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1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 65 (from laksa084)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa065.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html","crawl_time":1775472512,"first_indexed_time":1648031935,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,macworld!www,\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html s443","src_root_hash":"396360764723510065","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"How to make a ringtone on iPhone or Mac: Set an iPhone custom ringtone | Macworld","meta_descriptions":["We explain how to make your own ringtone from a favourite track, so you can set it on your iPhone as a custom ringtone for a particular contact."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Image: IDG\nTable of Contents\nHow to make custom ringtones on your iPhone\nHow make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac\nHow to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact\nHow to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone\nHow to buy ringtones from Apple\nThe iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even\nadded a lot of new ones in iOS 17\n. But it’s\nyour\niPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have?\nYou can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is.\nYou can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works.\nHow to make custom ringtones on your iPhone\nThere are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below.\nYou can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. (\nJump to the instructions\n).\nYou can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. (\nJump to the instructions\n).\nYou can buy ringtones from Apple. (\nJump to the instructions\n).\nOnce you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and\nhow to make it play when a certain contact calls\nbelow.\nRead on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone.\nHow make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac\nThe easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC).\nHowever, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected.\nIDG\nFollow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone:\nLaunch the Music app.\nGo to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.)\nRight-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select\nGet Info\n.\nA window with the details of the song file will appear. Click\nOptions\n.\nIn Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the\nStart\ncheckbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the\nStop\nbox and enter the end time. Click\nOK\n.\nSelect the file, and then click on the File menu and select\nConvert\n>\nCreate AAC version\n. (If the only option you see is\nCreate MP3 version\n, select that.)\nA new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select\nShow in Finder\n. (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track).\nA Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select\nGet Info\n, and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following:\nIf the extension is\n.m4a\nclick on the name and change the extension to\n.m4r\n. Confirm you want to change the extension.\nIf the extension is\n.mp3\n, the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the\nFile\nmenu and select\nExport As\n>\nAudio Only\n. Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click\nSave\n. Then change the extension of the newly exported file to\n.m4r\n.\nNow you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that.\nIDG\nHow to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone\nIf you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone:\nConnect your iPhone to your Mac via USB.\nOpen a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop).\nIn the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it.\nFind your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected.\nA green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window).\nNow open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics > Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others).\nIDG\nHow to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact\nThe next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you.\nOpen the Contacts app.\nFind and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to.\nTap on Edit.\nSwipe down to Ringtone and tap on it.\nNow Choose the new tone you have added.\nIf you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone.\nYou can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone.\nHere’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone.\nYou can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds. \nBefore you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit.\nIf you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive.\nIf you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand.\nCopy-protected song files cannot be edited.\nStreamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones.\nHere’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone.\nIf you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done:\nLeft: the Tracks button.\nRight: the Loop Browser button.\nIDG\nLaunch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s\nfree in the App Store\n. It’s a big application, so give it some time to download.\nTap\nTracks\nat the top of the screen.\nSwipe through the screen left or right until you find the\nAudio Recorder\nsection. Tap it.\nAt the top left of the screen tap the\nTracks\nbutton. It’s the third button from the left.\nTap the\nLoop Browser\non the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon.\nA file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit.\nIf your file is on iCloud Drive, tap\nFiles\nand then tap the\nBrowse items from the Files app\nlink at the bottom.\nIf you want to edit a song file, tap\nMusic\n, then navigate to your song file.\nPress and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace.\nNow it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds.\nIf you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the\nSettings\nbutton and turn on\nTime Ruler\n. This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace.\nTap the\nPlay\nbutton at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the\nStop\nbutton next to it to stop playing.\nTo trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song.\nWhile we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc.\nOnce you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the\nNavigation\nbutton in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward.\nIn the pop-up menu, select\nMy Songs\n. A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.”\nIf you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select\nRename\n. Give it a new name.\nTo export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select\nShare\n. The “Share Song” window will appear; select\nRingtone\n. You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap\nExport\nto save the ringtone.\nAfter the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings >\nSounds & Haptics\n>\nRingtone\n. To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app (\n[your contact]\n>\nEdit\n>\nRingtone\n).\nSongs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected\nIDG\nTap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it.\nIDG\nApple\nHow to buy ringtones from Apple\nApple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones.\nLaunch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping\nSound & Haptics\n>\nRingtone\n>\nTone Store\n.\nTap the\nMore\nbutton at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots.\nOn the next screen, tap\nTones\n.\nNow you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are $1.29, while others are $0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it.\nWhen you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking.