I have to admit I prefer marimba to all custom tones
what does marimba sound like? I can't hear it on my iphone
I'm glad to finally have the easy option of throwing some loud ringtones on so I can hear when a call comes in.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
new iTunes - How to Add Ringtones for FREE
- Thread starter Cleverboy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
what does marimba sound like? I can't hear it on my iphone
I'm glad to finally have the easy option of throwing some loud ringtones on so I can hear when a call comes in.
Boy that was quick. Moki knows.
~ CB
I had no inside information... just an educated guess... in any event, I think this makes it fairly clear that Apple will lock down these obvious work-arounds people are finding.
iToner 1.0.1 continues to work with iTunes 7.4.1, btw... without the song and dance (pun intended).
I'm really too busy right now to do this, but someone else mentioned something I'm inclined to believe is true. The message Apple is now showing says "SONG FILE NAME was not copied to the iPhone "YOUR IPHONE" because it cannot be played on this iPhone." This is similar to the message you get when you have an otherwise perfectly fine video that iPhone/iPod will not play. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, and I really wish I had the time to test it, but a few things occur to me.
1. Apple only allows optimal formats for video to play on iPod/iPhones
2. Ringtones were not being constrained in ANY way
3. Apple only allows 30 second ringtones to be made when purchased
Everyone's been reacting to what they're thinking is Apple shutting off all their custom ringtones, when in fact, we might be seeing something much much more benevolent and responsible. Apple might be limiting the sound and audio formats for the ringtone by length and quality. Limiting length to no greater than 30 seconds (like their own), and the sound resolution to something that isn't equally perilous to performance. If someone could test out a few scenarious and educated guesses about this, it'd be great.
Prior to now, I was thinking... Wow, Apple is being really really sloppy. They're letting people play almost anything to the point of making the iPhone freak out on performance. I don't think that's so good an idea for them.
~ CB
1. Apple only allows optimal formats for video to play on iPod/iPhones
2. Ringtones were not being constrained in ANY way
3. Apple only allows 30 second ringtones to be made when purchased
Everyone's been reacting to what they're thinking is Apple shutting off all their custom ringtones, when in fact, we might be seeing something much much more benevolent and responsible. Apple might be limiting the sound and audio formats for the ringtone by length and quality. Limiting length to no greater than 30 seconds (like their own), and the sound resolution to something that isn't equally perilous to performance. If someone could test out a few scenarious and educated guesses about this, it'd be great.
Prior to now, I was thinking... Wow, Apple is being really really sloppy. They're letting people play almost anything to the point of making the iPhone freak out on performance. I don't think that's so good an idea for them.
~ CB
what does marimba sound like? I can't hear it on my iphone
I'm glad to finally have the easy option of throwing some loud ringtones on so I can hear when a call comes in.
Is it that you can't HEAR it or is it that you can't SEE it on your Ringtones? If it's that you can't HEAR it, well . . . I can't help you there. I wouldn't know why you can't hear just that particular one, but can hear the others. If it is because you can't SEE it, maybe it's because they put Marimba at the top of the list and not in alphabetical order. Hope that helps.
P.S. I like Marimba, I just wish they would have made it louder.
("Hey, is that Freedom Rock? Crank it up!!!!!")
Might be a way to get rid of those ringtones
Just a note I posted this last night I found this on another website last night and i went back to that site this morning and someone said they tried the instructions and they lost their playlist. Like I mentioned I used a backup copy of my Previous Itunes Librarie File and it worked fine as far as I can see so far so beaware that this might happen if you try what i have posted. The orignial poster said it worked for them.
I found this posted on another site so i figured i post it here it worked for me. I didn't know how to do it exactly but i had a backup copy of my ITunes music folder from itunes earlier today and i just recopied the Previous copy of the iTunes librarie and it worked great the ringtones where gone out of the ringtone tab when i hooked up the phone. Just be sure to delete the ringtone out of the ringtone folder of iTunes first before you do the step below.
