How to Create iPhone Custom Ringtones on Mac and Windows

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This article will show you how to Create iPhone Custom Ringtones on Mac and Windows. In past versions of macOS, you could use iTunes to set any song as your iPhone’s ringtone. But as of macOS Catalina, the Finder has replaced iTunes, which makes it hard to set any song or piece of music as a custom ringtone on iOS. Thanks to Apple Music, it’s now easy to do the same thing.

Just like how iTunes used to work, all you have to do is drag and drop the music file from the Mac file system to the iPhone. Of course, this changed with newer versions of iTunes, and Mojave and High Sierra users often find that they can’t drag a ringtone to their iPhone within iTunes. Instead, they have to copy and paste the ringtone. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Apple Support site.

How to Create ringtones on iPhone

If you don’t have GarageBand on your iPhone:

1. Download GarageBand from the App Store if you haven’t yet done so.
2. Tap Continue on the main GarageBand app, then Continue again if this is the first time you’ll use the app.
3. Select Allow to approve GarageBand notifications.

Once GarageBand has been installed:

1. Tap Tracks at the top of the app.
2. Choose Audio Recorder by swiping right.
3. Select the Multitrack button at the top left. It’s the third one in the series.

Next:

1. Choose the Looper button at the top right. It’s the second from last.
2. Tap Music from the pop-up.
3. Select the song you wish to use for your ringtone. You can search through Albums, Artists, Genres, Playlists, and Songs. You can only use downloaded iTunes music. Due to copyright, you can’t use Apple Music songs.
4. Drag the song into GarageBand.

Edit Your Song

The longest your message should be is 30 seconds. Most likely, the song you chose is much longer than that. So, you have to change it by choosing your favourite part of the song.

1. Push the Play button at the top of the screen and listen to your song; decide which section to use for your ringtone.
2. Separately, grab both ends of the song and push them inward so that only your favorite part of the song remains.
3. Press the Play button again to confirm your ringtone.
4. Tap the My Songs button at the top left. It’s the first one on the list.
5. Choose My Songs.

Change the Name, Export the File

1. Long press the clip you just saved.
2. Choose Rename from the menu.
3. Give your clip a name.
4. Tap Done.

Next:

1. Long press the renamed clip again.
2. Choose Share.
3. Tap Ringtone.
4. Select Export.
5. Choose OK on the Ringtone Export Successful pop-up.

Using Your New Ringtone

1. Choose the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
3. Select Ringtone.
4. Under Ringtones, select your newly created song as your default ringtone.

How to Create Ringtones on your Mac

1. Click on the Music app on the Mac Dock.
2. Search for the song you wish to use for your ringtone. You can search through Albums, Artists, Genres, Playlists, and Songs. You can only use downloaded iTunes music. Due to copyright, you can’t use Apple Music songs.
3. Right-click on the downloaded song.
4. Choose Get Info.
5. Select Options.
6. Check the boxes for Start and Stop time, then choose the start and stop points for your ringtone. These shouldn’t exceed 30 seconds. Listen to the song to find the part of the song you like the most.
7. Click OK.

Next:

1. Highlight the song you just changed in the Music app.
2. Click File on the Mac Toolbar.
3. Choose Convert > Create AAC version.

From here:

1. On the original file, go back and remove the start and stop time.
2. Drag the newly created AAC version of the song to the desktop.
3. Right-click on the AAC file that’s on your desktop, then click Rename. The record currently has a .m4a extension, which must be changed to .m4r.
4. Change the name of the file to reflect the .m4r extension.
5. Confirm the change in the pop-up box.

Saving to Your iPhone

The final step is to send y0ur newly created ringtone to your iPhone. To do so:

1. Use a cable to connect your iPhone to your Mac. If this is the first time you have done this, you’ll be asked to Trust the connection. Do so.
2. Click Finder on your Mac.
3. Choose your phone under Locations.
4. Drag the ringtone file into the sync window of your iPhone.

Your phone should now let you choose your file as a sound. This will happen even if you don’t sync your iPhone with your Mac.

Using Your New Ringtone

1. Choose the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Sounds & Haptics.
3. Select Ringtone.
4. Under Ringtones, select your newly created song as your default ringtone.

How to Create Ringtones on your Windows computer

You can also use Windows 11/10 to make your own sounds. How to do this is very similar to how to do it on a Mac, which was described above. But since Windows still uses iTunes, that’s the app you should use to make new sounds. But the same general rule still holds. You can only use iTunes music that you have downloaded. You can’t use Apple Music songs because of copy rights.

1. Click on the iTunes app on your computer.
2. Find the song to use for your ringtone.
3. Right-click on that song, choose Song Info.
4. Select Options.
5. Check the boxes for Start and Stop time, then choose the start and stop points for your ringtone. These shouldn’t exceed 30 seconds. Listen to the song to find the part of the song you like the most.
6. Click OK.

Next:

1. Highlight the song you just changed in the iTunes app.
2. Click File on Toolbar.
3. Choose Convert > Create AAC version.
4. On the original file, go back and remove the start and stop time.
5. Drag the newly created AAC version of the song to the desktop.
6. Right-click on the AAC file that’s on your desktop, then click Rename. The record currently has a .m4a extension, which must be changed to .m4r.  Make sure you can see file extensions in Windows.
7. Change the name of the file to reflect the .m4r extension.
8. Confirm the change in the pop-up box.
9. Double-click on the file and open it with iTunes. Without this step, Windows doesn’t know this is a ringtone.

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