New ringtones for your iPhone the FREE and EASY way

[karlfranz]

I decided to make some new ringtones for the iPhone. I've never cared for the "musical" ringtones that most people download and would prefer to use ones that sound less melodic and more like sound effects. So using the (I'm assuming) royalty-free sounds from my Garageband Jam Packs I made a collection of 23 ringtones that you can very easily add to your iPhone as well.

Here's how you do it:

1) Download my Ringtone archive from http://karlfranz.com/kfm_ringtones.zip.

2) Unzip the archive to extract all the ringtone files.

3) Create a new Playlist named Ringtones (or whatever) in iTunes. This important because ringtones will not show up in the Music library but will show up in a playlist.

4) Make sure the playlist is selected in iTunes, then drag the ringtone files onto the playlist.

5) Audition my ringtones from this playlist to see which (if any) you like.

6) To install the ringtones, plug in your iPhone and select the Ringtones tab. All the new ringtones from the archive I supplied you should appear on the list.

7) Select the ringtones you would like to download to your iPhone and hit Apply at the bottom right of the iTunes window.

8) The new ringtones should appear on the ringtones settings screen and on the sounds for events such as the alarm clock.

Note: This was tested with iTunes 7.4. I know there is a new 7.4.1, but I haven't tried this with it so far.

And now, a request Could some of you please mirror my ringtone archive file so that you guys don't eat up my bandwidth quota? If not and it gets too bad, I may have to remove the file after a while. I did try to upload the zip file to macrumors, but the max file size for zip is only about 250KB.

Enjoy!

[Canuck4]

Dont you have to convert the file from MP3 to another format and then rename etc..?

[karlfranz]

Dont you have to convert the file from MP3 to another format and then rename etc..?

I already did all the hard work for you guys. You don't hve to do anything else beyond the steps I listed.

[Canuck4]

You rule dude :D

[nickspohn]

use all the bandwidth you want:

http://www.nickspohn.net/apple/kfm_ringtones.zip

[drater]

I already did all the hard work for you guys. You don't hve to do anything else beyond the steps I listed.

let me know if you tested it with 7.4.1, I'd really like to know.

[Canuck4]

I think they fixed it in 7.4.1 thats why the less than 24hour update of Itunes :D

[karlfranz]

let me know if you tested it with 7.4.1, I'd really like to know.

Word on another thread is that 7.4.1 patched this loophole. However, if this is the only thing that this update did, then I won't be updating for a while. Someone else can be the guinea pig.

[nickspohn]

tried it. doesn't work now because of the update.

[karlfranz]

use all the bandwidth you want:

http://www.nickspohn.net/apple/kfm_ringtones.zip

Thanks Nick.

[swindmill]

How do you get ringtones to show up in a playlist? I can only get them to show up in the ringtones tab for the iPhone

[karlfranz]

How do you get ringtones to show up in a playlist? I can only get them to show up in the ringtones tab for the iPhone

You create the playlist first, then drag the *.m4r files to the playlist as you are importing them into iTunes.

[Snide]

In order to downgrade to 7.4, I trashed 7.4.1, and ran the 7.4 installer.
Got a pop up saying I couldn't install over newer version. Deleted iTunes
and iTunes Helper prefs (from Home > Library > Preferences), and 7.4 installed.

Anyway, thanks for making these!

[MBHockey]

Guys, he did ALL the HARD work! He renamed the file extension to m4r! :D

[D1G1T4L]

Guys, he did ALL the HARD work! He renamed the file extension to m4r! :D

And you did what?

[MBHockey]

Nothing, because it's unnecessary? :p

[karlfranz]

Nothing, because it's unnecessary? :p

Yeah, I also went through all my loops in Garageband, found ones appropriate for ringtones, turned them into songs and exported the songs into AAC format. Then I used Fission to trim each song into the proper length for looping as a ringtone, then renamed them, imported them onto iTunes and tested them on my iPhone. I then made an archive of all the files, and made it available for others to use on my own domain for which I pay for bandwidth. Oh, I also discovered the method to allow you to import the songs into playlists so that you can still see and access them in iTunes from outside of the Ringtones tab of the iPhone.