\nIDG\nRoman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.","attrs_markdown":"English UK Edition\n\n- Edition\n- [English UK]()\n- [English US]()\n\n- [Mac](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/mac)\n- [iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/iphone)\n- [iPad](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/ipad)\n- [Apple Watch](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple-watch)\n- [AirPods](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/airpods)\n- [Vision Pro](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/vision)\n- MOREExpand MORE\n  - [Accessories](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/accessories)\n  - [Apple](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple)\n  - [Apple TV](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple-tv)\n  - [Audio](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/audio)\n  - [Security](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/security)\n  - [Software](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/software)\n- [Best Picks](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/best-picks)\n- [Reviews](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/reviews)\n- [Deals](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/deals)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/opinion)\n- [Rumours](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/rumours)\n- [Newsletter](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/newsletters\/signup)\n- [Digital Magazine – Subscribe](https:\/\/simplecirc.com\/subscribe\/macworld)\n- [Digital Magazine – Info](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/faq)\n- [Smart Answers](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/smart-answers)\n- Client ContentExpand Client Content\n  - [BrandPosts](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/brandposts)\n\n[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#primary)\n\n- [Menu](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html)\n\n- [Mac](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/mac)\n- [iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/iphone)\n- [iPad](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/ipad)\n- [Apple Watch](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple-watch)\n- [AirPods](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/airpods)\n- [Vision Pro](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/vision)\n- MOREExpand MORE\n  - [Accessories](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/accessories)\n  - [Apple](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple)\n  - [Apple TV](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/apple-tv)\n  - [Audio](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/audio)\n  - [Security](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/security)\n  - [Software](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/software)\n- [Best Picks](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/best-picks)\n- [Reviews](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/reviews)\n- [Deals](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/deals)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/opinion)\n- [Rumours](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/rumours)\n- [Newsletter](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/newsletters\/signup)\n- [Digital Magazine – Subscribe](https:\/\/simplecirc.com\/subscribe\/macworld)\n- [Digital Magazine – Info](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/faq)\n- [Smart Answers](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/smart-answers)\n- Client ContentExpand Client Content\n  - [BrandPosts](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/brandposts)\n\nType your search and hit enter\n\nHOT TOPICS\n\n- [Apple’s 50th](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/apples-50th-anniversary)\n- [Mac mini M5](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2964754\/2026-mac-mini-m5-pro-design-specs-release-date.html)\n- [Mac Studio M5](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2973459\/2026-mac-studio-m5-release-date-specs-price-rumors.html)\n- [iPhone 18](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2953687\/iphone-18-pro-2026-release-date-design-specs-rumors.html)\n- [iPhone Fold](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2629813\/apple-folding-iphone-design-display-specs-release.html)\n- [iPad mini 2026](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3060022\/2026-ipad-mini-design-display-features-specs-release-date.html)\n- [iPad 2026](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3030272\/2026-ipad-a19-design-display-specs-release-price.html)\n- [Best Mac Antivirus](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/668850\/best-mac-antivirus-software.html)\n- [Best Mac VPN](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/231047\/best-vpn-for-mac.html)\n\nWhen you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. 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[iPhone How To](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/en-gb\/iphone\/how-to)\n\nUpdated\n\n# How to create a custom ringtone for your iPhone\nWe explain how to make your own ringtone from a favourite track, so you can use it on your iPhone as a custom ringtone.\n\n![Roman Loyola](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150)\n\nBy [Roman Loyola](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/author\/rloyola)\n\nSenior Editor, Macworld   JAN 23, 2025 3:56 am PST\n\n![iOS 15 ringtone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ios15-ringtone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1024)\n\nImage: IDG\n\n## Table of Contents\n- [How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-1)\n- [How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)\n- [How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-3)\n- [How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)\n- [How to buy ringtones from Apple](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)\n\nThe iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even [added a lot of new ones in iOS 17](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2069398\/ios-17-new-ringtones-text-tones.html). But it’s *your* iPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have?\n\nYou can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is.\n\nYou can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works.\n\n## How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone\nThere are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below.\n\n- You can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)).\n- You can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)).\n- You can buy ringtones from Apple. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)).\n\nOnce you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and [how to make it play when a certain contact calls](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) below.\n\nRead on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone.\n\n## How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac\nThe easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC).\n\nHowever, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected.\n\n![set ringtone duration](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/set-ringtone-duration.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n\nFollow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone:\n\n1. Launch the Music app.\n2. Go to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.)\n3. Right-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select *Get Info*.\n4. A window with the details of the song file will appear. Click *Options*.\n5. In Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the *Start* checkbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the *Stop* box and enter the end time. Click *OK*.\n6. Select the file, and then click on the File menu and select *Convert* \\> *Create AAC version*. (If the only option you see is *Create MP3 version*, select that.)\n7. A new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select *Show in Finder*. (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track).\n8. A Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select *Get Info*, and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following:\n   - If the extension is *.m4a* click on the name and change the extension to *.m4r*. Confirm you want to change the extension.