Bored of your iPhone ringtone? After answering loads of calls, the same one can get pretty grating after a while. Especially if you’re on the phone a lot for work, or just love a regular natter with your mates. So, it’s probably about time to swap it out for a new one…
How to change ringtone on iPhone
It’s super easy to switch yours up. Here’s how to change your ringtone:
Open up the ‘Settings’ app.
Scroll down and tap on ‘Sounds & Haptics’ (or ‘Sounds’, depending on which version of iOS you’re running).
Under the ‘Sounds and Haptic Patterns’ section hit ‘Ringtone’
Pick a new one from the list – there are 30+ iPhone ringtones to choose from. You can listen to each one by tapping on them.
When you’ve selected a new one it’ll be set as your default ringtone.
How to set a song as a ringtone on iPhone
Setting a song as a ringtone on iPhone is a little bit more complex. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Find the song – Track down the tune you want to use as your ringtone in your iTunes library.
Trim the song (if you need to) – Right click on the song and select ‘Song Info’. Then, in the ‘Options’ tab, set the start and stop times to create a clip of the song. You’ll want to make it about 30 seconds long. Click ‘Ok’ when you’re happy with it.
Create an AAC version – Right click on the trimmed track, then choose ‘Create AAC version’. This’ll then make a short snippet of the song.
Find the AAC version – The AAC file should now be in your iTunes library. It’ll usually be in the same album as the original song.
Change file extension – Right click on the AAC version, hit ‘Show in Finder’ (on a Mac) or ‘Show in File Explorer’ (on Windows). Then change the file extension from ‘.m4a’ to ‘.m4r’.
Add to iTunes Tones – Double click the .m4r file. It’ll then be added to the ‘Tones’ section in iTunes.
Sync with iPhone – Plug your iPhone into your computer and sync it with iTunes. The custom ringtone will be transferred over to your mobile.
Set the ringtone on your iPhone – Open ‘Settings’, find ‘Sounds and Haptics’ or ‘Sounds’, then scroll down to ‘Sounds and Haptic Patterns’ and tap on ‘Ringtone’. Look for your custom ringtone in the list and select it. It’ll now be set as your default ringtone.
Adding free ringtones to iPhone
If you don’t fancy using any of the stock ringtones that are already on your phone, there are plenty of free ringtones for iPhone out there. Here are a couple of good places to find them:
iTunes Store – Visit the iTunes Store to download some new ones. Go to the ‘More’ tab and pick ‘Tones’. Sometimes, there are extra tones you can grab for free, so keep your eyes peeled.
Free ringtone websites – There’s a bunch of different websites out there with free iPhone ringtones. Have a search through their libraries and find one you like the sound of. Then download it to your computer and transfer it over to your iPhone. Simple.
Make your own – Feeling creative? With audio editing software like GarageBand, you can record a custom ringtone. Whether that’s a song you’ve made, or a slice of sound from a funny YouTube video or show.
Apps – Have a browse on the app store. Special free apps come pre-installed with stacks of different ringtones to try out.
Tech tip: Be careful when you’re downloading files from the internet. Make sure they’re coming from a trusted website or source before you hit download. Otherwise, you could be lumped with a nasty virus or security issue!
So, now you know everything there is to know about ringtones for iPhone. Want to get even more from the Apple of your eye? Here’s how to take screenshots and screen recordings on iPhone. And find out how to update an iPhone right here to keep your mobile in tip top shape.