Again, what did you do other than mock other's work in your post? You must be exhausted from your effort. :rolleyes:

[D1G1T4L]

Yeah, I also went through all my loops in Garageband, found ones appropriate for ringtones, turned them into songs and exported the songs into AAC format. Then I used Fission to trim each song into the proper length for looping as a ringtone, then renamed them, imported them onto iTunes and tested them on my iPhone. I then made an archive of all the files, and made it available for others to use on my own domain for which I pay for bandwidth. Oh, I also discovered the method to allow you to import the songs into playlists so that you can still see and access them in iTunes from outside of the Ringtones tab of the iPhone.

Again, what did you do other than mock other's work in your post? You must be exhausted from your effort. :rolleyes:

And all that was unnecessary! You could have just mocked others work. :rolleyes:

Ok.........

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! LOVE the Cell Phone ring! Nice and loud and just want I wanted!

Great work! :)

[MBHockey]

Yeah, I also went through all my loops in Garageband, found ones appropriate for ringtones, turned them into songs and exported the songs into AAC format. Then I used Fission to trim each song into the proper length for looping as a ringtone, then renamed them, imported them onto iTunes and tested them on my iPhone. I then made an archive of all the files, and made it available for others to use on my own domain for which I pay for bandwidth. Oh, I also discovered the method to allow you to import the songs into playlists so that you can still see and access them in iTunes from outside of the Ringtones tab of the iPhone.

Again, what did you do other than mock other's work in your post? You must be exhausted from your effort. :rolleyes:

You're absolutely right. I didn't read the entire thread about what you did, sorry about my quick judgement. I'm sure a lot of people appreciate the work you did.

Of note, according to this guy's blog:
http://joemaller.com/2007/09/08/make-custom-iphone-ringtones-work-with-itunes-741/

All you have to do to fix it for 7.4.1 is make the extension m4a instead of m4r...so there's an easy way to make all the stuff you've already done compatible with 7.4.1 for everyone here.

I also use the cell phone ringing one from garage band :D

[cjandnw]

Good work

[hobo]

Does anybody know how I can get the 7.4 installer for mac? I don't plan to use it yet, but I want to make the .m4r files in 7.4 and then update to 7.4.1.

I won't even use 7.4 for at least another week.

[ghall]

Nice, thanks man. Can't wait to give these a try!

[Interventionist]

Your ringtones are nice but they're yours.. I would like to make my own.. So..this Fission, is this something you downloaded for just this purpose? Next question: Does the new Garageband version or Itunes version offer this conversion ability from AAC to m4r?

Thanks

Yeah, I also went through all my loops in Garageband, found ones appropriate for ringtones, turned them into songs and exported the songs into AAC format. Then I used Fission to trim each song into the proper length for looping as a ringtone, then renamed them, imported them onto iTunes and tested them on my iPhone. I then made an archive of all the files, and made it available for others to use on my own domain for which I pay for bandwidth. Oh, I also discovered the method to allow you to import the songs into playlists so that you can still see and access them in iTunes from outside of the Ringtones tab of the iPhone.

Again, what did you do other than mock other's work in your post? You must be exhausted from your effort. :rolleyes:

[Sobe]

thank you.

[karlfranz]

Your ringtones are nice but they're yours.. I would like to make my own.. So..this Fission, is this something you downloaded for just this purpose? Next question: Does the new Garageband version or Itunes version offer this conversion ability from AAC to m4r?

Thanks
Fission is a lossless audio editor from Rogue Amoeba:

http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/

You can use it to trim MP3 or AAC files and save them back without re-encoding.

Garageband can export files to AAC. m4r is not a new file format, it is still AAC with a dofferent file extension.