\n   - If the extension is *.mp3*, the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the *File* menu and select *Export As* \\> *Audio Only*. Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click *Save*. Then change the extension of the newly exported file to *.m4r*.\n\nNow you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that.\n\n![Apple Music show in finder](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/show-in-finder.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n### How to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone\nIf you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone:\n\n1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB.\n2. Open a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop).\n3. In the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it.\n4. Find your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected.\n5. A green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window).\n6. Now open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics \\> Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others).\n\n![ringtone mac to iPhone](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/add-ringone-mac-to-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n## How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact\nThe next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you.\n\n1. Open the Contacts app.\n2. Find and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to.\n3. Tap on Edit.\n4. Swipe down to Ringtone and tap on it.\n5. Now Choose the new tone you have added.\n## How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone\nIf you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone.\n\nYou can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone.\n\nHere’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone.\n\nYou can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds.\n\nBefore you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit.\n\n- If you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive.\n- If you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand.\n- Copy-protected song files cannot be edited.\n- Streamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones.\n\nHere’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone.\n\nIf you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done:\n\n![Garage Band iOS Tracks Loops buttons](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-buttons.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nLeft: the Tracks button.  \nRight: the Loop Browser button.\n\nIDG\n\n1. Launch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s [free in the App Store](https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=111346X1569486&xs=1&url=https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/garageband\/id408709785&xcust=1-0-616018-1-0-0-0-0&sref=https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html). It’s a big application, so give it some time to download.\n2. Tap *Tracks* at the top of the screen.\n3. Swipe through the screen left or right until you find the *Audio Recorder* section. Tap it.\n4. At the top left of the screen tap the *Tracks* button. It’s the third button from the left.\n5. Tap the *Loop Browser* on the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon.\n6. A file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit.\n   - If your file is on iCloud Drive, tap *Files* and then tap the *Browse items from the Files app* link at the bottom.\n   - If you want to edit a song file, tap *Music*, then navigate to your song file.\n7. Press and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace.\n8. Now it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds.\n   - If you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the *Settings* button and turn on *Time Ruler*. This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace.\n   - Tap the *Play* button at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the *Stop* button next to it to stop playing.\n   - To trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song.\n   - While we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc.\n9. Once you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the *Navigation* button in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward.\n10. In the pop-up menu, select *My Songs*. A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.”\n    - If you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select *Rename*. Give it a new name.\n    - To export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select *Share*. The “Share Song” window will appear; select *Ringtone*. You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap *Export* to save the ringtone.\n11. After the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings \\> *Sounds & Haptics* \\> *Ringtone*. To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app (*\\[your contact\\]* \\> *Edit* \\> *Ringtone*).\n\n![GarageBand iOS song import](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-song-import.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nSongs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected\n\nIDG\n\n![GarageBand iOS trim song](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-trim-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nTap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it.\n\nIDG\n\n![GarageBand iOS Share Song](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-share-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nApple\n## How to buy ringtones from Apple\nApple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones.\n\n1. Launch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping *Sound & Haptics* \\> *Ringtone* \\> *Tone Store*.\n2. Tap the *More* button at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots.\n3. On the next screen, tap *Tones*.\n4. Now you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are \\$1.29, while others are \\$0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it.\n\nWhen you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking.\n\n![buy ringtones iPhone](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/buy-ringtones-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n\n### [Author: Roman Loyola](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/author\/rloyola), Senior Editor, Macworld\n![](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150&h=150&crop=1)\n\nRoman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.\n\n### Recent stories by Roman Loyola:\n- [iPhones in space! NASA brings 17 Pros on board Artemis mission](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3105867\/iphones-are-floating-in-outer-space-as-you-read-this.html)\n- [I’ve been to a lot of Apple keynotes. I’ll never forget these two](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3100197\/ive-been-to-a-lot-of-apple-keynotes-ill-never-forget-these-two.html)\n- [Apple’s Swift can be used to create Android apps](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3102172\/apples-swift-can-be-used-to-create-android-apps.html)\n\nMacworld is your best source for all things Apple. We give you the scoop on what's new, what's best and how to make the most out of the products you love.