>Don't know if this is the best or only way to do it. iTunes keeps copies of the library in a folder "Previous iTunes Libraries" in the iTunes folder. I renamed and copied the "iTunes Library" file to that folder and copied the file with a date/time stamp before I changed things to the iTunes folder. Be sure to remove any date/time info from the name. Must be "iTunes Library". Start iTunes and all is well.<
Just a note I posted this last night I found this on another website last night and i went back to that site this morning and someone said they tried the instructions and they lost their playlist. Like I mentioned I used a backup copy of my Previous Itunes Librarie File and it worked fine as far as I can see so far so beaware that this might happen if you try what i have posted. The orignial poster said it worked for them.
Interesting theory on the the 30 second limit. Do you think that would influenced by the "free 30 second preview" at all?
Another theory is that what we are seeing is simply the fallout of deadlines. They tried to get ringtone functionality for the recent apple event but didn't get it done in time. So then they said "let's get something on there by tonight" so they can say "wow, look at this" at the event. In rushing that out they left some obvious flaws which fortunately for us you found! Then last night with the 7.4.1 they probably said "dang, we've got to fix this quick" and just got out a quick fix. So now others will find a more difficult work around and another apple update will follow that fixes that workaround and so forth until the ringtones are actually functional on itunes.
When itunes is functional this should all simmer down quite a bit. For me I wouldn't mind spending $2 for a ringtone because I don't change it very often at all and honestly it is worth that to me easy. My concern would be that they wouldn't have the song I want available as a ringtone. So the workarounds may be needed for some time unless they make their entire songbase eligible for ringtones for people to get the songs they want as a ringtone.
I think it would be nice if people could "nominate" songs that are currently not availabe as a ringtone to be made into a ringtone. They could add that as a "nominate for ringtone" button to itunes. So if apple gets 5000 "nominations" for a particular song, it might be a good idea to put that one at the top of the list to make into a ringtone.
I noticed some potential new workarounds on the comments on engadget but haven't looked into them. Might be worth checking out.
7.4.1 workaround from Joe Maller fyi
7.4.1 workaround from Joe Maller fyi
http://joemaller.com/2007/09/08/make-custom-iphone-ringtones-work-with-itunes-741/
7.4.1 workaround from Joe Maller fyi
http://joemaller.com/2007/09/08/make-custom-iphone-ringtones-work-with-itunes-741/
I know my taste is such that I would never be voting on a song that would also end up on 5,000 other people's phone.
Adding Ringtones Latest Procedure
Here's my guess...mind you, just a guess.
This assumes you are starting with an AAC file that your renamed from M4a to M4r
There is a ringtone type assigned to iTunes ".M4r," executing this ringtone type does a few things. The first time you ever execute one, it adds a Ringtone directory to your iTunes Music directory structure IF you have iTunes managing your music.
It also adds the ringtone to the Ringtone tab within the iPhone section of iTunes.
In 7.4.0, that's all that was needed. The M4r files synced back and forth to your iPhone.
In 7.4.1 iTunes made the .M4r extension useful for "registering" a file as a ringtone, but also made it "incompatible" with syncing.
What file extension can ALWAYS be synced to any iPod like device? .M4a
Thus renaming the .M4r files that are now REGISTERED and LOCATED IN RINGTONES DIRECTORY to a .M4a extension bypasses the incompatibilty error trap that was added in 7.4.1
Someone please verify these steps and correct them if wrong...since I think folks will benefit from a stepwise procedure. Lettered steps are ones i've used for cleanliness an may not be required
1. Confirm iTunes is set to import to AAC 128
2. If the "to-be" rington is not currently AAC, convert it by right clicking
3. Delete the new aac file from the library ONLY
4. Locate the file and Move it to your desktop
5. Rename the file from xxxx.m4a to xxxx.m4r
6. Double Click on the file
6a. Delete the xxxx.m4r file from Desktop
7. Return to iTunes and confirm it is now in the iPhone ringtones tab, but no not Sync
*** Note: If you are using 7.4.0, skip to step 10 ***
8. Locate the file in your iTunes Music/Ringtones Directory
9. Rename file from xxxx.m4r to xxxx.m4a
10. Sync!!! All should be well.
One specific confirmation request for the community. Please confirm that there is NO NEED to double click on the newly renamed M4a file located in the Ringtone directory. It seems this messes things up, but I've seen it listed several times before.
