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iPhone Tips: Creating Your Own Ringtones for Free! (Mac and PC)
By now, everybody has seen the commercials for "free ringtones" with major strings (often times heavy monthly membership charges) attached. While the short-term gain is nice, the customer tends to get burnt in the end.
For Apple iPhone users (both the first generation and 3G(s) models), there are several ways to obtain ringtones.
The first way is to use the feature that is built in to the latest versions of Apple's iTunes software. The iTunes software allows you to turn songs that you have purchased into ringtones for an additional $0.99.
We recognize that not everyone wants to pay that $0.99. That's why this article will describe how to create free custom ringtones for your Apple iPhone using your standard Macintosh or Windows computer.
For Apple Macintosh Users
The first step is opening the GarageBand application on your Mac and start a new project. GarageBand is an application that comes standard with all (recent) Apple computers. Please note: the version used in this tutorial is GarageBand '08 version 4.1.2 (you can check your version by selecting "GarageBand" on the top of your screen and clicking "About GarageBand").
Once you have a new project opened, locate the .mp3 (or other supported audio format) file that you wish to turn into a ringtone. Click and drag the file into the GarageBand project window. You should see a status bar indicating that the file is being imported.
When imported, you can use the editing tools in GarageBand to slice and dice the song to your desired section and length. You can use the bottom bar to listen to your future ringtone as you work on it.
When you are satisfied with the ringtone, simply select the "Share" menu on the top of your screen and click on "Send Ringtone to iTunes." It will automatically move the ringtone to your iTunes.
Now you are ready to sync your iPhone and enjoy your free custom ringtone!
For Microsoft Windows Users
For Windows users, it is a little more complicated (isn't it always?).
The first step is to open iTunes and locate the song that you wish to turn into your newest ringtone. Right-click on the song and select "Get Info."
Navigate to the "Options" tab and find the "Start Time" and "Stop Time" check boxes. Check both boxes and plug in the times during the song you would like your ringtone to begin and end. The iPhone requires ringtones to be under thirty seconds long, so keep that in
mind. Click OK when you are done with that.
Now you can right-click your freshly edited song and click "Convert Selection to AAC." The song will be re-encoded.
Once that is complete, locate the song in your iTunes Music folder (or where ever you store your music files for iTunes) and move it to the desktop. This will make it easier, so you won't have to fish for it through the mountains of music files that you no doubt have.
Now right-click on the song and choose "Properties." Find the section where the name and extension are and change the extension to .m4r.
When the extension is changed, simply import the file into your iTunes music library. It should recognize this new file as a ringtone and place it in the ringtones section. Sync your iPhone with iTunes and you are free to enjoy your new custom ringtone!