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Need help?How to Re-encode an M4R Ringtone Online
- Upload your M4R: Drag one or more
.m4rringtones onto the page or click the upload button. Batch upload is supported, so a set of tones can be brought to the same settings in one pass. - Trim to the part you want: Under Trim set a start time and a Duration, in seconds or HH:MM:SS.sss. A note under Duration points out Apple's guidance that iPhone ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, so keep Duration at 30 seconds or less.
- Set the size and sound: Audio Codec is AAC, the only codec for M4R. Under File Compression pick a Quality Preset (Highest down to Lowest), a Constant Bitrate from 8 to 384 kbps, one of five AAC Variable Bitrate bands (20k-32k up to 96k-112k), a Custom Bitrate in kbps, or a specific target file size. Audio Channel offers Original, Mono or Stereo, and Audio Sample Rate offers Original or 8000 to 48000 Hz.
- Convert, download and install: Click Convert and download the new
.m4r. Files are uploaded over TLS, processed on xconvert's servers and deleted automatically after a few hours. Then copy the tone to your iPhone as described below.
Why Re-encode an M4R as M4R?
The extension stays the same, but the audio inside is decoded and encoded again with the settings you choose. That is useful when a ringtone is right in principle but wrong in detail:
- Shorten a tone that is too long. Apple's documentation says ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long. Trim cuts a longer tone down to a section that fits.
- Pick a different section. Move the start time to the chorus or the hook instead of the first seconds of the track.
- Shrink the file. A lower bitrate or a Mono version makes a smaller tone; a phone speaker rarely reveals the difference.
- Standardise a batch. Give a folder of tones from different apps the same bitrate, sample rate and channel layout.
- Get a clean, standard file. xconvert writes M4R with ffmpeg's
ipodMPEG-4 muxer, and ffprobe shows AAC LC audio in an MP4 file with the major brandM4A. If a tone made by another app will not import, a re-encoded copy is worth trying.
For trimming on a waveform instead of typing times, Trim M4R shows the audio and keeps the selection you mark; to hit a target size quickly, Compress M4R is built for that.
Getting the Ringtone onto Your iPhone
- From a Mac: connect the iPhone, select it in the Finder sidebar (macOS Catalina or later) and drag the
.m4ronto it. On Windows, iTunes does the same job. - On the iPhone itself: save the file to Files, import it into GarageBand and use Share > Ringtone, the route Apple documents in Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone. The source must not be DRM-protected.
- Choose it: open Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone, as described in the iPhone User Guide. For a single person, open Contacts, pick the contact, tap Edit and set Ringtone or Text Tone.
M4R, M4A and MP3 as a Ringtone
| Property | M4R | M4A | MP3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codec | AAC (AAC-LC) | AAC, sometimes ALAC | MP3 |
| iPhone Ringtone list | Yes | Not as is; convert to M4R or use GarageBand | Not as is; convert to M4R or use GarageBand |
| Android ringtone | Not a format Android expects | Plays; less common | One of the usual choices |
| Apple's length guidance | Up to 30 seconds | Not a ringtone format | Not a ringtone format |
AAC Bitrate and Size for a 30-Second Ringtone
Size follows bitrate: kbps × seconds ÷ 8 = kilobytes.
| Setting | 30-second M4R | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Variable Bitrate 20k-32k | ~75-120 KB | Beeps and voice alerts, mono |
| Variable Bitrate 48k-56k | ~180-210 KB | Speech and simple tones |
| Variable Bitrate 96k-112k | ~360-420 KB | Music in stereo |
| Constant Bitrate 128 kbps | ~480 KB | Music with some headroom |
| Constant Bitrate 192 kbps | ~720 KB | Staying close to a high-quality source |
| Constant Bitrate 256 kbps | ~960 KB | Matching a source encoded at 256 kbps |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why would I convert an M4R to M4R?
To change what is inside without changing the file type: a shorter section, a smaller file, mono instead of stereo, a different sample rate, or a consistent set of tones. The result is still an iPhone ringtone.
How long can an iPhone ringtone be?
Apple's support article says ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, and the GarageBand for iPhone User Guide gives 30 seconds as the maximum length for exported ringtones; GarageBand shortens a longer ringtone automatically. A 40-second limit is widely quoted from the iTunes era, but it is not in Apple's current documentation, so 30 seconds is the length to aim for.
Why doesn't my ringtone show up in Settings?
Check the usual causes: the file is longer than Apple's 30 seconds, it has a different extension than .m4r, it was not actually copied to the iPhone, or it is copy-protected. Trimming to 30 seconds or less and re-encoding here addresses the first two; protected files cannot be converted.
Will re-encoding reduce the quality?
Slightly, because the AAC is decoded and encoded again. At or above the ringtone's own bitrate the difference is very hard to hear on a phone. If you still have the original song, making a fresh tone from it with Audio to M4R avoids the extra generation.
Can the same file be used as a text tone?
Apple's GarageBand guide says an exported ringtone can be used as a Standard Ringtone or a Standard Text Tone. Custom tones you add usually appear in the tone lists in Settings > Sounds & Haptics and in each contact's Ringtone and Text Tone fields.
Should I choose Mono or Stereo?
With a fixed bitrate, Mono does not shrink the file by itself, but it lets you choose a lower bitrate at the same perceived quality. Mono is a reasonable choice when size matters and the tone does not rely on stereo effects.
What happens to my files?
They are uploaded over TLS (HTTPS), processed on xconvert's servers and deleted automatically after a few hours. Free, no sign-up, no watermark. For other formats, see the M4R converter.