Here's my guess...mind you, just a guess.
This assumes you are starting with an AAC file that your renamed from M4a to M4r
There is a ringtone type assigned to iTunes ".M4r," executing this ringtone type does a few things. The first time you ever execute one, it adds a Ringtone directory to your iTunes Music directory structure IF you have iTunes managing your music.
It also adds the ringtone to the Ringtone tab within the iPhone section of iTunes.
In 7.4.0, that's all that was needed. The M4r files synced back and forth to your iPhone.
In 7.4.1 iTunes made the .M4r extension useful for "registering" a file as a ringtone, but also made it "incompatible" with syncing.
What file extension can ALWAYS be synced to any iPod like device? .M4a
Thus renaming the .M4r files that are now REGISTERED and LOCATED IN RINGTONES DIRECTORY to a .M4a extension bypasses the incompatibilty error trap that was added in 7.4.1
Someone please verify these steps and correct them if wrong...since I think folks will benefit from a stepwise procedure. Lettered steps are ones i've used for cleanliness an may not be required
1. Confirm iTunes is set to import to AAC 128
2. If the "to-be" rington is not currently AAC, convert it by right clicking
3. Delete the new aac file from the library ONLY
4. Locate the file and Move it to your desktop
5. Rename the file from xxxx.m4a to xxxx.m4r
6. Double Click on the file
6a. Delete the xxxx.m4r file from Desktop
7. Return to iTunes and confirm it is now in the iPhone ringtones tab, but no not Sync
*** Note: If you are using 7.4.0, skip to step 10 ***
8. Locate the file in your iTunes Music/Ringtones Directory
9. Rename file from xxxx.m4r to xxxx.m4a
10. Sync!!! All should be well.
One specific confirmation request for the community. Please confirm that there is NO NEED to double click on the newly renamed M4a file located in the Ringtone directory. It seems this messes things up, but I've seen it listed several times before.
then.Huh, I never thought of using iMovie....
! I just liked how Fission auto faded in and out, but iMovie would be the free alternative. I'll see how iMovie 06 and 08 do this and maybe post another guide. Thanks for the feedback!Hrm, I'm going to have to disagree on that one. The iPhone is a pretty beefy computer, as phones go. It can easily handle playing/decoding an mp3/AAC without breaking a sweat, and duration doesn't really matter (it is an iPod after all, it's designed to play music).
I've uploaded extremely long songs with iToner, and it's played 'em without a problem (even using iTunes 7.4.1, etc.).
More likely: this loophole was an "oops" that was a result of Apple's programmers burning the midnight oil to get iTunes 7.4 done in time for the SteveNote.
My guess is that the easy loopholes we've seen are not intentional, and are the result of the software being rushed into production. We've seen other issues with iTunes 7.4 in terms of synch problems, etc. It makes sense.
Will Apple continue to dance the dance and plug Joe Mallers's work-around too? It seems likely. We shall see.
I agree. I really pegged Apple wrong on this. While I still don't think they're in it for the money, I think its clear that they feel strongly that any connection between "free ringtones" and iTunes needs to be cut ASAP. Considering they couldn't get Universal over, I suspect that a lot depends on a successful launch of this service next week.
I finally had some time to work through all my testing, and its clear that its completely about Apple shutting it all down. I even did some limited testing with Atomic Parsely, just to see if it had much to do with meta tags. I almost feel sorry for the Apple programmers that had to burn the midnight oil on this one. I should have waited until Friday at 6PM to mention it.
