How to convert songs to ringtones?

Hi mitchff313,

I agree with you that it's absolutely maddening! I spent a couple hours trying to get it to work. I just wanted to make sure you did the steps that worked for me. It wasn't until I came to these steps that I figured it out and it finally worked.

Here are the last steps that made it happen for me:

I plugged my phone into my iMac and opened iTunes. I got this screen. Click the little phone icon circled in red. (that's what I was missing all along)

Then this screen appears... click on Tones

Then this screen appears... check Sync Tones, Selected tones, and the tone you'd like to sync... then click Sync (or apply) at the bottom of the screen.

I'm hoping this helps you. This is what I was missing to make it all happen.

icindi

Mitchff313,

I tried to edit that last reply but it won't let me, my apologies. Here it is again.

Here are the last steps that made it happen for me:

I plugged my phone into my iMac and opened iTunes. I got this screen. Click the little phone icon circled in red. (that's what I was missing all along)

Then this screen appears... click on Tones

Then this screen appears... check Sync Tones, Selected tones, and the tone you'd like to sync... then click Sync (or apply) at the bottom of the screen.

I'm hoping this helps you. This is what I was missing to make it all happen.

icindi

Create a ringtone in iTunes

1. Select a track to use as the source.
2. On the Get Info > Options tab set start and stop times less than 40 seconds apart.
3. Under Edit > Preferences > General tab > Import Settings choose AAC Encoder > High Quality 128k.
4. Use File > Convert > Create AAC version.
5. Reset the start and stop times on the original track.
6. Right-click on the new copy and click Show in Windows Explorer or Finder.
7. Delete the new entry from the library without sending to the recycle bin/trash.
8. Change the file extension from .m4a to .m4r. (You may need to adjust folder options to see the extensions)
9. Move the file into the Automatically Add to iTunes folder, it will be added to the Tones section of the library.

tt2

Oneloveboo wrote:

Hi Chris. Can you then convert .m4r to a .wav file?

Yes.

iTunes prefs > General.
Click Import settings and change to WAV.

Then select the song and File > Convert - Create WAV version.

Chris,

I followed all the steps listed above and was successful in converting the track into a ringtone. I also imported the ringtone into iTunes however (it is listed as a Tone). however, it is the same length of the initial track. I know this is the issue b/c when I tried to import the Ringtone into my iPhone 7, an error popped up saying that the Ringtone is too long.

This leads me to believe that the issue is with step 3 - creating a (second) AAC version. How does one do that? The option does not appear on my version of iTunes (12.6.0.100)?

Thanks, in advance, for your help.

Hello,

I'm wondering if you can help me, too?

I've managed to create the proper ringtone file and it is now in my Tones section under the Cindi's iPhone section in my iTunes on my desktop. I made sure the checkbox was checked on the ringtone file, then I right clicked on Cindi's iPhone and chose sync... but it doesn't seem to make it to my ringtones on my phone 😟

Any suggestion would be very appreciated.

Thanks so much,

iCindi

Thank you for your quick reply, turningtest2!

I dug a little deeper online and found that I needed to click on the little phone icon at the top, then choose Tones in the left column... then Sync Tones > Selected tones > and the track that I created.

Problem fixed!

Thanks so much,

iCindi

This is just maddening (my ineptitude, not your instructions).

I have edited a clip to 13 seconds in length; no duplicate file appears but I can confirm it is edited. I convert it to AAC and reveal it in finder. I rename the suffix to "m4r." I drag it to the desktop. I delete the original file from the playlist. I drag the file from the desktop into "Tones." A green plus sign appears. And nothing shows up in Tones.

I do not see an "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder; could that be the problem? My import setting in Preferences is set to AAC.

What the heck am I doing wrong?

The Automatically Add to iTunes folder is normally found in Users/<User>/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media. You can check the location of your media folder under iTunes > Preferences > Advanced.

tt2

Thank you very much for the above and for your original instructions. I feel like I'm one tantalizing step away from success.

Thanks to your pointer, I was able to find the Automatically Add to iTunes folder and successfully dragged my audio clip into it. But it does not appear in my iPhone 7 even after syncing. I expected to see it at the top of the Ringtones section in the Sounds and Haptics directory. But it's not there, even after turning on/off both iTunes on my desktop and my phone. Any further thoughts? I'll try to make this the last question. Thanks again.

Great, now it is in the library connect your device, select the device icon that pops up in the toolbar, select the device's Tones tab, tick Sync Tones, and sync. It should then end up on your device.

tt2

It still doesn't show up on my phone after syncing. But, true to my word, that was my last question. I'm going to declare victory and retreat, as the saying goes. Thanks for your help. I'm sure the directions were accurate, there's just something going wrong on my end.

Both, after syncing. I've gone through the process several times.

I'll just mention one more thing: When I edited the song down to a 30-second clip, I did not get a discrete file in the directory. The only change was that the song was shorter; not even the nominal length changed (i.e., the length of the song in the directory was unchanged). I continued with the process, converting it to AAC, changing the suffix to .m4r, etc. Then, when I dragged the song to the desktop in preparation to put it into the "Add Automatically" folder, the length of the clip reverted back to the original. I know what you're thinking, but there is no way I picked the wrong file. I feel the fact I was not able to generate a separate, shorter version of the song has something to do with the problem.

When you edit the start and stop times of the original track you're altering some properties stored in the iTunes database. The file itself isn't trimmed, but only plays between the two points that you've set. When you convert such a track to a new file only the active section is copied into the new track. You can sort the library in the Songs view by date added with most recent at the top to make sure you're locating the newly converted file in Finder to work with for the next steps. I suspect you've changed the extension of the original file which even with a .m4r extension doesn't satisfy the <40 second rule to qualify as a proper ring tone.

tt2

Chris,

Honestly my trouble started when I tried to sync my I tunes on my phone and MAC. I instinctively installed the new IOS 11. My ringtones disappeared. and now I can't find the tones on my general preferences on my Mac I Tunes. The song is in my library, and on my I phone library.

All my notification settings disappeared also in the process.

This will be the last time I agree to update the IOS before it's been out for a few months. Ugh!