How to Download iPhone Ringtones

Those who have an iPhone have the ultimate in mobile phone technology. Not only does the phone look sleek and hi-tech, everyone instantly recognizes it as a powerful computing tool.

With all the power in the palm of your hand, it is only natural to want to take the time to personalize it. Although users can change wallpaper, screen savers, and other screen features, they should not forget that they can change the ringtones too.

How to Download iPhone RingtonesWhile downloading ringtones is an easy task using iTunes software, iPhone users who install the new free iPhone software upgrade to version 3.1 can now download ringtones straight from the phone. Best of all, downloading ringtones from the iTunes store to the iPhone give users full control. For the first time, mobile phone users can download their favorite songs and then choose their favorite part of a song to make a ringtone and then download it straight to the phone.

Using the iPhone to Download iPhone Ringtones from the iTunes Store

  1. On the iPhone, navigate to the “Store” icon and tap it to open the iPhone store. If a user account has not been created yet, go to the “Settings” menu and then tap “Create New Account.” The system will guide the user through every step to create a new iTunes account.
  2. Once inside the iTunes store, tap the “Ringtones” button to browse from the available selection of ringtones. iTunes has over 20,000 pre-cut ringtones available for download. Within the iTunes store on the iPhone, browse the selections of ringtones by category or use the search option to find a desirable ringtone. The ringtone is previewed by taping on it so users can know what the ringtone sounds like.
  3. Select a ringtone to purchase by tapping its purchase price on the screen, then by tapping “Buy”
  4. If not logged in at this time, the user is prompted for login information.
  5. When the ringtone download starts the download progress bar is displayed on the “Downloads” screen.
  6. Users can go to the ringtones menu on the phone by tapping the “Settings” menu and then selecting “Sounds” followed by “Ringtones.” The user will see a display that lists all of ringtones available for use on that phone. The user can select the new ringtone by tapping on it and choosing to use it as the default ringtone for the phone. If the user does not want to use this ringtone as one of the default ringtones for the device, follow the instructions in the next step to set a specific contact to ring this ringtone on incoming calls.
  7. Users can assign the new ringtone to any of the entries found on the of the iPhone’s contact list. To do this, select the “Phone” menu and then choose “Contacts.” When the desired contact is found on the list, the user taps it and then taps “Ringtone” to choose the new ringtone for association with the contact. From now on the new ringtone will play whenever the phone is rung by the phone number listed in that contact.
  8. The last step is to set the iPhone for audible ringing or silent mode. There is a switch on the side of the iPhone that determines the phone rings or if the phone remains silent when a call comes in. Look above the volume buttons on the phone to find a switch that slides back and forth rather than up and down. When this switch is in line with the volume controls, the ring switch is set to “ring” and the phone will ring when an incoming call comes in. To silence the phone, move this switch to the position that is not aligned with the volume controls. The phone will not make any noise when it is called.

Using the iPhone to Create and Download Custom iPhone Ringtones from the iTunes Store

The power of the iPhone allows it to shop the iTunes store for music as well as ringtones. The procedure is similar to the above procedure for ringtones.

  1. Rather than selecting “Ringtones,” select “Music” to enter the music section and browse songs by title, artist, genre, and top ten lists. When a song is selected, tap the price to buy it.
  2. The download progress bar will appear as the song downloads. When complete the song is on the phone. Return to the iTunes store and choose the “Create ringtone” section.
  3. Select the song from the list, and then use the on-screen ringtone editor to select the desired part of the song for use as the ringtone. Options to select are the ringtone’s length and whether the clip will fade in or fade out (or both). The time between rings is also selectable. Use the pop-up looping menu for even more editing options.
  4. After previewing the ringtone, tap “Buy.” The ringtone will download and become available as ringtone on the phone.

Personalizing an iPhone is fun and cool. Users can choose ringtones that have personal significance or that make a statement. With the iPhone, the options are unlimited through the option to download ringtones directly from iTunes.

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