\n\n- POLICIESExpand POLICIES\n  - [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/privacy-policy\/)\n  - [Cookie Policy](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/cookie-policy\/)\n  - [Terms of Service](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/terms-of-service-agreement\/)\n  - [Copyright Notice](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/copyright-notice\/)\n  - [European Privacy Settings](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about\/member-preferences#cookie)\n  - [Member Preferences](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about\/member-preferences)\n  - [Editorial Independence](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about\/affiliate-link-policy)\n  - [Licensing & Eprints](https:\/\/info.wrightsmedia.com\/foundry-media-licensing)\n  - [California: Do not sell my Personal Info](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about\/ccpa)\n\n- ABOUTExpand ABOUT\n  - [About Us](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about)\n  - [Contact Us](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/about\/contact)\n  - [Advertise](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/our-brands\/macworld\/)\n  - [Ad Choices](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/ad-choices\/)\n  - [Foundry Careers](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/work-here\/)\n  - [Smart Answers](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/smart-answers)\n\n- More from Macworld Expand submenu for More from Macworld\n  - [Macworld Sweden](https:\/\/www.macworld.se\/)\n    [Macwelt Germany](https:\/\/www.macwelt.de\/)\n\n- Subscribe Expand submenu for Subscribe\n  - [Subscribe to the Macworld Digital Magazine](https:\/\/simplecirc.com\/subscribe\/macworld)\n    [Digital Magazine Info](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/faq)\n    [Newsletter](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/newsletters\/signup)\n    [Follow us on WhatsApp](https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VagNnbe002TCyUyKte2j)\n\n[© 2026 FoundryCo, Inc.](https:\/\/foundryco.com\/terms-of-service-agreement\/)\n\n[Top Of Page]()\n\nDo Not Sell or Share My Personal Information\n\nPrivacy Settings\n\n![]()\n\n![]()","attrs_readable_markdown":"![iOS 15 ringtone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ios15-ringtone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1024)\n\nImage: IDG\n\n## Table of Contents\n- [How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-1)\n- [How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)\n- [How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-3)\n- [How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)\n- [How to buy ringtones from Apple](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)\n\nThe iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even [added a lot of new ones in iOS 17](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/2069398\/ios-17-new-ringtones-text-tones.html). But it’s *your* iPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have?\n\nYou can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is.\n\nYou can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works.\n\n## How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone\nThere are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below.\n\n- You can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)).\n- You can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)).\n- You can buy ringtones from Apple. ([Jump to the instructions](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)).\n\nOnce you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and [how to make it play when a certain contact calls](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) below.\n\nRead on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone.\n\n## How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac\nThe easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC).\n\nHowever, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected.\n\n![set ringtone duration](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/set-ringtone-duration.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n\nFollow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone:\n\n1. Launch the Music app.\n2. Go to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.)\n3. Right-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select *Get Info*.\n4. A window with the details of the song file will appear. Click *Options*.\n5. In Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the *Start* checkbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the *Stop* box and enter the end time. Click *OK*.\n6. Select the file, and then click on the File menu and select *Convert* \\> *Create AAC version*. (If the only option you see is *Create MP3 version*, select that.)\n7. A new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select *Show in Finder*. (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track).\n8. A Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select *Get Info*, and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following:\n   - If the extension is *.m4a* click on the name and change the extension to *.m4r*. Confirm you want to change the extension.\n   - If the extension is *.mp3*, the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the *File* menu and select *Export As* \\> *Audio Only*. Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click *Save*. Then change the extension of the newly exported file to *.m4r*.\n\nNow you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that.\n\n![Apple Music show in finder](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/show-in-finder.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n### How to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone\nIf you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone:\n\n1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB.\n2. Open a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop).\n3. In the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it.\n4. Find your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected.\n5. A green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window).\n6. Now open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics \\> Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others).\n\n![ringtone mac to iPhone](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/add-ringone-mac-to-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n## How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact\nThe next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you.\n\n1. Open the Contacts app.\n2. Find and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to.\n3. Tap on Edit.\n4. Swipe down to Ringtone and tap on it.\n5. Now Choose the new tone you have added.\n\nIf you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone.\n\nYou can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone.\n\nHere’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone.\n\nYou can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds.\n\nBefore you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit.\n\n- If you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive.\n- If you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand.\n- Copy-protected song files cannot be edited.\n- Streamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones.\n\nHere’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone.\n\nIf you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done:\n\n![Garage Band iOS Tracks Loops buttons](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-buttons.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nLeft: the Tracks button.  \nRight: the Loop Browser button.\n\nIDG\n\n1. Launch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s [free in the App Store](https:\/\/go.skimresources.com\/?id=111346X1569486&xs=1&url=https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/garageband\/id408709785&xcust=1-0-616018-1-0-0-0-0&sref=https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/616018\/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html). It’s a big application, so give it some time to download.\n2. Tap *Tracks* at the top of the screen.\n3. Swipe through the screen left or right until you find the *Audio Recorder* section. Tap it.\n4. At the top left of the screen tap the *Tracks* button. It’s the third button from the left.\n5. Tap the *Loop Browser* on the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon.\n6. A file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit.\n   - If your file is on iCloud Drive, tap *Files* and then tap the *Browse items from the Files app* link at the bottom.\n   - If you want to edit a song file, tap *Music*, then navigate to your song file.\n7. Press and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace.\n8. Now it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds.