Ringtone Maker

What an iPhone ringtone actually is

An iPhone ringtone is an .m4r file, and an .m4r is simply AAC audio in an MPEG-4 container — exactly the same kind of file as an .m4a, with a different extension that tells Apple's software to file it under Tones rather than Music. This tool writes AAC with the iTunes-style MPEG-4 layout, names the file .m4r, and lets you choose the bitrate; 192 kbps is far more than a phone speaker needs.

Apple limits ringtones to 40 seconds — longer .m4r files are refused when you try to add them — so the trimmer warns you if your selection runs over. Thirty seconds is the sensible default: a call usually goes to voicemail after 20 to 30 seconds of ringing, so anything longer is rarely heard.

Android has no special format. Any MP3 or OGG file can be a ringtone, notification sound or alarm. MP3 is the safe choice; OGG is what Android's own built-in sounds use.

Choosing the right 30 seconds

Pick a section that is recognisable within the first second or two. A ringtone is heard from the start every time, so a slow build-up wastes the moments that matter; starting right on the chorus or the hook works better.

Use the fade-out. Without one, the tone stops abruptly — and on phones that loop the ringtone, the jump back to the start is a jarring click. The default one-second fade-out avoids that; a fade-in of half a second softens a start that lands mid-note.

Quiet recordings make quiet ringtones. This tool does not change the volume, so choose a loud passage rather than an intro, especially if you rely on hearing the phone in a bag.

Installing an .m4r on iPhone

With a Mac: connect the iPhone by cable, open Finder, select the iPhone in the sidebar, and drag the .m4r file onto the iPhone's window. On recent macOS versions it is copied to the phone straight away. Then on the iPhone open Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone, where it appears at the top of the list.

With Windows: open iTunes (or Apple's newer Devices app where it supports tones), connect the iPhone, select it, and drag the .m4r into the device's Tones section under On My Device. Apple has changed this part of its Windows software between versions, so if there is no Tones section, sync with iTunes for Windows, which has supported it the longest.

On the iPhone alone: save the file to Files, open GarageBand (Apple's free app), import the audio into a new project, then in My Songs touch and hold the project and choose Share → Ringtone. GarageBand accepts the MP3 or M4A version too. Some recent iOS versions also offer a 'Use as Ringtone' option when sharing a short audio file; if your share sheet shows it, that is the quickest route of all.

Installing on Android

Copy the MP3 or OGG to the phone — download it there directly, use a USB cable, or send it to yourself — then open Settings → Sound & vibration → Phone ringtone. Most phones list files from the Ringtones folder, and many have an 'Add ringtone' or '+' option that lets you pick any audio file from storage.

If the file does not appear, move it into the Ringtones folder of the phone's internal storage with the Files app. Notification sounds belong in the Notifications folder and alarm sounds in Alarms; files placed there show up in the matching pickers.

Menu names differ between manufacturers — Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi and others each word it slightly differently, and the steps change between Android versions — but the Ringtones folder works on practically all of them. Many Contacts apps also let you give one person their own ringtone.

Privacy, and a note on music

Everything happens in your browser. The song is decoded and trimmed on your device, and ffmpeg — downloaded once, about 32 MB — encodes the ringtone inside the tab. No file is uploaded and there is no app to install.

Use music you own or have the right to use. Making a ringtone from a track you bought, for your own phone, is the ordinary case; this tool does not download songs from anywhere.