Making a ringtone is really three small decisions: which few seconds to use, how long it should run, and which file format your phone will accept. Get the third one wrong and the first two do not matter, because the file will not install.
Android and iPhone want different files
iPhone takes M4R. It is really an AAC file with a different extension, and iOS will not recognise an MP3 as a ringtone at all.
This single detail causes most of the frustration people have with custom ringtones. An MP3 sent to an iPhone simply will not show up in the ringtone list, no matter where you put it — which looks like a bug and is actually just the wrong format.
Choosing the right few seconds
A ringtone is heard from a pocket, across a room, for a couple of seconds before you answer. That changes what works.
- Pick the most recognisable part. The chorus or main hook, not the intro. Atmospheric build-ups sound like nothing at all through a phone speaker.
- Start where energy already exists. A ringtone that begins in a quiet passage gets missed entirely.
- Avoid a slow fade-in at the start of the song. The first second is the one that has to grab your attention.
- Think about the phone speaker. It reproduces mid-range well and almost no bass. Something built on a deep bassline will disappear.
How long?
Between 20 and 30 seconds is the sweet spot. Long enough to hear it through a couple of times before the call rings out, short enough not to become tiresome. iPhone ringtones are capped at 40 seconds — go over and iOS will refuse the file.
For a text message alert, much shorter: 3 to 5 seconds. A notification tone that runs for fifteen seconds is unbearable within a day.
Fades matter more than you would expect
Cutting a song at an arbitrary point produces an abrupt click or a jarring cut-off. A short fade in at the start and out at the end makes it sound deliberate rather than chopped.
Keep the fade in very brief — a fraction of a second, just enough to avoid a click, because a long fade means the first second is inaudible. The fade out can be more generous, half a second or so, to give a clean ending if the call is not answered.
Installing it
Android
- Connect the phone, or transfer the MP3 to it however you normally move files.
- Put it in the Ringtones folder in internal storage.
- Open Settings, then Sound, then Ringtone, and pick it from the list.
Some phones need a restart before a new file appears. Many also let you set a per-contact ringtone from the contact's own screen.
iPhone
Apple makes this deliberately awkward. The M4R has to be added to your library through Finder or iTunes on a computer and synced to the phone, after which it appears under Settings, Sounds and Haptics, Ringtone. There is no way to install one directly on the device without a computer or a third-party app.
A word on copyright
Cutting a ringtone from music you own, for your own phone, is generally treated as personal use. Distributing it — sending it to friends, posting it, selling it — is not covered by that, and is copyright infringement regardless of how the file was made. Rules differ by country; the distinction that matters everywhere is personal use versus distribution.
Common questions
My ringtone will not show up on my iPhone.
Almost always the format. It must be M4R, not MP3, and no longer than 40 seconds. It also has to be synced through Finder or iTunes rather than simply copied across.
Can I use any song?
Technically the tool accepts any audio file. Legally, making one for your own phone from music you own is generally fine; sharing it is not.
Why does my ringtone sound quiet?
Either you picked a quiet passage, or the track itself is mastered low. Raise the level with the volume tool, and pick a section that is loud in the original.
Can I make a notification sound the same way?
Yes — cut a much shorter section, 3 to 5 seconds, and place it in the Notifications folder on Android rather than Ringtones.