How To Create Your Own Custom Ringtones Using iTunes.
One of the hallmarks of a smartphone is the sheer amount of personalization options available. From wallpapers to ringtones and protective phone cases, you have different ways to capture your unique personality on your phone.
However, as far as iPhone ringtones go, what I don’t like about the default ringtones is that they are annoying or tiring. This is why it is important to make sure that only the ringtones that you personally choose are used on your phone.
Create iPhone ringtones in four easy steps
First, you obviously need to decide what kind of sound you are going to use. It could have been a song. This could be your favorite TV show or movie soundtrack. Others use special effects from computer games. It all depends on you. As you can see above, I chose a very catchy melody from the Tetris game.
The best place to look for this kind of sound is YouTube. When you find the one you want, you can rip the audio using something like a YouTube to MP3 converter. But there are many similar services. A simple Google search will yield more than you could ever choose.
Now that you have your MP3 file, it’s time to move on to the second step.
Edit using audacity
Now that you have the file, it’s time to edit it according to the iOS specifications. I downloaded an existing Tetris audio file – it’s a staggering 10 hours! Obviously, we don’t need all of this, since the iPhone ringtone only lasts thirty seconds and then it goes back to the beginning. So I need to use the free open source Audacity program to strip nine hours 59 minutes and 30 seconds from the file.
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Download and install Audacity. Then download the MP3 version of your audio.
Now you need to decide which thirty second segment you want to use as your ringtone. The beginning of the audio may not necessarily be the best part. For example, some songs start out very softly or sound a little strange. Since you only have thirty seconds for the sound, you obviously want the very best.
So listen to your file in Audacity and crop the thirty second part you want by dragging with your mouse or trackpad.
Your best bet is to do this for 28 or 29 seconds to get your clip working smoothly. You can see the timestamp at the bottom of the screen.
When you have the thirty-second clip, save it as a new file by choosing File– Export– Export Selected Audio.
Save the selected file to your computer and make sure it is an MP3 file. Audacity will ask you to point it to something called “Lame file”, which is needed to create new MP3 files. If you don’t have it or yours doesn’t work for some reason, you will receive a link to download a new one.
Convert to M4R format
You can’t just download an MP3 file and expect it to magically appear in your ringtones section. If you download an MP3, your iOS device will consider it to be a song that belongs to your music section and will leave it there. To give it ringtone status, you need to convert the MP3 file to M4R format.
Launch iTunes and make sure it’s updated to the latest version. Then import the edited audio file into it. Right-click the music file and select Song / Album Information Options.
In the Start field, enter 0.01, and in the Stop field, enter the second before the file stops. Since my file is 29 seconds long, I put the end as 28 seconds. Now save it.
To upgrade to M4R, you first need to create an AAC version that is in the M4A file format. This is the format in which Apple provides all iTunes Store purchases. I know this is a little confusing, but bear with me. I will take you to the end.
Highlight the song with your mouse or trackpad. If you are on Windows, right-click and select Convert to AAC Version. If you have a Mac, choose File– Convert– Create AAC Version.
A second file with the same name will now appear in iTunes. Drag and drop the new AAC file (with m4a format) to a different location on your computer (the desktop is always good). Then delete both audio files from iTunes. But leave iTunes open – you’ll need it in a minute.
We’re almost done. To change the file to M4R, simply navigate to the file on your computer and change the file format to M4R.
Download to your iPhone
The file is now ready. To set it on iPhone as a ringtone, connect your phone to your computer using a Lightning-to-USB cable. When iTunes detects your phone, select Manually Manage Music and Videos.
Now drag the M4R file to the On My Device tab.
To check for a ringtone, click the Tones tab and the audio file should be there.
Now, simply sync iTunes to your phone and the ringtone will appear in the Sounds & Tactile section of your phone (in the ringtones section). Tap on it to select it as your default ringtone.
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