Can I set a song as my iPhone ringtone for free?

General
1

I’ve been trying to set a song as my ringtone on my iPhone without having to pay for it, but I’m not sure how to do it. Every method I find seems to need iTunes or some purchase. Does anyone know an easy, free way to do it? Please help!

2

You want a free ringtone? Oh, how noble! Because Apple LOVES to make that easy for us, right? Here’s what you do (and no, this isn’t sarcasm—this actually works):

  1. Pick your song. Get it saved as an audio file (MP3 or whatever).
  2. Download GarageBand from the App Store (it’s free, thank heavens).
  3. Open GarageBand and create a new project. Choose “Audio Recorder.”
  4. Import your song. You might have to trim it to 30 seconds (because, of course, we can’t have the luxury of full songs as ringtones).
  5. Tap the down arrow in the top-left > ‘My Songs’ to save it. Hold down on your project > select “Share” > “Ringtone.” Congrats, you just made a ringtone without giving Apple any extra cash.

It takes like 10 minutes, but hey, free is free, right? Just prepare to feel mildly infuriated at how convoluted this is. Enjoy!

3

Setting a song as a ringtone on iPhones without paying for it feels like cracking some secret code Apple doesn’t want you to know about. While @ombrasilente laid out the GarageBand method (which is functional, albeit an exercise in patience), here’s another angle that might be less annoying if you despise tinkering with apps like GarageBand:

  1. Find a Free Converter: Go online and search for a trustworthy audio-to-M4R converter. M4R is the format iPhone requires for ringtones. Websites like ZAMZAR or CloudConvert work (they’re free within limits).

  2. Trim Your Audio: These converters usually have an option to crop the audio under 30 seconds (another Apple quirk). No download necessary if you do this directly on the site.

  3. Send to iPhone: Ok, here’s where things get tricky. If you don’t want to use iTunes (which honestly is clunky), use AirDrop to transfer the M4R file to your files app on the phone.

  4. Assign the Ringtone: Open the file from your iPhone through “Files” > Share button > select “Ringtone.” It should let you save it directly as a ringtone without needing extra tools.

But let’s not sugarcoat it: Does Apple make this process obnoxious on purpose to push you to buy from their store? Arguably, yes. Still, if you’re adamant about not using GarageBand, this web-converter loophole could save you some time.

PS: I’m convinced Apple’s engineers laugh about how unnecessarily complicated this is while we all scramble for a solution—but hey, free beats giving them even more of our money, doesn’t it?