How to Make a Ringtone on iPhone & Android From Any Song

A custom ringtone takes two steps: cut the part of the song you want, then tell the phone to use it. Here is how to do both on iPhone and Android, for ringtones, alarms and notification sounds, without paying for a ringtone app.

Every custom ringtone is made the same way: you cut a short clip from a song or recording, save it in a format the phone accepts, and set it as the ringtone in the phone's settings. The cutting is the same on every phone. The setting differs between iPhone and Android, and on iPhone it depends on your iOS version.

This guide covers both steps for iPhone and Android, plus custom alarm and notification sounds, and the details that make a ringtone sound good on a phone speaker.

The short version

Phone	Clip you need	How to set it
iPhone, iOS 26 or later	MP3 or M4A, 30 seconds or less, saved on the phone	Files app: long-press the file → Share → Use as Ringtone
iPhone, any iOS	Any audio file you can open in GarageBand	GarageBand → Share → Ringtone (30 seconds or less)
iPhone, from a computer	M4R file, up to 40 seconds	Mac: drag it onto the iPhone in Finder. Windows: add it with iTunes
Android	MP3 (any length; it loops)	Settings → Sound → Phone ringtone → add (+) and pick the file

Step 1: cut the part of the song you want

A song is three or four minutes long; a phone rings for about 20 to 30 seconds before the call goes to voicemail. So the first job is to pick the part people will actually hear. You can do it in the browser with the free AHA Music audio trimmer, which works on a phone or a computer and does not upload the file:

Open the song. MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC or even a video such as an MP4 or a screen recording; the trimmer keeps only the sound.
Drag the two handles on the waveform to the start and end of the part you want, or type the times. Press play on the selection to check where it starts and stops.
Add a short fade in and fade out so the ringtone doesn't start or stop with a click.
Save it as iPhone ringtone (M4R) for the computer method, M4A for iOS 26's Use as Ringtone, or MP3 for Android.

The file stays on your device and the clip downloads with the song's name plus "-cut". If you have a recording but not the song's name, run it through the song finder first, then find a clean copy of the track: a ringtone cut from a noisy video recording sounds noisy.

A song's waveform with a 30-second ringtone section selected between two handles

Which part makes a good ringtone

Start on the hook. Most people answer within a few rings, so the first seconds matter most. Start on the chorus, the riff or the drop, not on the intro.
Keep it under 30 seconds for iPhone. Longer clips are refused by Use as Ringtone and cut short by GarageBand.
Pick a part that loops cleanly. If the call lasts longer than the clip, the phone plays it again from the start. Ending on the last beat of a bar makes the loop sound intentional.
Prefer mid-range and rhythm over deep bass. Phone speakers barely reproduce anything below about 200 Hz, so a bass-heavy drop sounds thin. A vocal line or a bright guitar part carries further.
Make it loud enough, not clipped. A quiet track gets lost in a pocket. Raise it with a volume booster using normalization rather than plain gain, so the peaks don't distort.

Step 2 on iPhone with iOS 26 or later: Use as Ringtone

Since iOS 26, the iPhone can turn an audio file into a ringtone without GarageBand or a computer:

Save the clip to the iPhone. A download from Safari lands in Files → Downloads. The file must be MP3 or M4A and 30 seconds or shorter.
Open the Files app, long-press the file and tap Share.
Scroll to the actions and tap Use as Ringtone. If it isn't listed, tap Edit Actions and add it.
The iPhone opens Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone with your clip selected. It also appears in the list of tones for contacts, alarms and text tones.

The same action appears in Voice Memos, so you can make a ringtone from your own recording. If the iPhone says the file is too long, trim it below 30 seconds and try again. Files still in iCloud have to be downloaded to the phone first, and songs protected by Apple Music's DRM cannot be used: you need a file you own.

Step 2 on iPhone with any iOS: GarageBand

On older iOS versions, Apple's free GarageBand app is the on-phone route:

Open GarageBand, start a new project with the Audio Recorder, and switch to the tracks view.
Tap the loop icon, choose Files, and drag your clip onto the track.
Go back to My Songs, long-press the project, tap Share → Ringtone, give it a name and export. GarageBand shortens anything over 30 seconds.
Tap Use sound as… to set it as the ringtone, text tone or a contact's tone.

Step 2 on iPhone from a Mac or PC

A computer accepts ringtones up to 40 seconds, in Apple's M4R format (AAC audio with an .m4r extension):

Mac (macOS Catalina or later): connect the iPhone with a cable, select it in the Finder sidebar, and drag the .m4r file onto the General tab. It appears in Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone.
Windows: connect the iPhone, open iTunes, select the phone and drag the .m4r file onto Tones (or On My Device).

Renaming an MP3 to .m4r does not work; the file has to be AAC inside. Saving as iPhone ringtone (M4R) in the trimmer gives you the right file directly.

Step 2 on Android

Android accepts an ordinary MP3 of any length; when a call lasts longer than the clip, it loops. Menu names vary a little by brand:

Samsung Galaxy: Settings → Sounds and vibration → Ringtone → tap + → pick the file.
Google Pixel: Settings → Sound & vibration → Phone ringtone → My Sounds → + → pick the file.
Other phones: copy the MP3 into the Ringtones folder of the phone's internal storage with a file manager or a USB cable; it then shows up in the ringtone list.

To give one person their own ringtone, open the contact, tap edit or the menu, and choose Ringtone.

Custom alarm and notification sounds

Alarms and notifications use the same files:

iPhone alarm: once a custom ringtone is installed it is listed under Ringtones in the alarm's Sound menu (Clock → Alarm → Edit → Sound). The same menu can also play a song from your music library.
iPhone text tone: Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Text Tone; custom tones appear at the top. Keep notification sounds short, 1 to 3 seconds.
Android alarm: Clock → tap the alarm → alarm sound → Add new or + → pick the MP3.
Android notification: Settings → Sound & vibration → Default notification sound → add your file, or copy it into the Notifications folder.

For an alarm, a clip that builds up works better than one that starts at full volume: add a longer fade in when you cut it.

When it doesn't work

"Use as Ringtone" is missing on iPhone: check the iOS version (26 or later), the format (MP3 or M4A) and that the file is in Files on the phone, not only in iCloud.
"The file is too long": cut the clip to 30 seconds or less.
The ringtone doesn't appear after syncing from a computer: the file must be a real M4R of 40 seconds or less; re-save it as M4R instead of renaming it.
It sounds distorted: the clip was boosted until it clipped. Cut it again from the original and lower the level slightly.
Android plays the default tone instead: the file was moved or deleted after you picked it. Keep it in the Ringtones folder.

FAQ

How long can a ringtone be?

On iPhone, 30 seconds with iOS 26's Use as Ringtone and with GarageBand, 40 seconds when you add an M4R from a computer. Android has no practical limit and loops the file.

Can I use a song from Spotify or Apple Music?

Not directly. Streaming tracks are protected and cannot be saved as files. Use a song you bought as a download, a track you made, or a recording you own.

Do I need a ringtone app?

No. A browser-based cutter plus the phone's own settings (or GarageBand, which is free) does everything ringtone apps do, without ads or subscriptions.

What format does an iPhone ringtone need?

M4R when you add it from a computer or GarageBand creates it for you; MP3 or M4A when you use iOS 26's Use as Ringtone.