How Turn Your Custom .m4r Files Into An iPhone Ringtone In 4 Steps
You’ve gotten to this page because you just dropped a bunch of $$$ on a new iPhone and have spent hours (possibly days) trying to get ringtones onto that stupid, bleeping, bleepidy-bleep iPhone. If you’re traditionally a PC Microsoft-type person like me, this post is written specifically for you. I would like to warn in advance, however, that unless you’re interested in jailbreaking your phone, you’ll need to get somewhat acquainted with iTunes.
Here are the steps involved for after you’ve finished selecting the ringtone and converting it to m4r file:
Step 1: install iTunes onto your PC. If you ran into the same problems I did, you’ll find that when you’re done installing and try to run the program, nothing seems to happen. What worked for me was just to plug your iPhone into your PC. The iTunes window should then appear on your screen, and it’ll probably ask you to log into your account before you can connect to your phone. Log in. Your phone might also ask if you want to grant your PC access to it. Grant it access.
Step 2: Go to File > Add File to Library and select your .m4r file. Notice that nothing will appear in your Music or Tones library and nothing seems to have changed (except it made a dinging noise.)
Step 3: Select the tiny phone icon in the control bar next to where it says “music.”
Step 4: Under Tones in your Settings, your tone will appear if you check “Sync Tones” (and “Selected tones” underneath.) You can also check “All tones” but it won’t let you see them if you do. Hit “Apply” at the bottom.
That’s it! Now go change your ringtone on your iPhone (it should be the first one to appear in your selection list!)
***If you want to add more .m4r ringtones, just go File > Add File to Library, and add more m4r files. They’ll appear right onto your screen in step 4, and repeat step 4.
I could go on about how obsolete this system feels – it’s almost 2017 and one would think that Apple should have come up with something better, easier by now. But, I’ve already spent enough time putting these directions together, and hope this method works for you and saves some frustration.