How to Set Up a Custom Ringtone on an iPhone

While the iPhone comes pre-loaded with dozens of default ringtones—including the iconic “Reflection” and the classic “Marimba”—hearing the exact same tone ring in a crowded coffee shop often causes five different people to check their pockets simultaneously.

Setting a custom ringtone is the best way to distinguish your phone from everyone else’s. While you used to have to connect your iPhone to a computer and wrestle with iTunes to sync custom audio files, Apple now allows you to purchase and apply custom ringtones directly on the device itself.

How to Buy a Custom Ringtone

The easiest and safest way to get a custom ringtone (whether it is a pop song, a sound effect from a movie, or a retro video game chime) is through the official iTunes Store.

1. Open the iTunes Store app on your iPhone (it is a purple icon with a white musical star).
2. Tap the More tab in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and then tap Tones.
3. You can now browse the store for specific songs, movie quotes, or sound effects. You can tap on the album artwork of any tone to listen to a 30-second preview.
4. When you find a tone you want, tap the price button (most ringtones cost $1.29 or £0.99).
5. A pop-up menu will instantly appear asking what you want to do with the audio file.
6. Tap Set as Default Ringtone.
7. Confirm the purchase using Face ID, Touch ID, or your Apple Account password.

The ringtone will download directly to your phone and instantly apply itself to all incoming phone calls.

How to Change Your Existing Ringtone

If you have already purchased several ringtones in the past and want to switch between them, or if you want to revert back to one of Apple’s default system sounds, you can do this from the main Settings app.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on Sounds & Haptics.
3. Scroll down to the “Sounds and Haptic Patterns” section and tap on Ringtone.
4. The very top section of this page will list all the custom tones you have purchased from the iTunes Store, separated by a dark grey line from the built-in system tones below.
5. Simply tap on any tone in the list to preview it and set it as your active ringtone. A blue checkmark will appear next to your selection.

How to Assign a Ringtone to a Specific Person

If you want to know exactly who is calling you before you even look at the screen, you can assign a unique custom ringtone to a specific contact (such as assigning a romantic song to your spouse, or an urgent alarm sound to your boss).

1. Open the Contacts app (or the Phone app, and tap the Contacts tab).
2. Tap on the name of the person you want to customize.
3. In the top-right corner of their contact card, tap Edit.
4. Scroll down and tap on Ringtone (which usually says “Default” next to it).
5. Select the custom tone you want to hear when this specific person calls you.
6. Tap Done in the top-right corner, and then tap Done again to save the contact card.