How to Make Free Ringtones in iTunes

As the proud owner of an iPhone, you may have noticed that other iPhone users often leave their ringtone as the default. The annoyance of constantly reaching for your phone when someone else’s is ringing can be avoided by selecting a different ringtone for your phone.

Through iTunes, you can download new ringtones either on your iPhone or computer. However, if you have a song in your iTunes library that you would like to use instead or would like to avoid paying for the ringtone version of a song you’ve already purchased, you can easily create your own ringtone using nothing more than iTunes.

1. In iTunes, select Edit -> Preferences -> General.

2. In the General tab, under When you insert a CD select Import Settings….

3. From the drop-down menu named Import Using, be sure that AAC Encoder is selected.

4. Select OK.

5. Click on an individual song you would like to create your ringtone from.

6. Go to File -> Get Info.

Selecting Get Info should bring up a small window with the song title at the top and a number of tabs to choose from.

7. Click on the Options tab.

8. Select both the Start Time and Stop Time boxes, and enter the times of the song that you want to be your ringtone. Select OK.

iPhone ringtones are 30 seconds or less in length, so you will need to be sure that the times you put in are 30 seconds or less apart.

9. Create an AAC version of your song by selecting the song and either:

a) Control-click-> Create AAC Version

b) Advanced-> Create AAC Version

If Create AAC Version is not an option, and instead something like Create MP3 Version is an option, go back through steps #1-4 to be sure that you have the correct encoder selected.

10. A second version of the song you have chosen will appear in your iTunes library with the length being somewhere under 30 seconds. Control-click the song and choose Show in Finder.

11. Once you have located the song in Finder, go back to iTunes and Delete the song.

You will be prompted to choose between keeping the file or moving it to the trash. Select Keep File.

12. In Finder, rename the song with the extension .m4r.

You will be asked if you are sure you want to change the file extension. Select Use .m4r.

13. In Finder, double-click on the song name to reload it into iTunes as a ringtone. You will see the file appear in the folder titled Tones in iTunes.

14. Sync your iPhone to iTunes, and click and drag the ringtone to add it to your phone.

15. On your iPhone go to Settings -> Sounds -> Ringtone. Select your newly created, personalized ringtone to stand out from the crowd and never reach for your phone unnecessarily again.