iPhone: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition

iTunes Ringtones

In September 2007, Apple announced that it would begin selling custom ringtones from its iTunes Store. Using simple audio tools in the latest version of the iTunes program, you can buy a song for $1, choose a 30-second chunk, pay $1 more for the ringtone, and sync the result to your iPhone.

(Now, if paying a second dollar to use 30 seconds of a song you already own strikes you as a bit of a rip-off, you're not alone. But look at the bright side: That's a lot cheaper than most ringtones. Pop-song ringtones from T-Mobile and Sprint cost $2.50 apiece; from Verizon, they're $3. You don't get to customize them, choose the start and end points, adjust the looping, and so on. Worse, incredibly, after 90 days, every Sprint ringtone dies, and you have to pay another $2.50 if you want to keep it. Verizon's last only a year.)

Unfortunately, not all iTunes songs can become ringtones—only the ones whose rights-cleared-by-the-lawyers status is designated by a bell icon. To see that icon, add the Ringtones column to the iTunes list by right-clicking or Control-clicking any column name and then choosing Ringtones from the pop-up menu. You can see the Ringtones column (and some bell icons) here.

When you see a purchased song in your iTunes list that bears the lucky bell, click the bell itself. The Ringtone Editor, which looks like a horizontal strip of sound waves, appears at the bottom of the window.

Your ringtone can be up to 30 seconds long. Start, therefore, by dragging the blue, ...