Changing your phone ringtone is one of the earliest forms of customization in cellular history. Online communications are starting to make calls less common, but it is still great to hear a personalized phone ringtone when someone calls. The process isn’t very straight-forward, though, so we’ll show you how to change your ringtone music and Android notification sounds.
There are multiple ways to do this; some methods are free while others are paid, so make sure to find what best suits your needs. Let’s start with the paid ones, which tend to be much simpler.
Also: These are the best apps for notification sounds and ringtones
How to create an Android phone ringtone:
Editor’s note: Keep in mind some of the instructions in this guide are based on the stock version of Android 10. Different manufacturers set up their user interfaces in different ways, and exact processes might be slightly different in your device.
1. Turn any song into a ringtone
Creating a phone ringtone isn’t as complicated as it used to be. As it turns out, you can use any regular mp3 file, but Android will also support other formats such as OGG and WAV. This makes creating your own phone ringtone music a breeze, and you can grab these files from any music store or service you use, including Google’s own Play Music.
Set a custom ringtone in new Android devices:
- Download or transfer the song you want to set as your ringtone to your phone. This can be done through USB, direct download, or any cloud storage solution of your preference. If you use a service like Google Play Music, simply download the mp3 file to your device.
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Sound.
- Select Advanced.
- Hit Phone ringtone.
- Go to My Sounds.
- If your ringtone doesn’t show up, hit the + button in the bottom-right corner.
- Find the song and tap on it.
- Hit Save.
Set ringtone music in older devices:
- Download or transfer the song you want to set as your ringtone to your phone.
- Using a file manager app, move your song to the Ringtones folder. If you have connected your device to a computer via USB you’ll be asked how you want this connection to be handled, so choose to explore files and folders. This will make your phone’s storage look and work like any other folder in your PC, so you can just copy and paste the file directly to the Ringtones folder.
- Open the Settings app.
- Select Sound & notification.
- Tap on Phone ringtone.
- Your new ringtone music should appear in the list of options.
More: How to set up mobile hotspot on your Android phone
2. How to trim your phone ringtone song
You might not want your ringtone music to start from the beginning of the song. To pick your favorite section you need to trim the audio, which requires some specialized software. Professional audio editors probably don’t need much help with paid software like Adobe Audition, Reaper, or Pro Tools, so we will offer guides for simpler and free solutions.
How to trim ringtone music using Audacity (MacOS, Windows, Linux):
- Download, install, and launch Audacity.
- Go to File > Import > Audio.
- Find and select the ringtone song.
- Use the selection tool and cursor to highlight the part of the audio you want to keep as your ringtone music.
- Once a section has been selected, you can press Space to play only that part and make sure you like it.
- Now click Edit > Remove Special > Trim Audio.
- Only the section you selected will remain.
- Press F5 to activate the Time Shift Tool and drag your audio to the beginning of the timeline.
- I would also advice using the Fade In and Fade Out in the beginning and end. These options can be accessed by going to the Effect menu.
- Now go to File > Export and select your preferred format. I would use mp3.
- Move the file to your smartphone and follow the tutorial in the section before to turn it into a phone ringtone.
Alternatively, you can use an audio editing app straight from your smartphone. Search for “audio editor” in the Google Play Store and you will come across a plethora of options. We like Music Editor for its simplicity, but it also helps that it’s free. You can pay to remove ads, but that is optional.
How to trim music using Music Editor (Android):
- Download, install, and launch Music Editor from the Google Play Store.
- Tap on the Trim Audio option.
- Select the song you want to turn into a phone ringtone.
- Drag the sliders to select the part of the song you want to keep as a ringtone. The green one is the beginning and the red one the end.
- You can use the media controls at the bottom to get a preview.
- Hit the floppy disk icon on the top-right.
- Select a name for the new file.
- Hit OK.
- Now follow the tutorial in the previous section to turn it into your phone ringtone.
How to trim music using a website editor:
You may not even need specialized software! There are plenty of online tools that can get the job done. One of them is mp3cut.net, and the process is super simple too.
- Open your browser of choice and go to mp3cut.net.
- Select the Choose file button.
- Find and select the song file you want to trim.
- Let the website work its magic for a bit.
- Use the sliders on the left and right to select the area you want to keep as your phone ringtone.
- Pick whether you want to fade in or out. Also select the duration of your fade.
- Hit Cut.
- Select Save.
- Transfer the file to your phone.
- Follow the steps in the first section of this article to set the audio as your ringtone song.
Also: How to print from Android devices
3. How to change notification sounds on Android
You probably hear notification sounds more often than ringtones, so you might also want to customize this audio. Notification sounds can be created the same way you do ringtones. You just have to follow the instructions below once you are ready to pick your notification sound.
- Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
- Select Sound.
- Tap on Advanced.
- Hit Default notification sound.
- Select the clip you want to use as your notification sound.
- Hit Save.
Need more tutorials and how-tos? Here are some great tips and tricks for improving your Android experience!
Via Phandroid