\n   - If you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the *Settings* button and turn on *Time Ruler*. This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace.\n   - Tap the *Play* button at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the *Stop* button next to it to stop playing.\n   - To trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song.\n   - While we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc.\n9. Once you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the *Navigation* button in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward.\n10. In the pop-up menu, select *My Songs*. A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.”\n    - If you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select *Rename*. Give it a new name.\n    - To export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select *Share*. The “Share Song” window will appear; select *Ringtone*. You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap *Export* to save the ringtone.\n11. After the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings \\> *Sounds & Haptics* \\> *Ringtone*. To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app (*\\[your contact\\]* \\> *Edit* \\> *Ringtone*).\n\n![GarageBand iOS song import](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-song-import.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nSongs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected\n\nIDG\n\n![GarageBand iOS trim song](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-trim-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nTap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it.\n\nIDG\n\n![GarageBand iOS Share Song](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/garageband-ios-share-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nApple\n## How to buy ringtones from Apple\nApple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones.\n\n1. Launch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping *Sound & Haptics* \\> *Ringtone* \\> *Tone Store*.\n2. Tap the *More* button at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots.\n3. On the next screen, tap *Tones*.\n4. Now you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are \\$1.29, while others are \\$0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it.\n\nWhen you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking.\n\n![buy ringtones iPhone](https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/buy-ringtones-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)\n\nIDG\n\n![](https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150&h=150&crop=1)\n\nRoman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	How to make a ringtone on iPhone or Mac: Set an iPhone custom ringtone \| Macworld
Meta Description	We explain how to make your own ringtone from a favourite track, so you can set it on your iPhone as a custom ringtone for a particular contact.
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Boilerpipe Text	Image: IDG Table of Contents How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone How to buy ringtones from Apple The iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even added a lot of new ones in iOS 17 . But it’s your iPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have? You can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is. You can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works. How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone There are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below. You can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. ( Jump to the instructions ). You can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. ( Jump to the instructions ). You can buy ringtones from Apple. ( Jump to the instructions ). Once you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and how to make it play when a certain contact calls below. Read on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone. How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac The easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC). However, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected. IDG Follow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone: Launch the Music app. Go to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.) Right-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select Get Info . A window with the details of the song file will appear. Click Options . In Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the Start checkbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the Stop box and enter the end time. Click OK . Select the file, and then click on the File menu and select Convert > Create AAC version . (If the only option you see is Create MP3 version , select that.) A new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select Show in Finder . (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track). A Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select Get Info , and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following: If the extension is .m4a click on the name and change the extension to .m4r . Confirm you want to change the extension. If the extension is .mp3 , the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the File menu and select Export As > Audio Only . Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click Save . Then change the extension of the newly exported file to .m4r . Now you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that. IDG How to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone If you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone: Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB. Open a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop). In the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it. Find your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected. A green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window). Now open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics > Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others). IDG How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact The next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you. Open the Contacts app. Find and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to. Tap on Edit. Swipe down to Ringtone and tap on it. Now Choose the new tone you have added. If you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone. You can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone. Here’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone. You can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds. Before you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit. If you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive. If you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand. Copy-protected song files cannot be edited. Streamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones. Here’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone. If you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done: Left: the Tracks button. Right: the Loop Browser button. IDG Launch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s free in the App Store . It’s a big application, so give it some time to download. Tap Tracks at the top of the screen. Swipe through the screen left or right until you find the Audio Recorder section. Tap it. At the top left of the screen tap the Tracks button. It’s the third button from the left. Tap the Loop Browser on the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon. A file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit. If your file is on iCloud Drive, tap Files and then tap the Browse items from the Files app link at the bottom. If you want to edit a song file, tap Music , then navigate to your song file. Press and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace. Now it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds. If you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the Settings button and turn on Time Ruler . This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace. Tap the Play button at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the