Make a Song a Ringtone on iPhone

The Short Answer

An iPhone ringtone can be up to 30 seconds long. Apple's documented way to turn your own audio into one is GarageBand, the free Apple app: you import the file, then share it as a Ringtone.

GarageBand can trim, but on a phone screen it is fiddly. It is easier to cut the exact 30 seconds you want first, with a fade in and out, then hand GarageBand a file that is already the right length.

Step 1: Cut the Part You Want

1. On your iPhone, open the Ringtone Maker in Safari and choose your song (MP3, WAV or M4A).
2. Tap the waveform where the ringtone should start, or type a start time. The length is capped at 30 seconds.
3. Pick a fade in and fade out, tap Preview, then Make ringtone and Download MP3.
4. Apple says files you download in Safari go to the Downloads folder in the Files app. That's where GarageBand will find it.

Step 2: Turn It Into a Ringtone With GarageBand

These steps follow Apple's support article Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone.

1. Install GarageBand from the App Store if you don't have it.
2. Touch and hold the GarageBand icon on the Home Screen, then tap Create New Audio Recording.
3. Tap the Tracks button at the top. Tap the instrument icon on the left to select the track, then tap the Loops Browser button.
4. Tap Files, then “Browse items from the Files app”, and choose your MP3.
5. Touch and hold the file, then drag it all the way to the left in the Tracks view, so there is no blank space before it.
6. Tap the Navigation button, then My Songs. Tap the More button, tap Select, and select the song you just made.
7. Tap Share, then Ringtone. Name it and tap Export.
8. When it finishes, tap “Use sound as” and choose Standard Ringtone, Standard Text Tone or Assign to contact.

“Use as Ringtone” Not Showing?

Several Apple news sites report that iOS 26 added a Use as Ringtone option to the Share menu for short audio files in the Files and Voice Memos apps. Apple's own support pages don't describe this option at the time of writing, so we can't confirm exactly which files qualify.

Reports say the clip must be under 30 seconds. If the option is missing, the first things to try are a clip comfortably under 30 seconds and an MP3 or M4A file. If it still isn't there, use the GarageBand steps above: they are the method Apple documents.

Things That Trip People Up

• Longer than 30 seconds. GarageBand offers to shorten it automatically on export. Cut it yourself first so you choose which 30 seconds you get.
• Protected music. Apple says a song from your Music library must be downloaded, and if a file is protected you can't use it for a ringtone. The file appears dimmed in GarageBand.
• Silence at the start. Apple's steps say to drag the region all the way to the left so there is no blank space before it. Otherwise your ringtone starts with a gap.
• A sudden start. Songs cut mid-beat can start with a click. A one-second fade in fixes it.

Platform Notes

Changing it later on iPhone: go to Settings, tap Sounds & Haptics, then Ringtone. For one person only: open Contacts, select the contact, tap Edit, then Ringtone.

Android: you can usually skip GarageBand entirely and use the MP3 directly. On a Pixel, Google's help puts ringtone settings under Settings, Sound & vibration, Phone ringtone. How you add your own file varies by phone maker and Android version.

On a computer: make the MP3 there with the Ringtone Maker, then save it to iCloud Drive or AirDrop it to your iPhone so it shows up in the Files app.