I would like to make my own ringtones for my phone — how do I do this?

I must admit it is very satisfying having your favourite song as your ringtone on your phone.

To set this up though, is a fair process that might seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be having loads of fun experimenting with different songs on your phone.

Although it might be a lengthy process at first, it's as simple as making an mp3, cutting out a section of it (if you so choose), transferring it to your phone and selecting it as your ringtone — assuming of course that your phone can play mp3's. (If it can't... well, then you might as well stop reading now...)

However, before we continue I must point out that iafrica.com in no way condones the illegal copying of music, nor the illegal download and transfer of mp3's. Therefore, any and all instructions that follows, operate from the understanding that the song you wish to set as your ringtone comes from a music CD that you bought legally.

Right, now that the legalities are taken care of, I'm going to outline the process here, before we get our feet wet. The process might seem overly technical, but if you follow the instructions closely, you should be fine and if you got it right once, after that things will become easier and easier.

You need the following programs:

Using these programs, we're going to follow the following steps:

  1. Rip a song from a CD onto your hard drive in mp3-format;
  2. Cut a portion from the mp3;
  3. Transfer the mp3 to your phone;
  4. Set it as your default ringtone.

Your first act of business, therefore, is to download and install all the programs listed above (except 'Lame' — just download the file for now and we'll get to how to use it a little bit later). Also make sure that you installed the setup CD that came with your cellphone.

Once you've done all of this, it's time to get cracking... Page: 1 of 4 - next