ?
#93 bdabbt75 says:so, I have iPhone 2.1 and Itunes 8. Get it into the Itunes ringtone folder, download to my iPhone, but I can’t select it in any prefereces.
This sounds similar to a lot of people… anybody figure out how to make it work?
#94 Victoria Riley says:Same here, iPhone 3G with software 2.1. iTunes is 8.0.0.35
When I go to sounds, ringtones there isn’t a custom folder.
But according to my iTunes the ringtones have synced with my phone.
Very strange.
I just want my tones back so I know it’s my phone
#95 Stevie says:I had the same problem. Found out the answer at:
http://cybernetnews.com/2008/08/21/cybernotes-create-free-iphone-ringtones-using-itunes-in-windows/
Check it out in the comments.
Basically before importing the new m4r file to itunes, make sure it starts with a capital letter.
#96 Victoria Riley says:I’ve just downloaded iRinger. It’s fantastic !! Really easy to use, you can choose very simply which part of the song to use. I’m a happy girl again
#97 jordan says:Thanks so much, it’s pretty easy!
#98 Satish says:Thanks a lot. its really kooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.
#99 Memo says:Thanks Stevie (#95), that link solved it. My problem was not the filenam, though, but the file length. Apparently, ringtones cannot be over 40 seconds, and mine was 48.
It’s so disappointing that Apple won’t just let you use any mp3 file on your iphone, like you can on all other phones
#100 cody says:I made ringtones when i had itunes 7 then when i updated to itunes 8 and firmware 2.1 they disappeared even though they are in the ringtones folder on itunes.. what gives?
#101 cody says:i forgot to click the notify me box
#102 Rich Cassady says:Did you look in the folder to see if they are there? Did you have them backed up? If you have Time Machine, you can get them back in a snap.
#103 cody says:I actualyl got it to work another way. I right clicked on the ringtones in the ringtones folder went to explorer and reclicked them all to open them in itunes and deleted the old ones.. and sure enough it worked : D
#104 fatpat1080 says:Will this void the warrnety on my iphone 3g
#105 Rich Cassady says:I am sure it will not, for starters, you can take them off at any time. if not, then your phone is trashed and they will never know. Not to mention the fact that Garage Band has a send to iPhone feature, so clearly Apple knows that people are sending tunes to their phones!
#106 Randy says:Worked like a charm, thank you so much!!1!
~Randy
#107 Judy Pokras says:Thanks for all these tips, and I tried some of them, but the file size of my 29 second ringtone (no matter which format I put it in) are over 400 kb and my AT&T Nokia phone will only accommodate 139 kb max.
Any suggestions for how I can reduce the size without losing any of the music?
#108 ApiS says:This method doesn’t work with itunes 8. In your itunes ringtones it appears but when u connect ur iPhone to sync, the ringtones part of the iPhone does not show you the ringtones that you have in your library so you can sync it.
How do you do it with itunes 8?
#109 c says:if you looked a couple lines up youd find your answer. It worked for me by just going to the rintones folder and reclikcing them all again to open in itunes. then just delete the old ones.
#110 Lazy says:Or you could skip all that and be lazy and get lots of cool ringtones from http://www.iphoneringtones.ca/ and lots of others!
#111 jessica says:i have gotten everything except turning the file from m4a. to m4r. how the heck do i get it to change? i have windows and my only option is “properties”…help me thanks:)
#112 c says:its under tools in any explorer windown then go to folder options and check or uncheck the box that says view file extensions (you want to view them to change it). Then you just change it as if you were changed the name to the file.
#113 dpell says:nothin works with the new itunes8 i tried all suggestions and all methods post a way to do it once its figured out…
d.pell
#114 dpell says:HOLY CRAP i got it to work with the new itunes 8 all you have to do is click on your phone name in the left tab…_____IPHONE and when the page changes go to the ringtone tab. once there click the sync ringtones check box. select all ringtones or just the ones you like i dont know if it will erase the ones you have already. mine did. but after that it should just send the new ringtones in your “ringtone” folder into your iphone. you still have to do all the converting to the .mr4 and the other steps but it will finally add them to your phone
d.pell
#115 lottie xoxo says:hiya ive done it all and it shows up in my ringtone file both in itunes and when i plug my iphone in but i cant find it anywhere on myu acatul phone to be able to use it or set it as my ringtone. please help xoxox
#116 Rich Cassady says:First, make sure the file is in the your ringtone folder. If it is, go to settings\Sounds, to set your default sound. For a specific contact, go to the desired contact, then select ringtone. That;s it Lottie xoxoxo!
#117 lottie xoxo says:haha that makes me sound stupid! no ive done all that it is defo in the ringtone file when my iphone icon comes up in itunes so it shud be there but its just not appearing when i go into the settings>sounds bit and try and change the ringtone itself… gar xoxox
#118 Rich Cassady says:How did you create the file? like above? Or with Garage band? If you send me your email address, I can send you one I made, to make sure it works.
