Mobile Phones Ringtones How to Get Free iPhone Ringtones Create ringtones using iTunes or find free ringtones online by Mark Harris Writer Mark Harris is a former writer for Lifewire who wrote about the digital music scene and streaming music services in an easy to understand, no-nonsense manner. our editorial process Mark Harris Updated on December 16, 2020 reviewed by Jessica Kormos Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others. our review board Article reviewed on Sep 25, 2020 Jessica Kormos Ringtones iPhone & iOS Android Samsung Google Ringtones Tweet Share Email What to Know Easiest way to add ringtones is to buy them on the iTunes Store.To make a ringtone, select iTunes > Preferences > General > Import Settings > Setting > High Quality > OK.To convert song, Song Info Options > OK > File > Convert > Create AAC version > Show in Finder > Rename > change to m4r > Enter. This article explains how to create or find free iPhone ringtones with iTunes. Instructions apply to any iPhone. Make Ringtones From Songs You Own With iTunes While it takes some effort, it is possible to create a new ringtone from a song you already own in your iTunes library. To do this, select a song you own that is saved to your local hard drive; your song can't be in the cloud or streamed from the internet. It's not possible to create ringtones from songs in your library that were downloaded with Apple Music; the song must be purchased from iTunes or imported from a CD you own. Decide on a song in your iTunes library. The maximum length of a ringtone is 40 seconds; for text message tones the maximum length is 30 seconds. Mac users: Select iTunes > Preferences > General. Windows users: Select Edit > Preferences > General. At the bottom of the window, click Import Settings. In the Import Settings window, go to the the Setting dropdown. (Note which setting is currently selected so you can go back at the end of this process and restore it to your original choice.) Select High Quality (128 kbps) from the menu, and then select OK. Make sure you also have AAC selected as the import format, if it isn't already. Locate your song in the iTunes library. Listen to it and note the start and end times of the clip you want to make into a ringtone. Right-click the song and select Song Info. Select the Options tab. Enter the start and stop times you noted in the available fields. Select OK. In the iTunes menu, select File > Convert > Create AAC version. This will create a new file with only the clip between the start and stop times you set. Find the newly created music clip file in iTunes (it'll have the same name as the original song but with a short time length). Right-click on the new file and select Show in Finder. In the Finder window, right-click the new file and select Rename. Change the extension from m4a to m4r (m4r is the file extension for ringtones) and press Enter. You have now created a new ringtone! You won't need the clip in your iTunes library, so you can remove it. In iTunes, right-click the new file name and select Delete from Library. When asked if you want to delete this song from your iTunes library, select Delete Song. When asked if you want to move the song to the Trash, click Keep File. Reset Start and Stop Times and Restore Changes When you're finished creating your ringtone, go back and remove the start and stop times on the original song and restore the initial import settings. In your iTunes library, select the original song file. Right-click the song and select Song Info. Click the Options tab and uncheck the boxes next to start and stop. Click OK. Next, restore the changes on your import settings. Select iTunes (on a Mac) or Edit (on a Windows PC) > Preferences > General. Select Import Settings. Select the Setting dropdown and choose your original setting. Add the Ringtone to Your iPhone Now that you've created your ringtone file, add it to your iPhone. Connect your iPhone to your computer. (Unlock your iPhone if prompted.) At the top of the iTunes window, select your iPhone. In the left sidebar, under On My Device, select Tones. If the left sidebar is not visible in iTunes, select View > Show Sidebar. From the Finder window, drag the new m4r ringtone file to iTunes and drop it in the Tones folder. At the bottom of the iTunes window, select Sync. When syncing is finished, your new ringtone will be alongside all the other ringtones on your iPhone. Websites That Offer Free and Legal Ringtones If you want to venture beyond iTunes, there are websites that offer ringtones for free. The problem, however, is making sure your source is truly both free and legal (not restricted for use by copyright). Here are a few websites that offer legitimately free ringtones. These sites also offer other content, such as videos, games, apps, and wallpapers. Zedge The Zedge website offers a wide range of ringtones, including songs, tones, and other random sounds and effects. (Wallpapers are mixed in with the offerings.) There is a Zedge app for Android users on the Google Play Store, which offers ringtones and wallpapers. Zedge's iPhone app, however, offers only wallpapers. Visit Zedge Tones7 Tones7 has a nice range of ringtone types and a sizable list of categories to make browsing for that perfect ringtone easier. Still, these are not going to be top Billboard hits. Visit Tones7 Notification Sounds Notification Sounds provides ringtones created on synthesizers. If you're looking for bleeps, twoops, and Martian ray guns, this is the place for you. Visit Notification Sounds When downloading files from any website, keep legal considerations in mind. The content itself usually provides clues. For example, if a site hosts free ringtones from the latest chart-topping songs, then it's probably best to stay away. Have Fun With Your Ringtones Ringtones allow you to express yourself beyond the normal chirps, chimes, and radar sounds everyone else is using. With a little effort, songs you love will customize your iPhone experience. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit