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Need help?3GPP to M4R: Voice Notes and Phone Clips as iPhone Tones
A .3gpp file is the 3GP format, the MPEG-4-family container defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project for mobile phones, saved under its longer extension. The structure is the same as .3gp; only the name differs. Some older Android voice-recorder and messaging apps saved recordings this way, and so did a number of phones and call-recording tools, which is why .3gpp files tend to be voice notes, voicemails and short clips. Their audio is almost always AMR-NB, sometimes AMR-WB or AAC. An iPhone takes custom tones as .m4r: AAC audio in an MPEG-4 container with the extension that tells iOS it is a ringtone. This converter decodes the 3GPP's audio, re-encodes it to AAC, writes the .m4r and drops any video. Trim keeps it to 30 seconds or less, the length Apple gives for ringtones.
How to Convert 3GPP to M4R
- Upload Your 3GPP File: Drag the
.3gpponto the page or click "Add Files". Several recordings can go in one batch, from a computer or a mobile browser. This page takes.3gpp; for.3gpuse the 3GP page. - Pick the Clip with Trim: Open Advanced Options, switch Trim on and enter a Start time and a Duration of 30 seconds or less, in seconds or
HH:MM:SS.sss. For a text tone, a few seconds is often enough. - Keep It Mono and Light (Optional): Audio Codec is AAC, the only codec for M4R. AMR is mono speech, so Audio Channel Mono and a Constant Bitrate of 48-64 kbps keep every detail; Variable Bitrate, Custom Bitrate and a target file size are also available.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert and download the
.m4r, free with no sign-up or watermark, then add it to your iPhone and choose it in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone or as a contact's tone.
Three Extensions, Two Containers
The naming around phone video is confusing, so here is how the extensions relate and which page to use:
| Extension | Container | Phones and apps | Usual audio | Page to use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.3gpp |
3GP (3GPP) | Some Android recorder and messaging apps, older phones | AMR-NB, sometimes AMR-WB or AAC | This page |
.3gp |
3GP (3GPP), same as above | GSM and UMTS feature phones, early smartphones | AMR-NB, AMR-WB or AAC | 3GP to M4R |
.3g2 |
3G2 (3GPP2) | CDMA2000 phones | QCELP, EVRC, AMR or AAC | 3G2 to M4R |
What a Voice Recording Can Become
AMR-NB encodes speech at 4.75 to 12.2 kbps from an 8 kHz signal, which keeps roughly the band a phone call carries. AMR-WB samples at 16 kHz and sounds fuller. Re-encoding to AAC preserves that sound rather than improving it, which suits the material: a spoken message, a laugh or a short phrase is precisely what these codecs were designed for, and it makes a clear, recognisable tone.
| Constant Bitrate | 30-second M4R | 5-second text tone | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 kbps, Mono | about 180 KB | about 30 KB | AMR-NB voice notes |
| 64 kbps, Mono | about 240 KB | about 40 KB | AMR-NB or AMR-WB, a little headroom |
| 96 kbps, Mono | about 360 KB | about 60 KB | AMR-WB with background sound |
| 128 kbps | about 480 KB | about 80 KB | 3GPP files that already hold AAC |
Size in kilobytes is bitrate in kbps times seconds, divided by 8. Leave Audio Sample Rate on Original; resampling 8 kHz audio to 44100 Hz is allowed but adds nothing.
3GPP vs M4R
| Property | 3GPP (source) | M4R (output) |
|---|---|---|
| Container | 3GP, MPEG-4 family | MPEG-4; ffprobe reports major brand M4A |
| Typical content | Voice notes, voicemails, short phone videos | A single ringtone or text tone |
| Video | Optional: H.263, MPEG-4 Part 2 or H.264 | None |
| Audio | AMR-NB, AMR-WB or AAC | AAC-LC |
| Channels | Almost always mono | Original, Mono or Stereo |
| Length | Seconds to minutes | 30 seconds or less, per Apple |
| Works as an iPhone tone | No | Yes |
Setting It Up on the iPhone
On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, connect the iPhone, select it in the Finder sidebar and drag the .m4r onto it; on Windows, use iTunes. The tone should then appear in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone. To do everything on the phone, save the file to Files, import it into GarageBand and use Share > Ringtone, as described in Apple's Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone. Apple's GarageBand guide notes the export can be used as a ringtone or a text tone; to give a contact their own, open Contacts, choose the person, tap Edit and set Ringtone or Text Tone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this page only accept .3gpp files?
Each page matches one extension, and .3gp has its own page. The files are the same format, so if yours ends in .3gp, upload it to 3GP to M4R; if it ends in .3g2, it came from a CDMA phone and the 3G2 page is the right one.
Can I use a voice note as a text tone?
Yes. Apple's GarageBand guide says an exported ringtone can be used as a Standard Ringtone or a Standard Text Tone. A short clip, a few seconds long, works better as a message alert than a 30-second passage, so set a small Duration in Trim.
Why is the M4R bigger than my 3GPP recording?
AMR-NB is extremely compact, about 12 kbps at most, while a clean AAC tone uses 48-64 kbps. Even so, 30 seconds at 64 kbps is only about 240 KB.
Will the conversion make the recording sound clearer?
No. The audio keeps the bandwidth it was recorded with. If a voicemail is quiet or noisy, it will still be quiet or noisy; choose the cleanest few seconds with Trim.
How long can an iPhone ringtone be?
Apple says ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, and its GarageBand for iPhone guide gives 30 seconds as the maximum for exported ringtones. The 40-second figure quoted from the iTunes era is not in Apple's current documentation, so keep Duration at 30 seconds or less.
What if I want a regular audio file, or I use Android?
Use 3GPP to M4A for the whole recording as an AAC music file. Android does not need M4R; its ringtones are usually MP3 or OGG, so pick 3GPP to MP3 instead.
What happens to my recordings?
They are uploaded over an encrypted TLS connection, converted on our servers and deleted automatically after a few hours, along with the M4R. There is no sign-up and no watermark, and nothing is shared or made public.