Top 10 Quick Fix
Quick Steps
- Check Ringtone Settings: Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone and ensure your custom ringtone is selected.
- File Format and Location: Make sure your custom ringtone is in the correct format (usually .m4r) and is no longer than 30 seconds. Also, it should be located in the
Tonessection of your iTunes library on your computer and synced to your iPhone. - Ring/Silent Switch: Check the ring/silent switch on the side of your iPhone to ensure it’s not set to silent (iPhone 15 & Later – Open the Control Center by swiping from the top right corner, then tap the bell icon to turn on ring mode.).
- Volume Level: Make sure your iPhone’s volume is turned up. You can adjust it with the volume buttons or via Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
- Focus or Do Not Disturb: If the “Do Not Disturb” mode is enabled, your iPhone won’t ring. Check this in Settings or look for the moon icon in the status bar.
- Re-sync with Finder/iTunes: Connect your iPhone to your Mac/computer, open iTunes, and sync your device again to ensure the ringtone is properly transferred (Explained step by step in this article.).
- Check for Issues with the Sound File: Play the ringtone on your computer to ensure that the file itself isn’t corrupted.
- Software Update: Ensure your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check for updates.
- Reset Settings: As a last resort, you can go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. This won’t delete your data but will reset settings like your wallpaper, alarms, and ringtone selections.
In recent days, many users have encountered custom ringtones not working, especially after updating iPhones to the latest iOS version. Some users found that their ringtones changed to the default when receiving calls, and some found that their iPhone was not alerting. This could be due to various reasons, bugs within the firmware, corrupted OS version, etc. Whatever the reasons are, here are troubleshooting tips to fix purchased/custom iPhone ringtones not working after updating the iOS version.
If your custom iPhone ringtone isn’t working, you can try the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:
If you’ve tried all the above steps and your custom ringtone still isn’t working, there may be a more complex issue at play, and you might want to contact Apple Support for further assistance.
Solution #1. How to set a custom ringtone on an iPhone
Before proceeding to the troubleshooting tips, ensure you have performed accurate steps to set a custom ringtone on your iPhone. However, the procedure for this varies on the way used to set custom ringtones on iPhone. In the steps below, we have covered how to set a custom ringtone on an iPhone using the Garage Band app and Mac.
Steps to Set Custom Ringtone Using Mac
Step 1: First of all, Connect the iPhone to your Mac using the Original cable > Open the Music App on your Mac.
Step 2: Select your iPhone name from the left pane of the Music app. If it’s your first time connecting your phone, click the Accept Trust pop-up from the finder menu.
Step 3: Next, Open Safari or its alternative browser on your Mac and download the desired ringtone in the m4r format. For instance, here in this procedure, we are going to use “Free m4r ringtones download for iPhone.” There, you will see a set of ringtones with mr4 format.
Step 4: Once you get the Desired Ringtone, Click on the Download m4r ringtone for iPhone.
Step 5: After this, Open the music app on your Mac and then Drag and Drop the music to the music app > Access Settings App on your iPhone > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone Settings > In the next screen, you’ll see added ringtones. Select the ringtone from there and configure it as a ringtone on your iPhone.
Steps to Set a Custom Ringtone on Your iPhone Using Garage Band
– To understand the steps better, please watch the video.
- Open the Garage Band app on your iPhone. It will be opened in landscape mode, so arrange your device first.
- Slide your iPhone screen left until you capture the Audio Recorder Option, or tap on the Plus Button at the top right corner and tap on Audio Recorder.
- Before proceeding to work with ringtones, you must first configure the duration for creating the ringtone on an iPhone. For this, tap on the Plus Icon located at the top right side; over there, you will capture time duration as 8 bars by default; Hit on the arrow to hinder the length incrementally, or swipe in a vertical direction to change by larger values. Customize it from 8 to 30 seconds, let the automatic toggle be turned off, and hit on the Done option.
- Next, hit on the third icon from the left upper side, and it will flip to audio icon and start working with the song. Ensure you downloaded the music from Safari or its alternative browser. If not, head to the Safari browser and download the ringtone right from the third-party website showing on the screen. Tap on the Download mp3; the downloaded song will be saved in the Safari downloads folders.
- Now, access the Files app, and you can see your mp3 visible in the download section.
- After this, head to the Garage Band app screen and hit on the second last icon from the upper right corner. Here, you will also see songs available to add as ringtones, but I want to manually add pieces from the files Tab.
- Select Files and click on the option “Browse items from the files app.
- After this, select the Down Arrow Icon at the left top of the screen and choose My Songs.
- The song you’ve created will appear in GarageBand’s recent list. Long-press on it to prompt more options. Select Share Button. Right in this step, choose “Ringtone” to export the ringtone. Further, you can modify the name of your song and then tap on the export button. This procedure will take a bit to export your ringtone and successfully show a pop-up with a Ringtone Export. So, hit on the OK button.
- Next, head to the Settings App > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone > You’ll see created ringtone over there. Pick up the ringtone play and configure it as your iPhone’s ringtone.
Solution #2. Restart your iPhone
First and foremost solution you must give a try whenever various issues occur, including this, is to restart your iPhone. However, the procedure for this is different: iPhone with Home Button and iPhone with Face ID. Fuss not; we’ve covered both.
iPhone with Face ID: Press either the volume buttons and side key simultaneously until you see the Power Off Screen. Drag the power off slider and let your device turn off. Wait for 30 seconds, press and hold the side key to switch on the device.
iPhone with Home Button: Press and hold the Side Key until you see the Power Off screen. Drag the power off slider and let your device turn off. Wait for 30 seconds, press and hold the side key to switch on the device.
Solution #3. Force Restart iPhone
If a normal restart doesn’t work for you at this point, then you must try, as it can fix the persistent bugs causing the custom ringtone not to work on the iPhone. To do so, follow the steps below.
- Press and immediately let out the Volume High Button.
- Press and immediately let out the Volume Low Button.
- Press and hold the Side Button.
- When the Apple logo appears, let out the Side Button.
Solution #4. Check Silent Button
When you receive a call, if the iPhone vibrates or only the screen is blinking, then you can check the Silent Key. Enable the ring, and you’ll see the ringer on your iPhone home screen.
Mute Button iPhone,
Action Button iPhone
Solution #5. Contact Apple Support
If none of the solutions above yet worked for you, then it’s high time to Contact the Apple Support Team. That’s because they are a dedicated team of experts who can help you to diagnose the cause behind the issue and accordingly offer you a solution.
Final Verdict!
That’s it, folks! This is how you can fix purchased or custom ringtones not working on iPhone running the latest iOS version. Further, if you’ve any solution not mentioned in this guide, please drop it in the comment box below.
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