WMA to M4R Converter

How to Convert WMA to M4R Online

1. Upload Your WMA File: Drag and drop a .wma track onto the page or click "+ Add Files". Rips from an old Windows Media Player library work, as do WMA Pro, WMA Lossless and WMA Voice files, and you can queue several tracks in one batch.
2. Choose the 30 Seconds with Trim: Open Trim, enter a Start time at the chorus or riff 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 the Bitrate under File Compression: Constant Bitrate gives a fixed rate from 8 to 384 kbps, Variable Bitrate has five AAC bands from 20k-32k up to 96k-112k, Custom Bitrate accepts a typed figure and Specific file size works from a target size. Quality Preset is the hands-off option. The Audio Codec for M4R is always AAC.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the .m4r. Uploads go over HTTPS, the encode runs on our servers and files are deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

Why Old WMA Libraries Need Converting for an iPhone

Windows Media Audio is Microsoft's audio format, introduced in 1999 and stored in Microsoft's Advanced Systems Format (ASF) container. For most of the 2000s it was the format Windows Media Player used when it ripped CDs unless you changed the setting, and music stores of that era sold WMA downloads. Windows Mobile phones could even use WMA files as ringtones. That history is why so many people still have a folder of .wma tracks on an old PC or backup drive, and why a favourite song from that folder is a natural choice for a ringtone.

The iPhone has never accepted WMA. A custom ringtone has to be an .m4r: AAC (AAC-LC) audio in an MPEG-4 container, the same container and codec as an .m4a, with an extension that tells iOS, Finder and iTunes it is a tone. Converting WMA to M4R decodes the Microsoft codec, lets you cut the 30 seconds you want and encodes it as AAC in one pass, so you do not need an editor in between.

There is one hard limit. Tracks bought from WMA stores were often protected with Windows Media DRM, and no converter can decode them; that protection is what DRM is for. Your own CD rips and unprotected WMA files convert normally. If you are not sure whether a track is protected, try converting that one file before queuing a whole folder.

WMA vs M4R: Format Comparison

What to Expect from Each WMA Variant

Size is bitrate × seconds ÷ 8: 256 kbps for 30 seconds is 960 KB, before a small container overhead. A WMA Lossless source gives the cleanest result because the AAC encode is the only lossy step. From a 128 kbps WMA rip, going far above the source rate does not make the ringtone sound better; 128-192 kbps is plenty for a phone speaker.

Setting the Ringtone on Your iPhone

Since your WMA files most likely live on a Windows PC, the simplest route is usually iTunes for Windows: connect the iPhone and add the .m4r to it. On a Mac running macOS Catalina or later, connect the iPhone and drag the file onto it in the Finder sidebar. Or save it to Files on the phone, import it into GarageBand and use Share > Ringtone, the route Apple documents in Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone. The tone then appears in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone (Apple iPhone User Guide); for one caller, open the contact, tap Edit and choose Ringtone or Text Tone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert DRM-protected WMA files?

No. Files locked with Windows Media DRM, typically purchases or subscription downloads from old music stores, cannot be decoded by this or any other converter. Your own CD rips and unprotected WMA files convert without any problem. GarageBand's ringtone route has the same rule: Apple notes that the source must not be DRM-protected.

How long should the ringtone be?

Apple says ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, and GarageBand shortens a longer ringtone automatically when it exports it; the GarageBand for iPhone User Guide gives the same 30-second maximum. You may see 40 seconds quoted in older iTunes-era guides, but that figure is not in Apple's current documentation, so aim for 30 seconds or less.

Will I lose quality converting WMA to AAC?

From WMA Standard or Pro there is a small extra loss, because both formats are lossy and this is a transcode. On a 30-second clip played through a phone it is difficult to hear at 128 kbps or above. From WMA Lossless the AAC encode is the only lossy step.

My WMA track is five minutes long. Do I have to edit it first?

No. Use Trim on this page: set the Start time to where the part you want begins and the Duration to 30 seconds. Only that section is encoded into the M4R. If you would rather pick the section visually, convert the whole track and then use Trim M4R afterwards; it shows the waveform.

Why not just let iTunes for Windows convert the WMA?

iTunes for Windows can convert unprotected WMA files to AAC when you add them to the library, but that gives you a full-length music track, not a ringtone. You would still need to shorten it and change it into a tone. Converting here produces a 30-second .m4r that iTunes treats as a tone straight away.

Is an M4R the same as an M4A?

Inside, yes: AAC in an MPEG-4 container. We write M4R with the same MPEG-4 muxer used for M4A, and ffprobe shows AAC LC in an MP4 file with major brand M4A . The extension is the difference, and it is what makes iOS list the file as a tone. To move a whole WMA library to Apple Music instead, use WMA to M4A.

What about Android?

Android does not use M4R; its ringtones are usually MP3 or OGG files. WMA to MP3 gives you a file any Android phone can set as a ringtone. Going the other way, M4R to WMA turns an iPhone tone into WMA for older Windows software.

Are my files kept private?

Files are uploaded over an encrypted (TLS) connection, converted on our servers and deleted automatically a few hours later. Nothing is shared or made public, and you do not need an account.