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I have an old .m4r file on my Macbook, which I used AirDrop to copy to my iPhone 13. There's no way to set it as my ringtone, however.

In the ringtone settings page, it's not there, and if I go to the Files app I can open the .m4r file and even play it, but there's no option to "set as ringtone".

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  • I had the feeling Apple made this much much harder over the years. Google says you either use Garage Band or some third party app to force it in there. I've never needed to do it since the days you could just drop them on iTunes, so I hope someone has a simpler method. Wish you luck.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 17:26
  • @Tetsujin I figured it out. I had to tap "Download all downloadable ringtones from the store" in my iphone 13's ringtone settings page
    – xdavidliu
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 17:30
  • I came to "Download all downloadable ringtones - a circle is swirling endlessly. I am new to IPhone and it is showing up it is not a user-friendly environment at all. Many things are counterintuitive - is it on purpose (manipulation?) or just clumsiness or stupidity? Hard to say - but up to now it is hard to recommend Apple. I never saw in my life that setting a ringtone can be SO clumsy... Well nobody said that allegedly a ringtone must be less then 20s long... I have 35s... :-(
    – xerostomus
    Commented Oct 13 at 12:28

3 Answers 3

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Wow! I finally got it but it was extremely counterintuitive. I had to go to the Ringtone settings page on my iphone 13 and there was a section with "Store" with two buttons, "Tone Store", and something like "Download all downloadable ringtones from the store".

I had no interest in purchasing ringtones from the store, so I didn't bother tapping this at first, but I figured what the heck, and I tapped the "download all downloadable ringtones", and the .m4r file's ringtone instantly appeared in the ringtones list in settings, and I was able to use it.

It is astonishing that this worked, since my .m4r file was in my Files app on my iphone 13 the entire time, so in no sense did I "download" it.

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  • 1
    Glad you got it. I have to admit that as I loaded my phone up with a whole slew of potential ringtones a decade ago, I haven't paid it much attention since. Well found! :)
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Nov 20, 2021 at 17:32
  • Great find! I have a feeling that this might not be what Apple intended; this handy feature might stop working soon.
    – magma
    Commented Nov 21, 2021 at 5:30
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    It didn't work for me. File was on the phone. And now the button to download is gone.
    – Seph Reed
    Commented May 5, 2022 at 20:47
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    This does not work. iOS is a joke. The simplest things are impossible.
    – problemofficer - n.f. Monica
    Commented May 16, 2023 at 1:24
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    In iOS 17 at least, this process does not appear to work. Downloaded M4R to Files and then tapped Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone → Download All Purchased Tones. "Checking for Downloads" briefly appeared, but the M4R ringtone in Files was not added.
    – Miles
    Commented May 25 at 17:57
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For me, dragging the .m4r files directly onto the Finder window showed it in iOS Settings right away:

  • download .m4r to somewhere on my mac
  • plug in the iPhone, wait for it to show up in the Finder sidebar (macOS 13.4.1)
  • drag the .m4r file into any part of the plain, not-draggable-looking "General" tab
  • open Settings.app on the device (iPhone SE, iOS 15.7.7), the ringtone shows up with the same name as the .m4r's filename
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  • To convert most formats with a built-in macOS utility: afconvert -f m4af -d aac <input> -o <name>.m4r. Tested with macOS 14.5 / iOS 17.6.
    – chronospoon
    Commented Aug 14 at 20:53
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The only native method I've found for iOS 17 (that does not require using a Mac or PC) is via GarageBand:

  1. Save M4R to Files
  2. Open GarageBand and tap the + icon
  3. Scroll Audio Recorder and tap Voice
  4. Tap the Tracks view icon (looks kind of like an I Ching hexagram) at top left
  5. Tap the Loops icon (looks like a loop of string) at top right
  6. Tap on the Files tab at top center then tap "Browse items from the Files app"
  7. Tap your M4R file in Recents (tap Browse to locate it if it's not in Recents)
  8. Tap and start dragging the M4R filename, which will bring the Track view back up - drop the M4R at the top left corner
  9. Tap the metronome icon to turn it off
  10. Optional: Tap the + symbol at the top right corner, tap Section A, uncheck Automatic, and set length as desired
  11. Tap the drop-down arrow at top left, then tap My Songs
  12. Tap and hold the project you just created, tap Share, tap Ringtone, enter desired name, then tap Export.
  13. When "Ringtone Export Successful" appears, you'll have the option to tap "Use sound as..." then select "Standard Ringtone", "Standard Text Tone", or "Assign to contact".

If anyone knows of a more elegant native method for importing an M4R ringtone without a Mac or PC, please share it here. One might be forgiven for imagining that Apple intentionally keeps the process abstruse to encourage ringtone sales through the iTunes Store.

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    Wow. after spending 2 hours trying to figure this out, yours was the only method that worked. Seeing no upvotes i thought it wouldn't, but it did. Thank you! And the first upvote.
    – Pavel K.
    Commented Aug 13 at 16:25

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