How to Make a Ringtone From YouTube on Android & iPhone

How long should a ringtone be?

Aim for 20 to 30 seconds, and stay under 30 seconds if the ringtone is for an iPhone.

• iPhone: the iOS 26 "Use as Ringtone" option only appears for audio files shorter than 30 seconds, and GarageBand's ringtone export has the same 30-second cap (it offers to shorten anything longer).
• Android: there's no hard limit on the file, but a call typically rings for well under 30 seconds before it goes to voicemail, so anything beyond that is never heard.

A one-second fade out at the end stops the tone from cutting off mid-note when the phone stops ringing. A fade in isn't usually wanted on a ringtone, since you want it audible immediately.

Step A: Cut the section with TubeMixLab

1. Open the YouTube audio cutter and paste the video's link. TubeMixLab loads the title, thumbnail and a waveform of the whole track.
2. Find the section. Click "Watch video" to open the embedded player and listen for the moment you want, or click in the waveform to move the playhead. The loud parts of a song, like a chorus, are visible as taller bars in the waveform, which makes a good starting point.
3. Set the start and end. Drag the In and Out handles, or type exact timestamps into the In and Out fields, for example 0:45 and 1:10. The Length field shows the result; keep it under 0:30 for iPhone.
4. Add a fade out. Type 1 into the Fade out field. Leave Fade in at 0.
5. Export. Click Export Clip. The progress bar runs for a few seconds, then a result row appears with a play button and a Download MP3 button. Listen to it once in the page before downloading.

The quality toggle defaults to 320 kbps. A 25-second clip is under 1 MB at that setting, so there's no reason to drop to 128 for a ringtone.

Step B: Set it as your ringtone

TubeMixLab doesn't install anything on your phone; it just gives you the MP3. Setting it as a ringtone is done with the phone's own tools, and the exact path differs by device.

Android (any phone) with Files by Google

1. Open Files by Google. If you downloaded the MP3 in Chrome, it's under Downloads, or under the Audio category.
2. Open the file, then tap More (three dots) and choose Set as ringtone.
3. If asked, tap Continue and turn on Allow modify system settings for Files. Android requires this permission for any app that changes the ringtone.

This is the method Google documents in its Files by Google help, and it works on most Android phones regardless of manufacturer.

Samsung Galaxy

1. Open Settings › Sounds and vibration › Ringtone.
2. Tap the + (Add) button and pick the MP3. If it isn't listed under Tracks, switch to the Folders tab and open Download.
3. Leave Play selected highlights only off, so the ringtone plays from the start of your cut rather than from a section Samsung picks.
4. Tap Done.

Samsung's own steps are on its ringtone support page. It also notes that the file has to be stored on the phone; a track that only exists in a streaming app can't be used.

Google Pixel and other stock-Android phones

Go to Settings › Sound & vibration › Ringtone. On recent Pixels the picker also offers an option to add your own sound file, which opens a file picker where you can choose the MP3 from Downloads. Google's Pixel sound settings help also describes the older route of copying the MP3 into the phone's Ringtones folder from a computer over USB, after which it appears in the same list. If neither applies to your phone, the Files by Google method above works everywhere.

iPhone on iOS 26

1. Download the MP3 in Safari. It lands in the Files app under Downloads (inside iCloud Drive or On My iPhone, depending on your Safari download setting).
2. In Files, touch and hold the MP3, tap Share, and choose Use as Ringtone.
3. iOS switches to the ringtone list with the new tone selected. You can also find it later under Settings › Sounds & Haptics › Ringtone.

This option was added in iOS 26 and accepts MP3 and M4A files under 30 seconds. If you don't see "Use as Ringtone", check the length first, then that the file is actually downloaded to the phone rather than only listed in iCloud, and that iOS is up to date.

iPhone on iOS 18 or earlier (GarageBand)

Older iOS versions have no way to set a plain audio file as a ringtone, so the free GarageBand app does the conversion:

1. Install GarageBand from the App Store and create a new Audio Recorder project.
2. Open the Tracks view, tap the Loops Browser, choose Files, and pick your MP3 from the Files app. Drag it onto a track.
3. Drag the clip all the way to the left so there's no silence at the start. Since you already cut it to under 30 seconds in TubeMixLab, no further trimming is needed.
4. Go to My Songs, touch and hold the project, tap Share › Ringtone, name it and tap Export.
5. Choose whether to use it as your standard ringtone, a text tone, or assign it to a contact.

Apple's step-by-step version, with screenshots, is in Create a custom ringtone on your iPhone.

Android vs iPhone at a glance

File format: is MP3 fine?

TubeMixLab exports MP3, and that's the right format for this job. Android accepts MP3 ringtones directly. iOS 26 accepts MP3 through the Files app method above. The only case that needs a different format is an iPhone on an older iOS, where ringtones must be .m4r files, and GarageBand produces that from your MP3 as part of its export. You never have to convert the file by hand.

Why not convert the whole song?

Because a ringtone always plays from the start of the file. A 3–5 minute MP3 set as a ringtone plays the intro every time, and the chorus you actually wanted never arrives before the call is missed. Samsung's "highlights" toggle tries to guess a good section; it's still a guess.

Cutting first also means the file is tiny, iPhone's 30-second rule is met without touching GarageBand's editor, and you can hear exactly what the ringtone will sound like using the play button in the cutter before you download it. If you do want the full track as well, the YouTube to MP3 converter handles that separately.

Common problems

• "Use as Ringtone" isn't in the iPhone share sheet. The file is 30 seconds or longer, or it's not stored locally. Re-cut it shorter in TubeMixLab, and if the file lives in iCloud Drive, tap it once to download it to the phone first.
• The MP3 isn't listed in Android's ringtone picker. Some pickers only show files in the Ringtones or Music folders. Use the Folders tab (Samsung), or use Files by Google's "Set as ringtone", which works from Downloads.
• The ringtone starts in the wrong place. Go back to the cutter, move the In handle, and export again. On Samsung, also make sure "Play selected highlights only" is off.
• It's too quiet. The cutter's volume slider goes up to 100%, so it can't boost a quiet source. Pick a louder section of the track instead, and check the phone's ringer volume.
• I want it for one contact only. Android: open the contact, tap More or Edit, and choose the ringtone option. iPhone: open the contact, tap Edit, then Ringtone. Both use the same tone you added above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Copyright and responsible use

Only use audio you own, have permission to use, or that's otherwise legally available to you. A ringtone for your own phone made from your own recording is fine; cutting up someone else's copyrighted song and sharing the file isn't. See the Terms of Use.

Related Guides

• How to Trim YouTube Audio — the cutter's controls in more detail.
• YouTube to MP3 on Android
• YouTube Shorts to MP3