M4R to AMR Converter

How to Convert M4R to AMR

1. Upload Your M4R Ringtone: Drag your .m4r tones onto the page or click "+ Add Files". Batch upload is supported, so you can prepare a whole set of tones for an older handset in one pass.
2. Choose AMR Narrow Band or Wide Band: In Audio Codec, AMR Narrow Band (AMR-NB, 8 kHz) is the encoding older feature phones and MMS messages were built around. AMR Wide Band (AMR-WB, 16 kHz) sounds clearer but is accepted by fewer old devices.
3. Pick an AMR Mode and Trim: Under Constant Bitrate, choose one of the AMR modes listed for your codec — 4.75 to 12.2 kbps for AMR-NB, 6.60 to 23.85 kbps for AMR-WB. Audio Channel is mono and the sample rate follows the codec. Use Trim to keep just the part of the tone you want.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert and save the .amr. Uploads are encrypted with TLS, processing runs on our servers, and files are deleted automatically a few hours later. No sign-up, no watermark.

An iPhone Ringtone on a Phone That Is Not an iPhone

An M4R is the iPhone's custom-ringtone file: AAC-LC audio in an MPEG-4 container, identical in structure to an M4A, with an extension that tells iOS, the Finder and iTunes the file is a tone. AMR is something else entirely. Adaptive Multi-Rate is the speech codec standardised by 3GPP in 1999 for GSM and UMTS voice calls, and for years it was the audio format of the mobile world outside smartphones: voice recordings, MMS audio clips and, on many feature phones of the 2000s, ringtones.

The reasons to move a tone from M4R to AMR are practical:

• A second phone. You carry a basic or feature phone alongside your iPhone and want the same ringtone on both. Many such handsets list AMR among their supported ringtone or audio formats — check the phone's manual.
• MMS. AMR clips are tiny, so a 30-second tone fits comfortably inside a picture message, even on networks or phones with tight size limits.
• Voice systems. Some telephony, voicemail and announcement systems accept AMR uploads.

If the other phone runs Android, you do not need AMR or M4R at all; Android ringtones are usually MP3 or OGG, so M4R to MP3 is the better route.

What AMR Does to Music

AMR models the human voice. AMR-NB samples at 8 kHz, which limits the audio to below 4 kHz — roughly the band of a landline call. AMR-WB doubles that to 16 kHz, the "HD voice" band, still well short of music quality. Bass, cymbals, reverb and stereo width do not survive. A spoken tone ("Pick up, it's Mum!") or a simple, loud melody comes through fine; a dense pop chorus will sound like it is playing down a phone line. This is the codec working as designed, and converting back later will not undo it.

M4R vs AMR

AMR Modes and 30-Second File Sizes

AMR is constant bitrate, so size depends only on the mode and the length. Figures below include the one-byte header each 20 ms frame carries.

For a ringtone, the highest mode of your chosen codec is almost always worth its few extra kilobytes; the lower modes exist for squeezing long voice recordings.

Getting the Best Ringtone Out of AMR

• Trim to the strongest part. Use Trim here, or Trim M4R to pick the section on a waveform first. Short, loud and simple wins.
• Prefer voice or a clear melody. Speech, whistles and single-line tunes survive AMR far better than full mixes.
• Match the phone. If the handset is from the GSM era, use AMR-NB. Choose AMR-WB only if the phone or system explicitly supports wideband AMR.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my ringtone sound like a phone call after converting?

Because AMR is a phone-call codec. AMR-NB discards everything above about 4 kHz and models the audio as speech, so music loses its brightness and bass. That is inherent to AMR, not a fault in the conversion. If the result must sound like music, AMR is the wrong target.

Should I pick AMR-NB or AMR-WB?

AMR-NB for older feature phones, MMS and anything built before wideband voice was common; it is the variant virtually every AMR decoder supports. AMR-WB sounds clearer and suits devices and systems that advertise wideband or HD voice support. If in doubt, start with AMR-NB at 12.2 kbps.

Why can't I choose stereo or 44.1 kHz?

AMR has no stereo mode and no free choice of sample rate. AMR-NB always runs at 8,000 Hz and AMR-WB at 16,000 Hz, both mono, so the page follows the codec instead of offering settings the encoder cannot honour.

How big will a 30-second AMR ringtone be?

About 48 KB at AMR-NB 12.2 kbps, and about 20 KB at 4.75 kbps. The M4R it came from is typically ten or more times that size.

Can I send the AMR by MMS?

Usually, yes. Carriers and phones set their own MMS size limits, but an AMR ringtone is small enough for most of them. The recipient's phone also has to play AMR; most older handsets and many Android phones do.

Can I use an AMR file as an iPhone ringtone?

No. iPhone custom ringtones are M4R files. If you have an AMR clip you would like on an iPhone, convert it with AMR to M4R — though the audio will keep its phone-call sound, because AMR already removed the rest.

How are my files handled?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically a few hours after processing. The service is free, needs no account and adds no watermark. For other targets from the same ringtone, see the M4R Converter.