How To Make A Audio File A Ringtone On Iphone

Did you know you can create your own custom ringtones for incoming texts and calls? Simply record a voice memo and use GarageBand to create a unique ringtone without using a computer. We'll show you how to make a ringtone in just a few simple steps.

Related: How to Make Your Favorite Song Your iPhone Ringtone

Record a Custom Ringtone Your iPhone:

The Apps You Need to Make a Ringtone
How to Record a Voice Memo
How to Create a Ringtone for the iPhone
Pro Ringtone Tips

The Apps You Need to Make a Ringtone

In order to create a ringtone on your iPhone, you will need:

Your iPhone to be running iOS 11 or later.
A recorded voice memo of up to 40 seconds saved to the Files app.
The GarageBand app downloaded to your iPhone.

Pro Tip: When you record a ringtone, you can always set up another device to play your favorite song or a pre-recorded sound. This way you don't need to re-create a brand new ringtone-worthy voice memo!

How to Record a Voice Memo

Open Voice Memos app.
Tap All Recordings.
Tap the Record button to start a voice memo.
Tap the Stop button.
Tap the three dots.
Tap Save to Files.

You will need to have the voice memo saved within your Files to use it to create a custom ringtone. Keep in mind that you can use the voice memo to record a sound played on another device if you don't wish to make a unique recording using your voice or playing an instrument. This is how to make an audio file a ringtone on your iPhone!

A ringtone has to be up to 40 seconds long. If your voice memo is longer, you do not need to re-record it. You can trim it in GarageBand. To learn more about iPhone ringtones, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

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How to Create a Ringtone for the iPhone

Open the GarageBand app. You'll have to orient your phone into landscape mode while using GarageBand.
Tap the Browser button.
Under Tracks, tap Audio Recorder or pick any instrument. The instrument you choose does not matter.
Tap theTracks View button.
Tap on the loop icon located at the top-right corner.
Select Browse items from the Files app.
You should see all your recent audio files under Recent. You may have to Browse to find it or search the voice memo name. Select the voice memo recording.
Wait for it to show upload to GarageBand in the loop popup menu.
Tap it to play it. If you are satisfied with how it sounds, drag it into the main window. You can trim the voice memo as necessary.
Tap the Navigation button.
Select My Songs. This will save it in GaradeBand Recents.
Tap and hold the file. Then tap Share.
Tap Share.
Select Ringtone.
You can name your ringtone to make it easier to search for and identify.
Tap Export. This will export is as a ringtone.
Once it exports, a menu will pop up confirming that Ringtone Export was Successful. Tap Use sound as….
You can choose to select it as a Standard Ringtone, Standard Text Tone, or Assign to contact. For this example I will go with Assign to contact.
Pick the contact you want to assign the ringtone to.
Tap Assign as Ring Tone. You can also assign it as a Text Tone.

There are NO confirmation prompts, so be mindful of which options you select. If you get tired of your custom voice memo as the ringtone, you can change the ringtone to something more standard from the Settings app.

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Pro Ringtone Tips

Remember that a ringtone will repeat itself until you pick up. If your voice memo recording is short, it can get annoying faster. You can combine two or more voice memos in GarageBand and even add instruments to make it more complicated. Just make sure to keep it under 40 seconds total. If you are wondering how to make a screen recording a ringtone, you can follow these same steps. Just have another device with good speakers play the recording while using your iPhone to record it as a voice memo. You can transfer a file from your iPhone to another device using AirDrop.

Now you know how to get custom ringtones on your iPhone! Create your unique iPhone ringtone sound by recording voice memos. You can create an original GarageBand ringtone for all your calls, text messages, or assign a special sound for all your loved ones. You can even create an individual ringtone as a text tone and another as a ringtone for a single contact. The only limit is your imagination!

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