I imagine that whole department got a three word memo from the head desk: "FIX IT TODAY".I've been compiling something of a "story" of this hack and how it shot around the Internet and what people were doing, saying, and the amount of folks that ended up visiting my obscure little blog. From about 4 or 5 people a day, to somewhere upwards of 1500 people dropping in. Says a lot about how far the Internet has gone. My email about it even got mentioned at the tail end of CNET's Buzz Out Loud, even though they were in the midst of their own Apple-bashing controversy. Just a simple piece of information got translated into an endless series of spontaneous tutorials... all to be extinguished just after midnight.
I'm impressed, as ever (along with others) with Ambrosia's tenacity. I was just looking at the iToner Helper app process. So much to make it look so easy.
That's quality. Bracing for next week's round of "crazy".~ CB
Ha, I'm sure Cleverboy and gryphondwb appreciate it.Bro you got your 5 minutes of fame
They already took one shot. I don't doubt there will be more. I get the impression that there's a huge difference between a simple action anyone can do, and downloadable software that needs to be inspected and evaluated. I suspect Apple's running full tilt right now with everything else going on.
~ CB
Bro you got your 5 minutes of fame
I'm just curious as to why they didn't fix moki's haxie.
Well, it's not exactly a haxie... we tried to do what we're doing in the most compatible way possible, and it won't be easy for them to work around us. Is there a chance Apple will break us? Yes. But it will require only minor adjustments on our end, unless they did something insane like (on second thought, I'm going to leave out what I hope Apple doesn't do, because I don't want to give anyone any ideas
).I should have waited until Friday at 6PM to mention it.
I was picturing more of a bellowing, ear-curdling scream.
I'm impressed, as ever (along with others) with Ambrosia's tenacity. I was just looking at the iToner Helper app process. So much to make it look so easy.
Thanks, and yes, we did an awful lot of work to make it look easy. I'm not looking forward to another week of "crazy" -- I think sleep is a viable alternative.
Does not work with 7.4.1 on Mac
I tried this with an unprotected AAC file and a Mac running the newest version of iTunes 7.4.1 (2). I got as far as seeing the file in the ringtone section of the iPhone sync. however, upon syncing I got a message that the sync did not work because it was an incompatible file type.
Does this mean Apple is now preventing the syncing of non-iTunes protected ringtones? Or just that I'm doing something else wrong?
I tried this with an unprotected AAC file and a Mac running the newest version of iTunes 7.4.1 (2). I got as far as seeing the file in the ringtone section of the iPhone sync. however, upon syncing I got a message that the sync did not work because it was an incompatible file type.
Does this mean Apple is now preventing the syncing of non-iTunes protected ringtones? Or just that I'm doing something else wrong?
sorry...i was being sarcastic. i see marimba and i *can* hear it. i just wish it was capable of being much, much louder.
Just in case they can't or just aren't interested (it's something I've been hoping for), I came across a Windows app that seems to have a similar function (and a similar price as iToner):
http://www.efksoft.com/products/iphoneringtonemaker/index.htm
Personally though I'm still hoping for iToner for Windows, cause I'd certainly rather give my money to Ambrosia than whoever the heck Efiko Software is.
-Zadillo
I have two questions:
Thanks,
jman995x
- I was able to convert all my files, and get them onto my iTunes (and iPhone)...with a couple of tries. Now, however, the checkbox window for the individual ringtones (under the Ringtones tab in iTunes) lists the same song a couple of times (even though it is only in my library once). How can I get these duplicate check boxes to disappear? For instance, "Bon Jovi - Runaway" is in my library once, but because I was feeling my way around this process and dropped it in my library a couple of times (then deleting the duplicates), the library only shows the 1 version I didn't delete, but the iTunes "Ringtones" window shows a checkbox for every time I dropped that song into the library.
- Is there any way to perform a "Batch Volume Limiting" function within iTunes (or any other program)? I put like 110 ringtones on my phone, and some of them are normal volume and some of them are bordering on distortion (even though the "ringer" volume is only at 50% on the phone).
Thanks,
jman995x