Stop button next to it to stop playing. To trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song. While we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc. Once you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the Navigation button in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward. In the pop-up menu, select My Songs . A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.” If you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select Rename . Give it a new name. To export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select Share . The “Share Song” window will appear; select Ringtone . You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap Export to save the ringtone. After the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone . To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app ( [your contact] > Edit > Ringtone ). Songs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected IDG Tap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it. IDG Apple How to buy ringtones from Apple Apple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones. Launch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping Sound & Haptics > Ringtone > Tone Store . Tap the More button at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots. On the next screen, tap Tones . Now you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are $1.29, while others are $0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it. When you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking. IDG Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.
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[iPhone How To](https://www.macworld.com/en-gb/iphone/how-to) Updated # How to create a custom ringtone for your iPhone We explain how to make your own ringtone from a favourite track, so you can use it on your iPhone as a custom ringtone. ![Roman Loyola](https://www.macworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150) By [Roman Loyola](https://www.macworld.com/author/rloyola) Senior Editor, Macworld JAN 23, 2025 3:56 am PST ![iOS 15 ringtone](https://www.macworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ios15-ringtone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1024) Image: IDG ## Table of Contents - [How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-1) - [How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2) - [How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-3) - [How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) - [How to buy ringtones from Apple](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5) The iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even [added a lot of new ones in iOS 17](https://www.macworld.com/article/2069398/ios-17-new-ringtones-text-tones.html). But it’s your iPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have? You can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is. You can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works. ## How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone There are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below. - You can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)). - You can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)). - You can buy ringtones from Apple. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)). Once you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and [how to make it play when a certain contact calls](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) below. Read on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone. ## How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac The easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC). However, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected. ![set ringtone duration](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/set-ringtone-duration.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG Follow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone: 1. Launch the Music app. 2. Go to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.) 3. Right-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select Get Info. 4. A window with the details of the song file will appear. Click Options. 5. In Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the Start checkbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the Stop box and enter the end time. Click OK. 6. Select the file, and then click on the File menu and select Convert \> Create AAC version. (If the only option you see is Create MP3 version, select that.) 7. A new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select Show in Finder. (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track). 8. A Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select Get Info, and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following: - If the extension is .m4a click on the name and change the extension to .m4r. Confirm you want to change the extension. - If the extension is .mp3, the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the File menu and select Export As \> Audio Only. Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click Save. Then change the extension of the newly exported file to .m4r. Now you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that. ![Apple Music show in finder](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/show-in-finder.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ### How to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone If you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone: 1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB. 2. Open a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop). 3. In the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it. 4. Find your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected. 5. A green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window). 6. Now open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics \> Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others). ![ringtone mac to iPhone](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/add-ringone-mac-to-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ## How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact The next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you. 1. Open the Contacts app. 2. Find and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to. 3. Tap on Edit. 4. Swipe down to Ringtone and tap on it. 5. Now Choose the new tone you have added. ## How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone If you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone. You can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone. Here’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone. You can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds. Before you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit. - If you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive. - If you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand. - Copy-protected song files cannot be edited. - Streamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones. Here’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone. If you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done: ![Garage Band iOS Tracks Loops buttons](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-buttons.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Left: the Tracks button. Right: the Loop Browser button. IDG 1. Launch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s [free in the App Store](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=111346X1569486&xs=1&url=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785&xcust=1-0-616018-1-0-0-0-0&sref=https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html). It’s a big application, so give it some time to download. 2. Tap Tracks at the top of the screen. 