AIFC to M4R Converter

How to Convert AIFC to M4R Online

1. Upload Your AIFC File: Drag and drop the .aifc file onto the page or click "+ Add Files". Uncompressed PCM, IMA4, µ-law and A-law payloads are all decoded on our servers, and several files can be converted together.
2. Trim to Ringtone Length: Open Trim, enter the Start time of the part you want and a Duration of 30 seconds or less, in seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss. The note under Duration repeats Apple's 30-second guidance for iPhone ringtones.
3. Set a Bitrate That Fits the Payload: Under File Compression, choose Constant Bitrate (8 to 384 kbps), one of five Variable Bitrate AAC bands (20k-32k up to 96k-112k), Custom Bitrate, or Specific file size; Quality Preset is the hands-off option. Uncompressed PCM deserves 192-256 kbps, while µ-law or IMA4 audio needs far less, as the table below shows.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the .m4r. Uploads use HTTPS, encoding runs on our servers and files are deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

What Is Inside an AIFC File?

AIFC, or AIFF-C, is Apple's 1991 extension of the AIFF format. The "C" stands for compression: an AIFF-C file names its codec in a four-character code in the COMM chunk, so the same .aifc extension can hold very different audio. That code matters more than the extension when you turn the file into a ringtone, because it decides how good the result can possibly sound.

• NONE, sowt, fl32, fl64: uncompressed. NONE is ordinary big-endian PCM, sowt is little-endian PCM, and fl32/fl64 are floating-point samples. Some Mac software writes AIFF-C for audio that is not compressed at all, so many .aifc files are as clean as a regular AIFF.
• ima4: Apple's IMA ADPCM, a 4:1 compression used by QuickTime-era Mac software, games and multimedia discs. It is lossy, with a slightly gritty high end.
• ulaw, alaw: G.711 telephone companding, usually at 8 kHz. These sound like a phone line, because that is what they were designed for.
• MAC3, MAC6: MACE, very early Macintosh compression with low fidelity.

The iPhone accepts none of them as a ringtone. A custom tone must be an .m4r file: AAC (AAC-LC) audio in an MPEG-4 container, the same container and codec as an .m4a, with the extension that tells iOS, Finder and iTunes it is a tone. This page decodes the AIFC whichever code it carries and encodes fresh AAC.

To find out which code you have, run ffprobe file.aifc and read the codec name: pcm_s16be or pcm_s16le means uncompressed PCM, pcm_f32be means float, adpcm_ima_qt is IMA4, pcm_mulaw and pcm_alaw are the telephone codecs, and mace3/mace6 are MACE. A file that is far smaller than 10 MB per stereo minute at 44.1 kHz is almost certainly compressed.

AIFC vs M4R: Format Comparison

Settings by AIFC Payload

Size is bitrate × seconds ÷ 8, so 160 kbps for 30 seconds is 600 KB. A high bitrate cannot restore what IMA4, µ-law or MACE removed; it just records those artefacts more faithfully in a larger file. Matching the bitrate to the payload keeps the tone small without any audible cost.

Setting the Ringtone on Your iPhone

The usual ways to get the .m4r onto the phone: connect the iPhone to a Mac and drag the file onto the iPhone in the Finder sidebar (macOS Catalina or later), or use iTunes on Windows. On the phone alone, save the file to Files, import it into GarageBand and use Share > Ringtone, Apple's documented route (Apple Support). Then choose it under Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone (Apple iPhone User Guide), or for one caller in Contacts via Edit > Ringtone or Text Tone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know whether my AIFC is compressed?

Run ffprobe on it, or check the codec information in VLC or Audacity. PCM codec names mean uncompressed audio; adpcm_ima_qt, pcm_mulaw, pcm_alaw and mace names mean a lossy codec. The file size is a quick clue: uncompressed 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo audio takes about 10 MB per minute.

Will the ringtone sound better than the AIFC?

No conversion adds detail. From uncompressed AIFC you get a clean single AAC encode that is very hard to tell from the source. From IMA4, µ-law or MACE you get a faithful copy of audio that was already compromised, with a small extra loss on top.

Is AIFC the same as AIFF?

AIFF-C is a superset of AIFF: it adds the compression code and a few chunks. An uncompressed AIFC is effectively an AIFF with a different header, which is why AIFF to M4R and this page produce the same result from the same PCM audio.

How long can an iPhone ringtone be?

Apple says ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, and GarageBand shortens a longer ringtone automatically when exporting. The GarageBand for iPhone User Guide states the same 30-second maximum for exported ringtones, so set Duration to 30 seconds or less.

Should I keep the original sample rate?

Yes, in most cases. Leave Audio Sample Rate on Original. For 8 kHz µ-law audio you can choose 44100 Hz if you prefer a conventional rate, but resampling does not add any of the treble the telephone codec removed.

Is an M4R different from an M4A?

Not in its audio: both are AAC in an MPEG-4 container. We write M4R with the same MPEG-4 muxer as M4A, and ffprobe reports AAC LC in an MP4 file with major brand M4A . Only the extension tells iOS the file is a tone. For a regular listening copy, use AIFC to M4A.

Can I convert the ringtone back to AIFC?

Yes, with M4R to AIFC. The AAC loss stays in the file, so keep your original AIFC if you need it for editing. Android users do not need M4R at all, since Android ringtones are usually MP3 or OGG; AIFC to MP3 suits them better.

Are my files kept private?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, processed on our servers and deleted automatically a few hours later. They are never shared or made public, and no account is needed.