How to create and install ringtone for iPhone (5, 6, 7, 8, X) in .m4r using iTunes?
Ringtones are one of the easiest ways to make your iPhone 5, 6, 7, 8, X different from others: following simple recommendations, anyone can create a m4r format from a song (music, melodies) in iTunes and install (set) a ringtone on iPhone using a computer (via iTunes).
In addition to their entertainment function, ringtones can be very useful - if you don't have an Apple Watch, ringtones can help you find out who's calling without taking your phone out of your pocket. Simply select specific ringtones for your most popular contacts.
In this article we will tell you how to create your own exclusive ringtone on iPhone in .m4r format and show how to install music on iPhone via iTunes of any version.
The process of setting a melody as a ringtone does not require any special technical skills. True, it became a little more complicated with the launch of iTunes 12.7 in September 2017, when Apple quietly removed the Ringtones section (as well as iOS applications) from the program.
Below is a detailed explanation of how to create a ringtone or song from your iTunes music library into a custom ringtone and download it to your iPhone using iTunes 12.7 or later - it's still possible to do this, although the procedure is not as intuitive as it used to be.
Create a ringtone for iPhone using iTunes
Before you start creating a ringtone on your iPhone, you need to select a melody for the ringtone from iTunes. You can use absolutely any melody or song, regardless of the size of the source file and its quality.
1. Only part of the song will be used, so right-click on the song title, select “Song Info” (or “Get Info”), and then go to the “Options” tab.
2. Check the Start and Stop boxes and enter a time to limit the part of the melody you want to use as a ringtone. If you have chosen the beginning of the track for the ringtone, then just check the “Stop” box.
In fact, the best way to find good timestamps is through trial and error: don't forget to put the song on repeat to check the result.
3. Now select the song, go to File at the top of the screen, then Convert → Create AAC Version (in earlier versions the order was File → Create New Version → Create AAC version"). This is how a ringtone for iPhone is created.
iTunes will duplicate the track (which doesn't always happen on all versions), but if you look closely, you'll see that the new version is about 10-30 seconds (or so) long. This is the part of the melody that will be used as a ringtone.
4. After this, do not forget to return to the original track and uncheck the “Start” and “Stop” options, otherwise during playback you will only hear a short part of the melody selected for the ringtone.
In the first of them, we will use a device with macOS on board:
1) We take and drag the newly created ringtone to any convenient place (for example, the desktop).
2) Rename the file, the format is from .m4a to .m4r
3) Confirm your actions.
Create a ringtone for iPhone in m4r format
As you guessed, the second method is suitable for Windows owners:
1) Right-click on the shortened version of the track and click “Show in Explorer”.
2) Move the selected track to any desired location and rename it from .m4a to .m4r
Creating a ringtone for iPhone in m4r format
3) Confirm your action.
6. Go back to iTunes and delete the short version of the track, remembering to carefully check its length first. Right-click the file and select Delete or Remove from Library. After the request appears, confirm the action - “Delete song”.
It is very important that you only delete the file from your iTunes library and not from your Mac's hard drive. So if a prompt pops up asking you to confirm whether you want to move the file to the trash, click “Save File.” That's it, a ringtone for iPhone has been created, all that remains is to install it!
Where are ringtones stored after updating iTunes to version 12.7 or higher?
If you have already created ringtones on your iPhone before, before the updated version of iTunes 12.7 was released, then you are probably wondering where they could have gone, since the “Sounds” section in iTunes no longer exists. Don't worry, your ringtones haven't been deleted.
1. The easiest way is to run the “Spotlight search” search program to find the folder with ringtones. But if this method seems not entirely convenient to you - it gives too many results, try using a similar path with the “Finder” (depending on the software, the names of some folders may differ):
[Username] → Music → iTunes → iTunes Music → Sounds
2. You will see in this folder that your ringtones are safe and sound. Now you need to drag them into iTunes, into the Sounds section on your iPhone.
How to set a ringtone on iPhone (5, 6, 7, 8, X) via iTunes?
Once you have created a ringtone, it's time to install it on your iPhone! This can be done in two ways, obtaining different results. Of course, you must first download it to your smartphone. This won't take much time, so you shouldn't have any problems.
How to move and install a ringtone to iPhone from a computer?
1. Connect your iPhone to iTunes and click on the phone icon to the right of the Music, Movies, Sounds, etc. drop-down menu. (or to the right of the three dots icon in earlier versions of iTunes). This will open your phone's iTunes panel, where you will need to select "Sounds" in the left column.
Important: Before you do this, check the box next to “process music and videos manually” in the “Options” tab.
2. Click Sync Sounds → Selected Sounds, then the track you created. Finally, go to the bottom right corner and click Apply (you can also do this by simply dragging and dropping files).
3. Now, regardless of the version of iTunes, your iPhone has its own ringtones. All you have to do is go to the “Settings” of your phone, and then select “Sounds & Sounds” (or just “Sounds”) and set the ringtone on your iPhone.
4. You will see a list of events - new messages in mail, new voice and text messages, calls, etc., as well as the corresponding sounds. To change, for example, “Text Tone”, click this item.
5. You can now choose from a range of sounds. The melodies that the user has just added will most likely be at the top of the list and highlighted with a darker bar. Click on one of the melodies and it will play. If you're happy with it, click "Sounds & Sounds" in the top left corner to go back and select a new ringtone (no confirmation required). If you don't like the melody, choose another one from the list and listen to it.
Set or make a ringtone for iPhone via iTunes
Thus, it is very easy (and convenient) to set a ringtone on your iPhone and choose a melody to suit every taste.
How to set a new ringtone for a specific iPhone contact?
1. Go to the Contacts app on your iPhone and select the user you're interested in, then click the Edit button in the top right corner. One of the available options will be the “Ringtone” field, where the melody is most likely set by default.
2. Click on this field, and a full menu will appear from which you can select any ringtone you like. You have successfully set a ringtone to your iPhone contact!