How to Set Custom Ringtones and Notification Sounds on Your Phone

Published 2026-10-16 · Marion Phone Repair

You hear the same default ringtone every time someone calls, and every notification sounds identical — you cannot tell if it is a text, an email, or a social media alert without looking at the screen. Customizing your ringtone and notification sounds lets you identify who is calling and what type of alert arrived by sound alone, and it prevents the embarrassment of six people in a room reaching for their phones when one rings.

Set a custom ringtone on Android

Using built-in sounds

1. Go to Settings, Sound and vibration (or Sound)
2. Tap Phone ringtone
3. Browse the list of pre-installed ringtones. Tap any ringtone to preview it
4. Tap the one you want and confirm. On Samsung phones, tap the Back button or Save to apply

Using your own audio file

Android lets you use any audio file (MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG) as a ringtone:

1. Transfer the audio file to your phone. You can download it directly, transfer via USB from a computer, or use a cloud service like Google Drive
2. Go to Settings, Sound, Phone ringtone
3. Tap Add ringtone or the plus icon (on Samsung, tap the + at the top of the ringtone list)
4. Browse to the audio file on your phone and select it
5. The file is now in your ringtone list. Select it and confirm

Alternatively, use a file manager to move the audio file to the Ringtones folder in your phone's internal storage. Files placed in this folder automatically appear in the ringtone picker without needing to add them manually.

Set a ringtone for a specific contact

1. Open the Contacts app and find the person you want a unique ringtone for
2. Tap Edit (pencil icon)
3. Look for Ringtone or scroll to the bottom of the contact details. On Samsung, tap View more then Ringtone
4. Select a ringtone. Now when that specific person calls, you hear their unique ringtone instead of the default

Set a custom ringtone on iPhone

Using built-in tones

1. Go to Settings, Sounds and Haptics
2. Tap Ringtone
3. Browse and tap any tone to preview it. The currently selected ringtone has a checkmark
4. Tap the one you want — it is applied immediately

Using custom tones from iTunes Store

1. In the Sounds and Haptics screen, tap Ringtone, then tap Tone Store at the top
2. This opens the iTunes Store where you can purchase ringtones. Purchased tones appear in your ringtone list automatically

Creating a custom ringtone from a song

iPhone does not let you simply select an MP3 as a ringtone. You need to create a ringtone file using GarageBand (free on iPhone) or a computer:

GarageBand method (no computer needed):

1. Open GarageBand on your iPhone (download free from App Store if not installed)
2. Create a new project with any instrument
3. Tap the loop icon (top right), then Files, and browse to your audio file
4. Drag the audio file onto the timeline. Trim it to 30 seconds or less (the maximum ringtone length on iPhone)
5. Tap the down arrow or My Songs, long-press your project, and select Share, then Ringtone
6. Name it and tap Export. The tone is now available in Settings, Sounds and Haptics, Ringtone

Set a ringtone for a specific contact on iPhone

1. Open the Contacts app and select the person
2. Tap Edit in the top right
3. Tap Ringtone and select a different tone
4. Tap Done to save

Change notification sounds

Android

Android lets you set different notification sounds globally and per-app:

• Global default: Settings, Sound, Default notification sound. This is the sound used by any app that does not have its own notification sound set
• Per-app sounds: Settings, Apps, select the app, Notifications. Many apps have multiple notification categories (for example, Messages might have categories for conversations, group messages, and incoming calls) that can each have a different sound. Tap a category and select Sound to change it
• Text messages: Open your Messages app, tap the three-dot menu, Settings, Notifications, Sound. On Samsung, it is in the Messages app settings under Notification categories

iPhone

iPhone has separate sound settings for different notification types:

1. Go to Settings, Sounds and Haptics
2. Under Sounds and Vibration Patterns, you see separate entries for: Ringtone, Text Tone, New Voicemail, New Mail, Sent Mail, Calendar Alerts, and Reminder Alerts
3. Tap each one to set a different sound. Text Tone is the most commonly customized one since you hear it most often

For per-contact text tones on iPhone: open Contacts, select the person, tap Edit, tap Text Tone, and choose a unique sound.

Use different sounds for different apps

Setting different notification sounds for different apps is one of the most useful things you can do with notification sounds — you know instantly whether to check your phone:

• Email: A subtle, quiet sound — emails rarely need immediate attention
• Text messages: A distinct, recognizable sound — texts are usually time-sensitive
• Social media: A different sound per app, or the same quiet sound for all of them. Most social media apps (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat) have notification sound settings in their own settings menus
• Calendar: A unique alert sound — calendar reminders are things you need to act on

Vibration patterns

Both Android and iPhone let you customize vibration patterns in addition to sounds:

• Android: Settings, Sound, Vibration, and some phones let you create custom vibration patterns. Samsung phones allow different vibration patterns per notification category
• iPhone: In Sounds and Haptics, tap any sound category (like Ringtone), then tap Vibration at the top. You can choose from preset patterns or tap Create New Vibration to tap a custom rhythm on the screen

Custom vibration patterns are especially useful when your phone is on silent — you can tell who is calling by the vibration alone.

Troubleshooting sound issues

• No sound at all: Check that the phone is not on silent or Do Not Disturb mode. On iPhone, check the physical mute switch on the side. On Android, check the volume — notification volume and ringtone volume are sometimes separate sliders
• Custom ringtone disappeared: If you set a custom ringtone from a file and it reverted to default, the original audio file may have been deleted or moved. The ringtone is a reference to the file, not a copy — if the file is gone, the phone falls back to default
• Sound plays but very quiet: Ringtone volume is separate from media volume on both Android and iPhone. Press the volume buttons while not playing any media to adjust the ringtone volume, or go to Settings, Sound, and adjust the Ringtone slider specifically

Ringtone and sound help in Marion

If you cannot get custom ringtones or notification sounds working on your phone after following these steps, Marion Phone Repair can help set up your sounds, transfer audio files, create custom ringtones, and configure per-contact and per-app notification sounds.