How to make ringtones for iPhone - Step by step
Nobody wants to pay for a ringtone, especially if it can be made within 15 minutes. Making a ringtone for iPhone isn’t too much difficult, so here comes the steps for creating an iPhone ringtone. First you must to know that iPhone uses AAC files which are files that are using “.m4a” extensions. For ringtones however you cannot use “.m4a" AAC files but “.m4r” types of files which are dedicated to iPhone tones. With iTunes you can pretty easy create your loved melody, but before starting the creation of ringtone please be sure that you use the latest version of iTunes on your Mac OS or Windows computer. After checking that you have the latest version of iTunes we can start the process of ringtone creation and here comes how to make iPhone ringtones.
Creating a ringtone using iTunes
Step 1: iTunes
Open your iTunes in Mac OS or Windows and update it if necessary.
Step 2: The song
Bear in mind that iPhone ringtones always run in 30 second loops (or less). Choose the song from which you want to make an iPhone ringtone. As soon as you've selected the right tune, memorize or jot down the beginning and stop times to your desirable 30-second section of the tune you would like to use as the ringtone.
Step 3: Selecting the start and the stop times
In your iTunes you can select the start and the stop time of the song of your future ringtone. It is easy, you need to right-click (or Ctrl-click) the song you want and from drop-down list select Song Info. After that you selected it, click the Options tab within Song info window. On that tab you can enter the start and the stop time for your iPhone ringtone. Please do not forget that the maximum length can be 30 seconds, so keep it at or below that length. Once you have selected the start – stop times please click on the OK button to save this segment of tone.
Step 4: Create the AAC file (default audio format for iPhone)
As we mentioned at the beginning the AAC file is the default audio format for iPhones. So let’s go ahead and make an AAC file from the song. As soon as You've placed your appropriate start and stop times, with the short version of the song selected, go to File > Convert > Convert to AAC version option. After that iTunes will make a copy of your song but it will contain only that specific section of the song which you selected. The AAC ringtone will be at your iTunes library under the source (original) song.
Step 5: Copy the new song and change its extension to .m4r
From iTunes now you can copy the AAC song to your Desktop or to the location where you want to work with it. After copying it to desired location, you need to change its extension from “m4a” to “m4r”. It can be done by clicking on it and changing the extension from “m4a” to “m4r”. In Mac OS click the file name beneath the icon twice, more slowly than you would click for a double-click. This opens a dialog in which you can edit the file's name. On Windows you can right-click and click rename, after you can change the extension.
Step 6: Transfer new song (ringtone) to your iPhone
First you need to connect your iPhone to the computer. If you connected your iPhone to the computer, select the iPhone icon in the upper left corner. Go to the Summary and scroll down to Options. Check the box Manually manage music and videos and click Apply. If you made the above changes, drag the “m4r” file into the Tones tab which is located under On My Device, and it will be automatically sync the ringtone with iPhone.
Step 7: Voila! You can now set your ringtone
In your iPhone go to Setting > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone, and select your newly created ringtone which will be on the top of the list. Enjoy your unique and self-made ringtone on your iPhone!