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Need help?HEVC to M4R: First Check That Your File Has Sound
HEVC, also called H.265 or High Efficiency Video Coding, is a video codec. It defines how pictures are compressed and says nothing about audio. That matters for a ringtone, because a true .hevc file is usually a bare elementary stream, the raw H.265 video exported by an encoder, a stream-dumping tool or some security-camera recorders, with no audio track inside. If your file is one of those, there is nothing to make a ringtone from, and no setting can change that. The audio you want is in the original MP4, MOV or MKV the video came from, and that is the file to upload.
The good news is that most H.265 video people actually own is in a container with sound. An iPhone set to Settings > Camera > Formats > High Efficiency records HEVC video into a .mov with an audio track, and this page accepts .mov, .mp4, .m4v and .mkv as well as .hevc. A .hevc made by XConvert's own HEVC converters is also really a Matroska file that keeps the source audio, so it converts normally. When there is audio, this converter decodes it, re-encodes it to AAC and writes an .m4r, the file type the iPhone uses for custom ringtones: AAC in an MPEG-4 container, with an extension that tells iOS it is a tone. The video is dropped, and Trim keeps the clip to 30 seconds or less, the length Apple gives for ringtones.
How to Convert HEVC to M4R
- Upload Your HEVC Video: Drag the
.hevc,.mov,.mp4,.m4vor.mkvonto the page, or click "Add Files". Batch upload works on a computer and in mobile browsers. - Set the Clip with Trim: In 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. - Choose the AAC Bitrate (Optional): Audio Codec is AAC, the only codec for M4R. Under File Compression pick Constant Bitrate (8-384 kbps), Variable Bitrate, Custom Bitrate or a target file size; Audio Channel and Audio Sample Rate can stay on Original.
- Convert and Download: Click Convert and save the
.m4r, free with no sign-up or watermark. Copy it to your iPhone and select it in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone.
What Your H.265 File Really Is
| What you have | What is inside | Audio for a ringtone? |
|---|---|---|
A raw .hevc or .h265 elementary stream |
H.265 video frames only | No, there is no audio track |
A .hevc made by XConvert's HEVC converters |
A Matroska container with video and the source audio | Yes |
| An iPhone video shot in High Efficiency | A .mov with HEVC video and an audio track |
Yes, upload the .mov |
| An MP4 or M4V with H.265 video | MPEG-4 container, usually with AAC audio | Yes |
| An MKV with H.265 video | Matroska, with AAC, AC-3, E-AC-3, Opus or other audio | Yes |
Not sure which you have? MediaInfo, ffprobe, or VLC's Tools > Codec Information list every stream in the file. If only a video stream appears, find the original recording. You can also play the file: a .hevc that opens in a player with no sound at all is almost certainly a bare stream.
HEVC Video vs M4R
| Property | HEVC source | M4R (output) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A video codec, in a raw stream or a container | An audio file: MPEG-4 with major brand M4A |
| Video | H.265 | None, the video is dropped |
| Audio | Only if a container carries it: usually AAC, sometimes AC-3, Opus or PCM | AAC-LC |
| Typical source | iPhone .mov, MP4 and MKV files, encoder output |
iPhone ringtones and text tones |
| Length | Anything | 30 seconds or less, per Apple |
| Works as an iPhone ringtone | No | Yes |
Bitrate and Size for the Tone
Size is bitrate in kbps times seconds, divided by 8, in kilobytes. Thirty seconds of AAC at Constant Bitrate comes to:
| Constant Bitrate | 30-second M4R | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 96 kbps | about 360 KB | Speech and voices |
| 128 kbps | about 480 KB | Most clips from phone video |
| 192 kbps | about 720 KB | Music recorded at a concert or event |
| 256 kbps | about 960 KB | The top of what a phone speaker can show |
Audio in an iPhone or MP4 video is usually already AAC, so pick a rate at or a little above the source rather than the highest figure on the ladder; the conversion re-encodes the audio, and extra bits cannot recover detail the first encode removed. Variable Bitrate, with five AAC bands from 20k-32k up to 96k-112k, is there if you prefer to name a quality band.
Getting the M4R Onto Your iPhone
On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, connect the iPhone, select it in the Finder sidebar and drag the .m4r onto it, or use iTunes on Windows; the tone should then appear in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone. Without a computer, save the file to Files, import it into GarageBand on the iPhone and use Share > Ringtone, the route Apple documents in Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone. For a single caller, use Contacts > the person > Edit > Ringtone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I get a ringtone from my .hevc file?
Because a genuine .hevc is a raw H.265 video stream, and the HEVC standard covers only video. If the file has no audio track, there is nothing to turn into a ringtone. Go back to the MP4, MOV or MKV the video was extracted from and convert that; for iPhone videos, MOV to M4R or this page with the .mov both work.
Can I upload my iPhone video directly?
Yes. iPhones save HEVC video as .mov files with an audio track, and this page accepts .mov, .mp4, .m4v and .mkv alongside .hevc. For MP4 files there is also MP4 to M4R.
How do I check whether a file has audio?
Open it in MediaInfo, run ffprobe on it, or use VLC's Tools > Codec Information. Each lists the streams in the file; you need at least one audio stream. A file that plays silently in every player is a strong sign there is none.
Will extracting the audio lose quality?
A little, in theory. The soundtrack in an H.265 video is usually AAC already, and the conversion decodes it and writes a fresh AAC stream so that Trim and the bitrate controls work. Choose a bitrate at or slightly above the source and the difference will not be audible through a phone speaker.
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 length for exported ringtones. A 40-second figure from the iTunes era still circulates, but it is not in Apple's current documentation; keep Duration at 30 seconds or less.
Is an M4R the same as an M4A?
Nearly. Both are AAC-LC audio in an MPEG-4 container, written here with ffmpeg's ipod muxer; only the .m4r extension tells iOS, the Finder and iTunes that the file is a ringtone. For the whole soundtrack as a music file, use HEVC to M4A.
Do I need M4R for an Android phone?
No. Android ringtones are usually MP3 or OGG, so use HEVC to MP3 with the same Trim settings.
What happens to my files?
They are uploaded over an encrypted TLS connection, converted on our servers and deleted automatically after a few hours, together with the M4R. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Other sources for iPhone tones are on the M4R converter hub.