#119 lottie xoxo says:ermmmm thru the thing above cos i have windows! oh dear.. erm this is my really old email addy sparkling_little_me@hotmail.com thankssssssss man xoxoxoxo
#120 T says:I have a 3G Iphone, and I have converted to “aac” and then moved to my desktop, changed the file extension to m4r from m4a, however I am not able to drag and drop to the “ringtones” folder in itunes, and when I “add file to library”, it just adds it to the music library and changes back to an “aac” file???
If it has anything to do with a “DRM-free” song, how do you know if the song is “DRM-free”
#121 Ariane says:TO ALL ITUNES 8 users: http://www.audiko.com
It’s magic!!!
#122 Ariane says:audiko.net, sorry
#123 Chris says:Hello. Can someone say me, how i bring that ringtones (www.iphone-ringtones.ch) on my iPhone? thx
#124 scott says:IF YOU HAVE iTUNES 8 THEN YOU NEED TO CLICK ON YOUR PHONE AND CLICK ON THE TAB ON YOUR PHONES SUMMARY PAGE THAT SAYS “RINGTONES” AND MANNUALLY CHECK THE BOX THAT SAYS SYNC RINGTONES.
THIS HAS BEEN SAID LIKE THREE TIMES IN THIS DICCUSSION BOARD AND PEOPLE ARE NOT SEEEEEEEEEEEEEING IT.
#125 omar says:non
#126 David says:hey
#127 David says:Okay, here is a new one.
I have 8.0.1 that just came out. I can do all the rest of the stuff if I could JUST CONVERT TO AAC!! Where it used to say that it now says “make ringtone” and will only work with purchased songs. I can only create things to MP3? Any Ideas?
#128 Carla says:Hi I am having trouble with this because there is no ringtones section in my itunes except for in the summary of ringtones section how do i get it to go into ringtones?
#129 mikehelp says:WINDOWS VISTA SOLUTION!!!
For all you asking, how to change file extensions in vista…
Instead of going to my computer go to computer in the windows start menu. When there, just press the ALT key on the right of your keyboard. A hidden tab appears. There you just click tools. ETC…
#130 Peter says:These instructions are AMAZING!! I’ve just created three of my own ringtones from some of my favourite tracks. I’m a real novice user and didn’t get all this the first time, so here are some tips for those having problems:
1. Make sure your itunes folder is viewed as list i.e. view -> list. it changes from having the album artwork to the list of songs.
2. To enable the AAC coder to make ringtones you need to do some adjusting as outlined on these steps in itunes: Edit -> Preferences -> Import Settings -> Import Using -> AAC Encoder -> OK (close that box)
3. Right click on a song, get info and follow the rest of the steps… Once you’ve chosen the length of time you want the file doubles in itunes - so you can see two of the same song. The difference is the length of the song. Take the short song and put it on your desktop, then right click and rename the file to .m4r - it asks you to confirm, click Ok.
4. From there, just drag and drop it into the ringtones file on your library. When the iphone syncs the song will come arcoss.
5. I also had problems getting the ringtones folder to begin with - like some other users. I can’t remember how I overcame this. I think I downloaded some free ringtones from itunes and it appeared or something…
BIG thank you to all the other users on here who answered seemingly dumb questions - took me some fiddling but finally worked it out. Hopefuly this helps a little more.
Pete
#131 Matt says:WOO! There can’t be any symbols in the name of the ringtone. When I changed Octopus’s Garden to Octopus Garden, it appeared on the custom list on my iPhone. Thanks for that link to the other guide.
#132 Scott says:It didn’t work for me I did everything but when I put the mr4 file in itunes it just disappears. What are the exact steps after you change the file format and we are talking about the 3g right?
#133 rockingh0rse says:Scott, its not .mr4 extension, its .m4r.
If this was just a typo on your part then did you remember to delete the short .aac version of your song before double-clicking on the .m4r file to add it back in to your itunes library?
#134 Hannah says:I’m using itunes 8 and I’ve taken all the steps, converted it into m4r but when I drag it back into my itunes, it just puts it back into music not into ringtones. Someone help!
#135 Sylvz says:Done everything… and everything’s fine…. juz tht the ringtone doesn’t appear in my iPhone… went to Settings>sounds>ringtone…. but my new ringtone is not there….
help pls?
#136 sav says:how comes in my libary no ringtones folder appears?
#137 JerryO says:Awesome THANK YOU!!!
Just 1 question - what do you do with the files on the desktop? If I delete, will they be deleted on the phone next time I synch?
#138 Cuppycake says:Go to Myxertones.com!! its free and it does all the work for you!
#139 VV says:I LOVE YOU THANK YOU
#140 iengineer says:i just converted a song in 2 min… it’s the easier method
#141 knifealterego says:It’s in my folder ringtones in itunes. Synced twice. I can’t find it in my iphone. Did i miss anything?
#142 Woodsy says:Thanks! Only website i could find that was easy to follow!