[The General]

Does anybody know how I can get the 7.4 installer for mac? I don't plan to use it yet, but I want to make the .m4r files in 7.4 and then update to 7.4.1.

I won't even use 7.4 for at least another week.

Add the files in iTunes 7.4.1, then go to ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Ringtones and change the files back to *.m4a and they will be added to your iPhone. No need for 7.4.

[hobo]

Add the files in iTunes 7.4.1, then go to ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Ringtones and change the files back to *.m4a and they will be added to your iPhone. No need for 7.4.

Hah, thanks. I'm actually looking for the 7.3 dmg. If you can help, that would be awesome!

[Interventionist]

Appreciate the explanation. I may try first using FinalCut Sound Track and see if I can do that way. If not I'll opt getting Fission.

in the mean time I'll still use your ringtones. Thanks for that.

Fission is a lossless audio editor from Rogue Amoeba:

http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/

You can use it to trim MP3 or AAC files and save them back without re-encoding.

Garageband can export files to AAC. m4r is not a new file format, it is still AAC with a dofferent file extension.

[The General]

Hah, thanks. I'm actually looking for the 7.3 dmg. If you can help, that would be awesome!

Why? What's the point? Hacks work with 7.4.1, ringtones work with 7.4.1. Why would you want to use 7.3?

Appreciate the explanation. I may try first using FinalCut Sound Track and see if I can do that way. If not I'll opt getting Fission.

in the mean time I'll still use your ringtones. Thanks for that.

There's also Audacity, which is what I use.
http://audacity.sf.net

[mistercoffee2]

Thanks karlfranz for all your thoughfull work. I like these better then he music I have been converting.

To make then work in 7.4.1, as has been posted here many times:

SAVE A COPY OF THE "iTunes Library" FILE TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE!!! (My files(iMac) are in Users/David/Music/iTunes)

Put the .m4r files into a folder (call it whatever you like).
Double click on EACH file (not much happens here).
Next, right click on each file, select Get Info, and change the .m4r to .m4a
Now sync iPhone

If you don't like what you get then close iTunes, copy the saved "iTunes Library" file over the current one and restart iTunes.

Back to where you were.

If there's a better way to do this in 7.4.1 please post it.

Thanks again karlfranz. You still did all the hard part.

[karlfranz]

Thanks karlfranz for all your thoughfull work. I like these better then he music I have been converting.

To make then work in 7.4.1, as has been posted here many times:

SAVE A COPY OF THE "iTunes Library" FILE TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE!!! (My files(iMac) are in Users/David/Music/iTunes)

Put the .m4r files into a folder (call it whatever you like).
Double click on EACH file (not much happens here).
Next, right click on each file, select Get Info, and change the .m4r to .m4a
Now sync iPhone

If you don't like what you get then close iTunes, copy the saved "iTunes Library" file over the current one and restart iTunes.

Back to where you were.

If there's a better way to do this in 7.4.1 please post it.

Thanks again karlfranz. You still did all the hard part.

Many people have suggested the "double-click on each file step" as you mention here. However, as noted, nothing seems to happen when you do this. This is because the ringtone file is added to iTunes, but will not appear anywhere on the interface except under the ringtone tab once you plug in an iPhone.

This is why I suggest creating a Ringtone playlist in iTunes and dragging the files into it instead of double-clicking on each file. Not only is it easier if you have a lot of files, but you will then have a playlist where you can see all the files at all times, play them back as if they were individual songs, and you can right-click (or control-click) on any file and select "Show in Finder" to go immediately to the folder where the ringtone files are contained.

If you use 7.4, you need to leave the files as they were in my archive with the m4r extension. If you use 7.4.1, you will need to go back using Get Info and change the extensions back to m4a after you drag them into your playlist in iTunes.

[hobo]

Why? What's the point? Hacks work with 7.4.1, ringtones work with 7.4.1. Why would you want to use 7.3?



Not all hacks work with 7.4. Hacking it to use an existing SIM supposedly doesn't work with 7.4, but I know it will with 7.3.

