You can convert songs you already have in your iPhone iTunes into ringtones, but if you’re using a newer version of macOS (anything from 2019’s Catalina and up), you won’t have access to iTunes at all. Instead, you can use Music.
You must use the Music app on your Mac to follow these steps, but you do not need to have a subscription to complete this process.
- Open the Music app.
- If the song or sound you want to use is already in your library, you can find it in one of the categories under Library on the left side of the screen.
- If you want to use a file that isn’t loaded into your library yet, click File and then Import. Or press Command O.
Please navigate to the file you want to add, select it, and click Open. You can also click on the play button on the file’s icon to listen to a preview to ensure it’s the one you want.
- You’ll find the newly added file under Recently Added.
- Right-click on the song and select Get Info.
- Click on the Options tab in the menu
- Enter the times you want the clip to start and stop in their respective boxes (the time cannot exceed 30 seconds)
- Click OK
From the clip’s info page, start clicking on the following consecutively:
- Select the clip
- click on the “File”
- Click on “Convert”
- Click on “Create ACC Version”
- You can now see the 30-second clip
- Once created, you’ll want to follow steps 6 through 9 to restore the original clip to its proper length. Just make sure both the Start and Stop boxes are unchecked, and it should default back to normal when you click OK.
- Right-click on the 30-second clip and select Show in Finder to find the actual file on your computer. It should be using a “.m4a” file extension.
- Right-click the file and select Rename.
- Give the file any name you want, but make sure to change the extension from “.m4a” to “.m4r” to make sure your iPhone will recognize it.
- Connect your Apple iPhone to your Mac using the necessary Lightning or USB cable, then in Music, select your iPhone and click Sync Settings.
- On the General tab, make sure Manually manage music, movies, and TV shows is on and click Apply to finish.
- Go back to the folder where the new clip .m4r file is, then drag and drop it into Music, making sure your iPhone is still connected to your computer and it’s still selected in the Music app.
- The new ringtone may not appear on your iPhone’s page in Music, so go into Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone to check.
- The new ringtone should appear right at the top of your list. Tap it to set it as your new ringtone, and you’re done!
OR
To set a custom ringtone on your iPhone for free, use the free Apple GarageBand app to create a ringtone from an audio file, a song from your Apple Music library, or a song you made, then export it as a ringtone and assign it in Settings.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Prepare GarageBand:
- If you don’t have it, download GarageBand from the App Store.
- Open GarageBand and tap “Create New Audio Recording”.
- Tap the Tracks button at the top of the screen.
- Tap the instrument icon on the left to select the track, then tap the Loops Browser button at the top of the screen.
