So you have fallen in love with your new iPhone. After all, it’s a hugely exciting thing to own a product that actually deserves the price tag associated with it. Not to forget the fact that it’s a pride possession for truckloads of gadget lovers out there. Perhaps, the only downside lies in the fact that you may dislike the idea of spending some precious dollars to turn your preferred songs into ringtones. Ringtones have always fascinated people, but most of us don’t want to spend a fortune obtaining them. If you are sick and tired of the lame telephone ringers and if you dislike downloading a canned tone for a cost, there is some good news for you. You can literally create custom ringtones for your iPhone for free.
Don’t worry; it is not illegal. All it involves is a little trick to create ringtones from your favorite music. You will be able to create ringtones from any one of your non-DRM songs like a breeze. The best part is that this trick will work for both Windows PCs and Mac users. Remember, there might be a slight difference with certain combinations of iTunes versions and operating system versions. Now, let’s get started with the steps:
1. First and foremost, choose the song from iTunes that you want to turn into a ringtone.
2. Go ahead and listen to the song so that you are able to find the part of the song that you want to use as a ringtone.
3. You will have to jolt down the start and finish time of the song portion that you intend to use.
4. Now, you need to simply right click the track and then choose the option that reads, “Get Info”.
5. Choose “Options” from the displayed menu and then enter the “Start time” and “Stop time” of the clip, which you have noted down earlier. (Refer step 3) Remember, the ringtone should not be longer than 30 seconds. Click “OK” to save the changes.
6. Now, you need to right click the newly clipped song and then choose “Convert Selection to AAC”. Based on the entered start time and stop time, you will see a new version of the song.
7. In some cases, you might not see the menu item, “Convert Selection to AAC”. If it reads “Convert Selection to MP3” or something else, you can format it easily. You need to simply follow the directions outlined over here. Go to iTunes>Preferences>Advanced>Importing and then change the “Import Using” drop down menu to “AAC Encoder”. Now, just wait for a while for song conversion.
8. After the waiting period is over, you will see a second version of the song. At this point, you need to head back to the original song and then click on “Get Info” option in order to delete the “Stop time” setting. Don’t forget to skip this step or else you won’t be able to hear the song beyond this point in the future.
9. Once you have taken care of the above mentioned setting, you need to find the folder where the new song is stored on your PC. You will find the new song in the same folder, where the original song is stored. MAC users can right click the clip and select the option that reads, “Show In Finder”. Those using Windows need to choose the option that reads, “Show in Windows Explorer”.
10. Now, simply copy the song and paste it in the same folder in order to create a third version.
11. The default file extension of the third version would be .m4a. You will have to change the file extension to .m4r. In case, you are using Windows XP, chances are that you might not be able to see the file extension. To make it visible, follow this direction, Tools>Folder Option>View and then uncheck the option that reads, “Hide extensions for unknown file types”. In case, you are using Vista, you can follow these steps, Organize>Folder>Search option and then uncheck the option that reads, “Hide extensions for known file types”.
12. Go ahead and rename the file. You can use any name of your choice such as FantasticRingtone.m4r, TrendyRingtione.m4r etc. Make sure to get rid of the underscores or hyphens while renaming the file.
13. The next step would be to delete the first AAC clip from your iTunes. This can be achieved by right clicking the clip and then choosing the delete option from the drop down menu. Remember, the new ringtone won’t be accepted until you follow this step.
14. Now, head back to the folder that contains the new ringtone file. Drag and drop the file into your iTunes. You can also import the file by opening iTunes and then choosing the new ringtone file through “Select File” option. Windows XP and Vista users using the import option will have to choose the following option, “Add File to Library”, whereas Mac users will have to choose the option, “Add to Library”.
Lastly, you need to sync your iPhone to iTunes to place the ringtone where it needs to be. If this is your first attempt, ensure that the “Ringtones” tab is set to sync. Now, to choose the desired song, head to your “Settings” and then choose, “Sounds”>”Ringtone”. It will display a custom list of songs, right above the “Standard” list. Go ahead and touch the song you want. That’s all, Enjoy!
Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.
Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.
In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.
really good