I want to make a disk image that I can keep that has all of the necessary files to modify the iPhone to use my existing SIM in 7.3. This way if Apple locks me out with a Software Update, I can just reload iTunes and firmware and still use the phone (even if it IS without the iTunes WiFi, which i won't use...)

[TurboSC]

Thanks for your contribution. I'll see if I can't mirror your file in a few days on our website.

[Dfndr90]

Use sendsong from the app installer, Itunes will not break it. I am using it now.

Matt...

[karlfranz]

Guys,

You may have read other people's approach to adding ringtones which involves a step where you double-click on the m4r file to add it to iTunes (instead of creating a playlist like I suggest). The problem with the double-click approach is that it is extremely difficult to remove the ringtones once you add them. I have seen people re-building their iTunes libraries and other nasty solutions in an attempt to remove ringtones. With my approach, removing a ringtone is as simple as selecting the ringtone you want to delete from the playlist and pressing Option-Delete. Itunes will then ask you if you wish to remove the ringtone from the library and the phone (actually it says "ipod"). It's THAT easy.

[Mike Coscia]

Guys,

You may have read other people's approach to adding ringtones which involves a step where you double-click on the m4r file to add it to iTunes (instead of creating a playlist like I suggest). The problem with the double-click approach is that it is extremely difficult to remove the ringtones once you add them. I have seen people re-building their iTunes libraries and other nasty solutions in an attempt to remove ringtones. With my approach, removing a ringtone is as simple as selecting the ringtone you want to delete from the playlist and pressing Option-Delete. Itunes will then ask you if you wish to remove the ringtone from the library and the phone (actually it says "ipod"). It's THAT easy.

Okay I did this and the files added perfectly, had to change the location of one of the files and now it is listed twice under ringtones? Is there anyway to get rid of the bad copy?

*EDIT* Great I just deleted the playlist and ALL of the ringtones are still showing up under the ringtone tab. When I try to sync the phone it does not delete any of them either. I used the methond you stated to add the ringtones by creating a play list and dragging them over. I just right clicked on the and hit delete, I never got that "do you want to remove the ringtone from the library and the ipod" like you stated. Any ideas? I really hope I just did not screw up my whole library. =(.

[ndriver182]

Guys,

You may have read other people's approach to adding ringtones which involves a step where you double-click on the m4r file to add it to iTunes (instead of creating a playlist like I suggest). The problem with the double-click approach is that it is extremely difficult to remove the ringtones once you add them. I have seen people re-building their iTunes libraries and other nasty solutions in an attempt to remove ringtones. With my approach, removing a ringtone is as simple as selecting the ringtone you want to delete from the playlist and pressing Option-Delete. Itunes will then ask you if you wish to remove the ringtone from the library and the phone (actually it says "ipod"). It's THAT easy.

Is there a good way to to remove old ringtones... or at least try? I just downloaded and installed 7.4.1 after already installing a handful of ringtones the old way with 7.4. I figured re-syncing the phone would erase the old tones, but it didn't...

[karlfranz]

Okay I did this and the files added perfectly, had to change the location of one of the files and now it is listed twice under ringtones? Is there anyway to get rid of the bad copy?

*EDIT* Great I just deleted the playlist and ALL of the ringtones are still showing up under the ringtone tab. When I try to sync the phone it does not delete any of them either. I used the methond you stated to add the ringtones by creating a play list and dragging them over. I just right clicked on the and hit delete, I never got that "do you want to remove the ringtone from the library and the ipod" like you stated. Any ideas? I really hope I just did not screw up my whole library. =(.

I'm sorry for your problems. My instructions strictly stated selecting the ringtone in the playlist and clicking Option-Delete. If you right-clicked and and selected Delete, you simply removed the entry from the playlist but not from the library, which means you now have no way to access the entry in the library to delete it.

