Q: How do I transfer an itunes purchased ringtone from my ipad to my iphone?

They are one-time only downloads from the store, so you will need to connect the iPad to your computer's iTunes and do File > Devices > Transfer Purchases to copy it over to your computer and you can then sync it to your iPhone

I'm trying to do this with my iphone 4S so I can get my ringtone onto my new 5S but the ringtone still isn't transferring across. Any suggestions? I can still see the ringtone under settings on my 4S...

The ringtone was bought from iTunes, is listed in the Tones part of the old phone's library when connect to your computer's iTunes, and with that phone connected File > Devices > Transfer Purchases isn't copying it over to the Tones part of your library ?

If you got the tone from another source or created it yourself then there are some programs listed half-way down this page which might be able to copy it back : Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device

Thank you for your reply   I purchased the ringtone from iTunes on my old iphone but when I connect the old iphone to the computer, under the tab "on this iphone", there's nothing under tones...

That implies that it's no longer on the phone - all the ringtones that I have on my phone are listed in the Tones part of 'on this phone' :

If you try to select a contact in the Contacts app and tap Edit at the top right of their details, does that tone show as an option for them ?

I don't know why it wasn't showing up in that section but after reconnecting it several times, I managed to find it under the tones tab for my iTunes account so I've got it sorted now. Thank you so much for your time trying to help me