How to Put a Song As a Ringtone on the iPhone 4

By Alex Zang

Updated September 15, 2017

The first iPhone was released in early 2007.
i Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The iPhone is a cellphone developed by Apple that has a ton of features, including the ability to download applications (frequently called "apps"), send text messages, and of course, use custom ringtones. While normally you would have to purchase and download the ringtone to your iPhone, it is possible to use iTunes to create your own ringtones from songs you like. You can make a ringtone out of any song in your iTunes library.

Start iTunes. Right-click on the song you want to turn into a ringtone. Select "Get Info" from the menu. This is where you'll see all of information associated with the song, including the length, file type, and start and stop times. Write down the current "Start" and "Stop" times for the song.

Click the "Options" tab. Edit the "Start" and "Stop" times of the song until you've created the ringtone you wanted. For instance, if the portion of the song you want to be a ringtone starts at the one minute mark, you'd change the "Start" time to "1:00" and the "Stop" time to "1:30." The ringtone shouldn't last more than 30 seconds. Click "OK."

Right-click on the song you've just edited and select "Convert Selection to AAC." After you've done this, iTunes will create a new file based on the 30-second snippet you've selected from the song. Drag the ringtone from iTunes onto your desktop for easy access.

Right-click on the AAC file you dragged onto your desktop. Select "Rename," then change the extension of the file to ".m4r." This is the file type an iPhone 4 requires in order to use it as a ringtone. After you've done this, drag the .m4r file back into iTunes.

Hook your iPhone up to your computer using the USB cable. Click "Sync" in iTunes. The ringtone you've created will be put on your iPhone, enabling you to use it.

Right-click on the original copy of the song in iTunes and select "Get Info." Change the "Start" and "Stop" time back to the numbers you wrote down in step one. If you don't do this, whenever iTunes plays the song, it will only play the 30 second snippet you've selected.

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