Several of us are trying to see if we can come up with a method to remove ringtones that are in the iTunes library but not in a playlist. No luck so far. Keep reading the forums, maybe one of us will come up with a solution soon.

For the rest of you, PLEASE do not delete your playlist with the ringtones or you will be in the same boat as the others who now have no way to remove the ringtones from their phone.

[gr8tfly]

As of tonight, I now have a "Ringtones" Library category. It has the same list as in the iPhone Ringtones tab. I found I can now delete a ringtone from the Library category, and it is removed from the iPhone Ringtones tab! After sync, the ringtone is removed from the iPhone.

Adding a new ringtone still seems to work fine (the 7.4.1 method). Rename an AAC file's extension to ".m4r". Double-click (or drag) to iTunes and it should put it in both the Ringtones Library category and the iPhone Ringtones tab list. Then, go to the Finder and rename the extension BACK to ".m4a". The ringtone should now sync with the iPhone.

[karlfranz]

As of tonight, I now have a "Ringtones" Library category. It has the same list as in the iPhone Ringtones tab. I found I can now delete a ringtone from the Library category, and it is removed from the iPhone Ringtones tab! After sync, the ringtone is removed from the iPhone.

Adding a new ringtone still seems to work fine (the 7.4.1 method). Rename an AAC file's extension to ".m4r". Double-click (or drag) to iTunes and it should put it in both the Ringtones Library category and the iPhone Ringtones tab list. Then, go to the Finder and rename the extension BACK to ".m4a". The ringtone should now sync with the iPhone.

Did this just magically appear? Others are reporting that the rintone bell can be displayed in search results, but so far your the first I've heard with the ringtone category.

[gr8tfly]

Did this just magically appear? Others are reporting that the rintone bell can be displayed in search results, but so far your the first I've heard with the ringtone category.

I was perusing the iTunes store, and playing with turning on the Ringtone columns in various places. I don't remember if I saw it before or after I connected the iPhone, thought. But, it definitely wasn't there yesterday.

I did have a couple of ringtones already "installed" using the extension method (7.4.1), but again, I didn't notice exactly when it showed up.

Needless to say, I was happy to learn it would remove a ringtone, just like any other media file. I really don't want to rebuild the iTunes Library, again.

edit: Here's a screenshot, just to avoid confusion between this and the iPhone device Ringtone tab:

[karlfranz]

For those who were concerend about how to delete their older ringtone "experiments" now you should have a library item that lists all the ringtones in your library. You should be able to delete them from here.

BTW: Interesting to note that, unlike all other reports I have read, I never had to rename my file extensions back from m4r to m4a when I upgraded to 7.4.1. All the ringtone files showed up on my playlist and synced with the iPhone just fine.

[Mike Coscia]

For those who were concerend about how to delete their older ringtone "experiments" now you should have a library item that lists all the ringtones in your library. You should be able to delete them from here.

BTW: Interesting to note that, unlike all other reports I have read, I never had to rename my file extensions back from m4r to m4a when I upgraded to 7.4.1. All the ringtone files showed up on my playlist and synced with the iPhone just fine.

Changing one file back to m4a did the trick for me, the ringtone library was added and I was able to correctly delete everything. I can now right click on some files and select convert to ringtone. Thanks so much!

[Sobe]

as far as the little ringtone icon in the library goes --

I did not have one in 7.4.

Upgraded to 4.7.1 -- nothing

Opened up the iTMS and searched "ringtone"

As soon as the results popped, the icon popped up in the Library with all my "Extension" ringtones listed there.

[karlfranz]

Changing one file back to m4a did the trick for me, the ringtone library was added and I was able to correctly delete everything. I can now right click on some files and select convert to ringtone. Thanks so much!
Actually, changing the extension back to m4a did not cause the Ringtone library to be added. It was just a timing coincidence. I never renamed any file and suddenly, about 12:30 AM, the Ringtone library just appeared. This is when Apple actually turned the switch and enabled the feature.

Regardless, I'm glad it's working out for you, though...