3. Swipe through the screen left or right until you find the Audio Recorder section. Tap it. 4. At the top left of the screen tap the Tracks button. It’s the third button from the left. 5. Tap the Loop Browser on the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon. 6. A file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit. - If your file is on iCloud Drive, tap Files and then tap the Browse items from the Files app link at the bottom. - If you want to edit a song file, tap Music, then navigate to your song file. 7. Press and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace. 8. Now it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds. - If you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the Settings button and turn on Time Ruler. This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace. - Tap the Play button at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the Stop button next to it to stop playing. - To trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song. - While we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc. 9. Once you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the Navigation button in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward. 10. In the pop-up menu, select My Songs. A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.” - If you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select Rename. Give it a new name. - To export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select Share. The “Share Song” window will appear; select Ringtone. You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap Export to save the ringtone. 11. After the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings \> Sounds & Haptics \> Ringtone. To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app (\[your contact\] \> Edit \> Ringtone). ![GarageBand iOS song import](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-song-import.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Songs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected IDG ![GarageBand iOS trim song](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-trim-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Tap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it. IDG ![GarageBand iOS Share Song](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-share-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Apple ## How to buy ringtones from Apple Apple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones. 1. Launch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping Sound & Haptics \> Ringtone \> Tone Store. 2. Tap the More button at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots. 3. On the next screen, tap Tones. 4. Now you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are \$1.29, while others are \$0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it. When you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking. ![buy ringtones iPhone](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/buy-ringtones-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ### [Author: Roman Loyola](https://www.macworld.com/author/rloyola), Senior Editor, Macworld ![](https://www.macworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150&h=150&crop=1) Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV. ### Recent stories by Roman Loyola: - [iPhones in space! NASA brings 17 Pros on board Artemis mission](https://www.macworld.com/article/3105867/iphones-are-floating-in-outer-space-as-you-read-this.html) - [I’ve been to a lot of Apple keynotes. I’ll never forget these two](https://www.macworld.com/article/3100197/ive-been-to-a-lot-of-apple-keynotes-ill-never-forget-these-two.html) - [Apple’s Swift can be used to create Android apps](https://www.macworld.com/article/3102172/apples-swift-can-be-used-to-create-android-apps.html) Macworld is your best source for all things Apple. 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Readable Markdown	![iOS 15 ringtone](https://www.macworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/ios15-ringtone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1024) Image: IDG ## Table of Contents - [How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-1) - [How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2) - [How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-3) - [How to make a custom ringtone on your iPhone](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) - [How to buy ringtones from Apple](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5) The iPhone comes with a number of ringtones you can use for calls and text notifications, and even [added a lot of new ones in iOS 17](https://www.macworld.com/article/2069398/ios-17-new-ringtones-text-tones.html). But it’s your iPhone, why not use a custom ringtone that only you have? You can even set certain ringtones for specific contacts, so you immediately know who it is when they call. For example, you can set a song that’s special to you and your spouse as a ringtone, so when your spouse calls, you’ll hear the song and know immediately who it is. You can even make a custom ringtone right on your iPhone with GarageBand, or use your Mac and edit it in the Music app, as long as you know the steps. Here’s how it works. ## How to make custom ringtones on your iPhone There are a few ways to make a custom ringtone to play on your iPhone, we will discuss each of these methods below. - You can either create your ringtone in the Music app on your Mac (or PC). Just choose a track you like, edit it so that a 30 second clip, and convert it so it can be added to your ringtones. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-2)). - You can create and edit your ringtone in the GarageBand app directly on your iPhone. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4)). - You can buy ringtones from Apple. ([Jump to the instructions](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-5)). Once you have created your 30 second clip you need to add it to your iPhone and assign it to a contact. We discuss how to import your ringtone and [how to make it play when a certain contact calls](https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html#toc-4) below. Read on for our complete guide to making your own ringtone and assigning it to a contact on your iPhone. ## How make a ringtone from your favourite track on a Mac The easiest way to create a ringtone from a song you like is using the Music app on your Mac (or PC). However, you must own the physical song file—streamed songs cannot be made into ringtones. Also, the files must not be copy-protected. ![set ringtone duration](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/set-ringtone-duration.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG Follow these steps to create your ringtone for iPhone: 1. Launch the Music app. 2. Go to your music library and find the song you want to make into a ringtone. Play the song and keep an eye on the elapsed time at the top of the app. Note the time stamp where you want the ringtone to start, then note where you want it to end. (Note: Ringtones cannot be longer than 30 seconds.) 3. Right-click on the song and in the pop-up menu, select Get Info. 4. A window with the details of the song file will appear. Click Options. 5. In Options, there are timecodes for Start and Stop. Check the Start checkbox and enter the starting time from step 2. Then check the Stop box and enter the end time. Click OK. 6. Select the file, and then click on the File menu and select Convert \> Create AAC version. (If the only option you see is Create MP3 version, select that.) 7. A new copy of your song file will appear under the original. Right-click on it and select Show in Finder. (If you can’t see the copy of the song below the one you just converted click on Songs on the left, and search for that track). 8. A Finder window with the song file should appear on your desktop. Look at the file’s extension (the extension appears after the file name and a period “.”). If you don’t see the extension, right-click on the file, select Get Info, and then look for the Name & Extension section. Then do one of the following: - If the extension is .m4a click on the name and change the extension to .m4r. Confirm you want to change the extension. - If the extension is .mp3, the file needs to be converted to .m4a. Open the file in QuickTime Player, which is in your Applications folder. Then in QuickTime Player, click on the File menu and select Export As \> Audio Only. Name the file, choose a place to save it, then click Save. Then change the extension of the newly exported file to .m4r. Now you have a suitable ringtone file, and you just need to install it on your iPhone, read on for how to do that. ![Apple Music show in finder](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/show-in-finder.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ### How to get the ringtone you created on to your iPhone If you used a Mac, as per the steps above, to create your ringtone, here’s how to get that on your iPhone: 1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB. 2. Open a Finder window (press ⌘-N on the desktop). 3. In the sidebar under Locations, you should find your iPhone. Select it. 4. Find your ringtone file (the one with the .m4r extension), and drag it over to the Finder window that has your iPhone selected. 5. A green “+” icon should appear on your cursor and the file that you are dragging. That means you will be adding it to your iPhone. Drop the file to install it. You may have to wait while the tones sync (a bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window). 6. Now open the Setting app on your iPhone, then tap Sound & Haptics \> Ringtone, and it will appear at the top of the list with other custom ringtones (if you have others). ![ringtone mac to iPhone](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/add-ringone-mac-to-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ## How to set a custom ringtone to play for a iPhone contact The next step is to assign that ringtone to a contact so that it plays when they call you. 1. Open the Contacts app. 2. Find and open the contact you want to add the ringtone to. 3. Tap on Edit. 4. Swipe down to Ringtone and tap on it. 5. Now Choose the new tone you have added. If you don’t want to use your Mac to create a ring tone you can do it in GarageBand right on your iPhone. You can use almost any audio file in AAC format, with the file extension changed to .m4r, and a maximum length of 30 seconds will work. You can use other audio editing software to produce one. Fortunately, Apple gives you GarageBand for free, and it’s available on both Mac and iPhone. Here’s how to use the iPhone version of GarageBand to make a ringtone. You can start from scratch (we’re not going to show you how to make a song in this tutorial) or you can edit an existing sound file, which we’ll demonstrate here. The ringtone must be no longer than 30 seconds. Before you edit in GarageBand, here’s how to prep for the file you want to edit. - If you have an existing sound file, copy it to iCloud Drive. - If you want to edit a song, you must have the song file, either by buying it online or ripping it from a CD. If you have the actual song file already on your iPhone, you will be able to access it through GarageBand. - Copy-protected song files cannot be edited. - Streamed Apple Music songs or songs from another streaming service cannot be used as ringtones. Here’s how to edit a sound file in GarageBand for iPhone and then save it as a ringtone. If you don’t have or want to use your Mac, you can create a custom ringtone right on your phone with a little work. You can import a pre-recorded song—again, it needs to be an unprotected track that you own—or create something original using GarageBand’s instruments. Here’s how to get it done: ![Garage Band iOS Tracks Loops buttons](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-buttons.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Left: the Tracks button. Right: the Loop Browser button. IDG 1. Launch GarageBand. If you don’t have it, it’s [free in the App Store](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=111346X1569486&xs=1&url=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785&xcust=1-0-616018-1-0-0-0-0&sref=https://www.macworld.com/article/616018/how-to-custom-ringtone-iphone.html). It’s a big application, so give it some time to download. 2. Tap Tracks at the top of the screen. 3. Swipe through the screen left or right until you find the Audio Recorder section. Tap it. 4. At the top left of the screen tap the Tracks button. It’s the third button from the left. 5. Tap the Loop Browser on the upper right. It’s the button with a loop icon. 6. A file browser window opens and you can navigate to the file you want to edit. - If your file is on iCloud Drive, tap Files and then tap the Browse items from the Files app link at the bottom. - If you want to edit a song file, tap Music, then navigate to your song file. 7. Press and hold the file, then drag it from the browser window to the GarageBand workspace. 8. Now it’s time to edit the track down to 30 seconds. - If you want a visual cue to help you with the time, tap the Settings button and turn on Time Ruler. This will display the time in seconds at the top of the workspace. - Tap the Play button at the top to hear the song. Tap it again or tap the Stop button next to it to stop playing. - To trim a song, tap the track and trim bars will appear at the ends. Tap and drag a bar to the stop where you want to trim the song. - While we’re not going into greater detail here, you can perform other edits if you want. You can cut sections out, add effects, etc. 9. Once you’ve edited the song, you can save it as a ringtone. Tap the Navigation button in the upper left. It’s the arrowhead pointing downward. 10. In the pop-up menu, select My Songs. A window called “GarageBand Recents” will open, and your saved GarageBand Project will display as “My Song.” - If you want to rename it, tap and hold on the project, and in the pop-up menu, select Rename. Give it a new name. - To export the song as a ringtone, tap and hold on the project, then in the pop-up menu, select Share. The “Share Song” window will appear; select Ringtone. You’ll need to give the ringtone a name (the default is the name of the project). The tap Export to save the ringtone. 11. After the export is done, a window will appear that will ask you how you want to use the ringtone. You can set it now, or do so later in the iPhone Settings \> Sounds & Haptics \> Ringtone. To set a ringtone for a specific contact, you need to do that in the contact’s entry in the Contacts app (\[your contact\] \> Edit \> Ringtone). ![GarageBand iOS song import](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-song-import.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Songs can be imported into GarageBand, but they must be on your iPhone and not copy protected IDG ![GarageBand iOS trim song](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-trim-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Tap and hold, then drag the bar at the end of the song to trim it. IDG ![GarageBand iOS Share Song](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/garageband-ios-share-song.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) Apple ## How to buy ringtones from Apple Apple sells ringtones that you can buy directly on your iPhone. Here’s how to shop for ringtones. 1. Launch the iTunes Store app—not the Apple Music app or App Store. If you can’t find the iTunes Store, do a search on your iPhone or tell Siri, “Open the iTunes Store.” You can also get to the iTunes Store through the Settings app by tapping Sound & Haptics \> Ringtone \> Tone Store. 2. Tap the More button at the bottom of the screen. It’s the button with three dots. 3. On the next screen, tap Tones. 4. Now you’re in the section with ringtones. Most ringtones are \$1.29, while others are \$0.99. Tap the icon to hear the tone, and tap the price button to buy it. When you buy a ringtone, you’ll be given options to set it. The ringtone will be available in the iPhone settings and you can always adjust it to your liking. ![buy ringtones iPhone](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/buy-ringtones-iphone.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200) IDG ![](https://www.macworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/author_photo_Roman-Loyola_1662683660-12.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=150&h=150&crop=1) Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.
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