how to transfer a custom ringtone to iPhone 8 using 12.8

That's the right place, there isn't supposed to be a deeper subfolder. So what happens if you connect the device so that it appears in the sidebar of iTunes, without clicking the device icon at the top, and then you drag and drop a ringtone file from Windows Explorer to the device in the sidebar and let go? You should see something like this when you've got the right place to release the file. Note the blue border and the Link legend on the cursor.

I take it the files you are trying to add are in AAC format with a .m4r file extension and are less than 40 seconds long?

tt2

See this user tip, created by a senior member:

Create and manage ringtones in iTunes

Regards

Giulio

This section appears in the Create and manage ringtones in iTunes user tip linked to earlier in the thread:

Removing hidden tones

Some users have found that custom tones that are on their device don't show in iTunes so cannot be removed using the method above. In such cases you could try iFunBox or a similar third party utility to make changes in the file system of the device. In iFunBox try Toolbox > User File System (Win) or Raw File System (Mac) then iTunes_Control > Ringtones to locate the relevant folder. Any custom tones on your device show up there with random 4 letter file names and a .m4r extension. Deleting all the .m4r files in this folder should clear all custom tones from the list on the device, and you can then add back what you want using iTunes.

N.b. making changes in the raw file system has the potential to make your device unstable. Backup before you begin and ideally Archive the backup in case there is a need to return to it.

tt2

Dear tt2,

I deleted the .plist file, and now it works! Fantastic! What I have to do is create a .m4r file and put the cursor above it in finder and copy. Then I paste it in iTunes in the Ringlist area (after having connected my iPhone, as per your instructions)

Perfect - many many thanks!

Bosse

See the section in the user tip on Removing hidden tones. In some cases you may need to remove existing files before new ones can be successfully added.

tt2

Does your user account have full access permissions to the file you want to copy? Could you have anti-virus software that could block file transfers? I guess you could backup the device, then delete the .plist file in case that is causing the issue.

tt2

Did you try to delete the .plist file as suggested earlier?

tt2

Hi ProustGiulio and Turingtest2

Thanks for all your advice, but I have the same problem on my Win7 and iPhone 6+ still (running iTunes 12.8). None of your helpful suggestions does the trick. I tried on my old MacBook as well but did not work. Would very much appreciate advice!

Regards,

Bosse

Thanks! Yes, I have unfortunately. I opened the folder iTunes_Control > Ringtones to but cannot see a subfolder named Ringtones. The only item with "Ringtones" in it is a .plist - which I assume is not the right place?

Hi tt2,

Yes, correct - that is exactly what I do. .m4r file extension and 30 seconds long. I get the blue square getting lit up in the left side panel when I try to drag the file into the iTunes window. However, when I let the file go on top of the lift side panel in the highlighted blue square, all that happens is that the blue square starts blinking - perhaps three times, and then disappears. And no file pasted... Baffling!

Hi turingtest2,

Thanks for questions! I've checked now and I do have permissions and the anti-virus software is not blocking. However, I tried the same file transfer to my sons iPhone 6+ and this worked! Apparently something on my iPhone is stopping the process of copying .m4r files from the computer to phone via iTunes. Any ideas on this? Could there be a setting on my iPhone that is amiss?

Much appreciate your assistance!

Bosse

I've contacted the senior contributor that wrote the user tip instructions, and I hope he can join this thread soon.

Giulio