I’m aware that the info in this post is common knowledge to many.  But surprisingly, people are still buying their ringtones.  This is an area that I refuse to spend money on, and every few months I have to review these steps as I create my own ringtone for my iphone.  The great part is that you can do it yourself for free using software that most people have:  iTunes.

Depending on whether you use a mac or pc, there may be a few differences.  But here are the basic steps involved in making your own ringtone.  I am writing from the mac perspective, so the commands from the menu might vary a little from if you’re trying on a pc.

1. Open your iTunes, and pick out a song that you want to make into a ringtone.

2. Pick out a 30-40 second segment of the song (usually a well-known part like the chorus, verse or intro) and make a note of the starting and stopping times you want to use.

3. While the song is selected, click on “File”, then “Get Info”.

4. Look for “Start Time” & “Stop Time” – make sure you check both boxes, and then write in the times that you made note of earlier (minutes:seconds.sub-seconds format).  Remember to keep the length under 40 seconds.

5. Click “OK” and then close that menu.  While your song is still selected, click on “Advanced” from the top menu, and then “Create AAC Version”.

• You will now see that a duplicate of the song has appeared in your iTunes library, but it is a duplicate cut down to the size and time that you chose in your “start” and “stop” selection in step #4.

6. At this point in the process listen to your new copy.  Make sure it starts and stops where you want it to.  If so, then drag it to your desktop.  Once on your desktop go back to iTunes and delete the extra copy.  You wont need it here any longer.

7. Go to the file on your desktop. Click on the name of the file and it will allow you to edit the name.  Leave the title alone, but look at the ending extension.  It should be an “.m4a” file.  While it allows you to edit, change that extension to a “.m4r”.  It will ask you to confirm and you should do so.  It will now be identified as a ringtone when you import it into iTunes.

8. Double click your updated ringtone file and it should be imported into iTunes and begin to play.  At this point you are ready to connect your iPhone and sync it, and begin using your new ringtone!