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How to make a song your ringtone on iPhone (without a computer)

A song can become your ringtone right on your iPhone, without a computer or iTunes. It all depends on where the music comes from: a file, a video, a social network or a streaming app.

Updated November 1, 2026

First: where is your music?

An iPhone ringtone is a short audio file. So you need a sound your iPhone can open outside the app that plays it. It depends:

• An MP3, M4A or WAV file (sent by email or AirDrop, downloaded from a site that sells files): the easiest case. See MP3 to ringtone on iPhone.
• A video in your camera roll (a concert you filmed, a video saved from a social network): the sound of the video is enough. See Turn a video into a ringtone.
• A sound you heard on TikTok: save the video, then start from the video. See A TikTok sound as your ringtone.
• A song on Spotify, Deezer or Apple Music: not possible directly, the files are protected. See Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music: what works.

Make the song your ringtone with Phone Ringtones

1. Open Phone Ringtones and tap Audio for a file, or Video for a video in your camera roll.
2. Pick the song (up to 10 minutes for an audio file, 3 minutes for a video). The app extracts the sound on your iPhone. Nothing is sent online.
3. Slide the selection over the part you want, often the chorus. It's 30 seconds at most. For your first ringtone, Find the best part spots it for you.
4. Tap ▶ to listen. Add a fade at the start or the end if the cut is abrupt.
5. Tap Set ringtone, then Use as Ringtone in the iOS share sheet. iOS opens Settings › Sounds with your new ringtone already selected.

Pick the right part

• The chorus, not the intro: a quiet intro goes unnoticed in a pocket or a bag.
• A strong start: the iPhone plays the ringtone from the beginning on every call. If the first seconds are too soft, move the selection.
• A fade at the end: the ringtone loops for as long as the call rings. A 2- to 3-second fade avoids a “click” every time it starts over.
• Sound too quiet? Leave Optimised level on: it brings the sound up to the right level. See also Ringtone too quiet.

What about without an app?

Before iOS 26, Apple's only way on iPhone was GarageBand: import the song, trim it, export it as a ringtone. It still works, but it takes longer. See How to make a ringtone with GarageBand. Since iOS 26, the Use as Ringtone action replaces that detour: see A ringtone without GarageBand.