How to get custom ringtone onto iOS 11 device?

I contacted Apple Support yesterday about this issue. I spoke with 5 different people over a period of several hours. The last person I spoke to, who was at the level just before Engineering, was able to solve the problem for me. Short answer: she had me Restore the iPhone as new, then manually copy my tones to the iPhone via iTunes. The tones showed up. Then I restored from the latest backup and all my items were back on my phone and my custom ringtones were there and able to be chosen/assigned to contacts.

This all reminds me of the days when people used to take a weekend to install a new external device in Windows. I frankly don't have "several hours" to get a couple of ringtones onto my new phone. Apple needs to fix this bug and it needs to respond right here to all the people who've experienced it with clear, simple instructions. I am afraid to erase everything on my phone and I have almost 40 GB of music on it so syncing it takes a while. These days when Apple is selling phones that hold 256 GB of data, "restoring" it all isn't what it used to be.

I just bought a couple of nice new ringtones. I hate not having my old favorites, but the alternative is too much.

I have tried dragging the file from the tones folder on my computer into the empty tone list on my iPhone device in iTunes. I have also tried dragging them to the Tone icon under the "On My Device" place in iTunes. I have even tried adding the files using the "Add folder" option under the file menu.

Hi Ben,

All my tones were GONE! custom of my little girl, my son....everything!!! Not on my phone, not itunes! Fortunately, i hadnt updated my ipad!!!! They are all there!!! First, i saved them to my computer AND a sd card. Next i dropped the files into itunes, BUT there are ! next to all my customs. they do not play. on top of it, i am not a techie type of person and my daughter is a 9 hour drive away!! Please, PLEASE, help!!!

Yes, I select the device icon at the top, I grab the m4r file and drag it to my iTunes, and have ran it all up and down the list on the side as well as all over the screen and all I get is the circle with a line through it

Sorry, didn't realize this was a MAC forum, I found it using google. I was running as administrator on Windows and not doing so seemed to fix it, so thank you for the help and sorry for being a pain 🙂

11.0.3 did not fix my ringtone issue. As I commented in an earlier post...those of us who had working custom ringtones before iOS11 (in my case for 7 years, 3 iPhones and multiple iOS updates) continue to see these .m4r ringtone songs listed (under Sounds) that play when selected but do not RING when the iPhone is CALLED! What rings is the Apple Default sounds e.g. Marimba.

Had the same problem on an iPhone 7. IOS 11.0.3 launched yesterday seems to have fixed this.

Once you have done an update, change a ringtone (mine was set to “Led Zep - immigrant song” originally - I swapped to Song 2

If your ringtones are on your computer in *.m4r format find them using file explorer (on a pc).

Plug your iphone into i-tunes.

Open your phone in iTunes and let it sync & finish first.

In iTunes. open the tones tab on .your phone.

Drag & drop the •.m4r files from file explorer onto the tones tab.

When finished resync the phone.

If your using IOS 11 you should be using 11.0.3 as 11.0.2 doesn’t seem to understand *.m4r format.

Look for *.m4r files on your computer.

Use file explorer on a PC.

Sync your phone to iTunes & let it finish.

Open the tones tab in my device.

Drag & drop the *.m4r files nto the tone tabs.

Resync the phone.

If your on IOS 11 your need to be running IOS11.0.3 as earlier don’t understand *.m4r.

You’ll have to change your selected tone in “sounds & haptics” at least once.

Doesn't work for me and the problem for me doesn't seem to be the .m4r but the copywrite. The only ringtone that has never worked since I updated to iOS 11 is the one I created years ago and has a copywrite in its metadata.

SOLUTION: Bro I just had this same problem.It's because I deleted the free "files" App. Re downloaded it and it that free ringtone app video **** worked after. Same process just download that file app.

First I just want to say thank you. I thought I had lost all my files for my ringtones. I've been following another thread on this. My ringtones disappeared with the iOS 11 updates. They were gone from the iPhone and my iTunes folder.

I found them when you suggested looking for '.mr4' files. They were there!!! (Old hippie chick doing a happy dance!!!)

I followed your instructions, and they are now on my phone, but still not synced with each caller. It still defaults to another ringtone for everything. But I'll take what I just accomplished with your instructions!!

Thanks!

Rose

Thanks to this thread I was able to figure this out. Was a pain! Apple user interface/user experience developers seem to be working in their own world these days. With every new release some "improvement" seems to actually degrade functionality and ease of use. Apple is becoming more like Microsoft in the dark days of Windows domination.

If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it, seems to be a foreign concept, these days.

My phone and iTunes are updated.

I was able to drag and drop my ringtones. But when I edit their info to the way I want them to appear on my phone... it does nothing. It's not syncing my ringtones. It seems to be syncing Apps.