How do I set my mp3 as a ringtone on the Samsung Galaxy S?

  • Replies:36
  4
Ben Dreyfuss
  • Forum posts: 37

Jun 8, 2011, 12:18:22 PM via Website

I know this is a pretty basic question but I still can't figure out how to do it....how do I set my mp3 as a ring tone?

— modified on Dec 19, 2011, 6:05:49 PM by moderator

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  4
Richard S.
  • Forum posts: 4

Jun 8, 2011, 2:01:23 PM via Website

Yes, it's a basic question but it's oddly difficult to find the answer. I had a tough time working it out when I got my Galaxy S in December. It seems a bit clunky but it seems to be the way the phone was designed.

Here's how you set your mp3 as a ringtone:

1. Open any file manager app

2. Look for a folder called Media in the phone's main directory.
(Most likely it doesn't exist, so create it by right clicking and choosing New Folder, then rename the folder to be media)

3. Inside the media folder, you need a folder called Audio. Again, if it’s not there create it as above

4. Inside the Audio folder, create subfolders for the sound categories you want to change:
- Ringtones for sound files you want to use for incoming calls
- Alarms for sound files you want to use for alarms
- Notifications for all other alerts such as incoming SMS, emails or alerts from individual apps, etc

(lower/upper case is irrelevant - the folders can be "Media", "MEDIA", "media", etc)

Copy the MP3 file you want to use to the relevant folder

You should now see your MP3 file listed in the menu for selection in the relevant sound settings menu (to access the ringtone/notification settings, press the hard Menu key from one of your home screens, then press Settings then Sounds and Display, or go to settings from within a relevant app)

Alternatively, most audio player apps allow you to set music files as ringtones when playing them, either with a hard press or from the Menu key. Note, the default Android music player does not have this function, which I consider to be a little odd.

— modified on Dec 19, 2011, 6:05:36 PM by moderator

Babar JahangirLee GellieVandal Shorty

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  5
Dr. Evil
  • Forum posts: 19

Jun 8, 2011, 2:28:02 PM via Website

Excellent answer. I would most recommend the second approach, if available. A hard press is usually the easiest way to do this. In any case, it's not so hard to set your mp3 as ringtone.

— modified on Dec 19, 2011, 6:14:26 PM by moderator

Pavel ToybermanLee Gellie

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  1
alison zammit
  • Forum posts: 1

Jan 10, 2012, 11:41:22 AM via Website

Hi
Thanks a lot for the information given because I was getting frustrated not being able to change the ringtones :)

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  6
Alex M.
  • Forum posts: 36

Jan 11, 2012, 7:52:08 PM via Website

Oh, god. IT IS EASIER!!! Open settings, go-to sound and choose ringtone, second way - open media player long press audio file or press menu while playing and choose "set as" option. Alarms via Clock app select "other file " option while setting up alarm.

Babar Jahangir

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  31
Eric McBride
  • Forum posts: 1,790

Apr 17, 2012, 3:27:27 PM via Website

Alex M.
Oh, god. IT IS EASIER!!! Open settings, go-to sound and choose ringtone, second way - open media player long press audio file or press menu while playing and choose "set as" option. Alarms via Clock app select "other file " option while setting up alarm.

I thought this too, but on my Galaxy Nexus both of these ways no longer work (I tried it rooted an unrooted). There are luckily apps like MP3 Ringtone Maker that make it really easy.

— modified on Apr 17, 2012, 3:27:54 PM

Lee Gellie

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  31
Eric McBride
  • Forum posts: 1,790

Apr 25, 2012, 5:01:10 PM via Website

Glad to hear you got it figured out!

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  1
nat
  • Forum posts: 1

Sep 30, 2012, 4:39:16 PM via Website

This worked perfectly! Thank you Richard S.

Richard S.
Yes, it's a basic question but it's oddly difficult to find the answer. I had a tough time working it out when I got my Galaxy S in December. It seems a bit clunky but it seems to be the way the phone was designed.

Here's how you set your mp3 as a ringtone:

1. Open any file manager app

2. Look for a folder called Media in the phone's main directory.
(Most likely it doesn't exist, so create it by right clicking and choosing New Folder, then rename the folder to be media)

3. Inside the media folder, you need a folder called Audio. Again, if it’s not there create it as above

4. Inside the Audio folder, create subfolders for the sound categories you want to change:
- Ringtones for sound files you want to use for incoming calls
- Alarms for sound files you want to use for alarms
- Notifications for all other alerts such as incoming SMS, emails or alerts from individual apps, etc

(lower/upper case is irrelevant - the folders can be "Media", "MEDIA", "media", etc)

Copy the MP3 file you want to use to the relevant folder

You should now see your MP3 file listed in the menu for selection in the relevant sound settings menu (to access the ringtone/notification settings, press the hard Menu key from one of your home screens, then press Settings then Sounds and Display, or go to settings from within a relevant app)

Alternatively, most audio player apps allow you to set music files as ringtones when playing them, either with a hard press or from the Menu key. Note, the default Android music player does not have this function, which I consider to be a little odd.

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  1
Diana gray
  • Forum posts: 1

Oct 10, 2012, 9:42:04 PM via Website

Hi I have managed to do 3/4 of the process but I cannot work out how to copy the mp3 file into the new folder!

Can you help?

Thanks

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  1
Lee Gellie
  • Forum posts: 3

Oct 24, 2012, 10:52:16 AM via Website

Diana gray
Hi I have managed to do 3/4 of the process but I cannot work out how to copy the mp3 file into the new folder!

Best is if you plug your phone into a computer and you can just drag and drop from the other folder (It will still stay in your media player and work when listening to music).

Or you can get a file manager like Astro or something and usually at the top it has an option to copy (or hold down the song icon and select copy from the dropdown) and then go into the ringtones folder and push paste (or again long press in the space and press paste from drop down).

Best, Lee

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  1
Lee Gellie
  • Forum posts: 3

Oct 24, 2012, 10:55:59 AM via Website

Even better yet, does anyone know the best media players that have the option to set ringtones?

This would handle all questions and everyone could do it.

I know I myself don't want to go through a process to set my ringtone. I here a song and go "Yeah, That's my ringtone for today" and want to set it.

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  1
Lee Gellie
  • Forum posts: 3

Oct 24, 2012, 12:00:34 PM via Website

Lee Gellie
Even better yet, does anyone know the best media players that have the option to set ringtones?

This would handle all questions and everyone could do it.

I know I myself don't want to go through a process to set my ringtone. I here a song and go "Yeah, That's my ringtone for today" and want to set it.

OK I found the following that are really good;

1) MixZing Media Player
(Review: Free version has adds. Allows you to set songs as ringtones, allows you to edit album info, identifies most songs for you, gets & saves album art, gives you new indie music to listen to and review [if you're into that], great equalizer, plays videos. Overall awesome for editing your songs and setting you phone settings but because of the adds not great as a player in the free version. 4/5 *

2) doubleTwist Player
(Review: No Equalizer on free version. Can't get album art in free version. Great little player, Facebook & Twitter Share is cool. Allows you to set songs as ringtones. 3/5 *

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  1
Nick Mason
  • Forum posts: 1

Oct 31, 2012, 3:16:42 AM via Website

I got my S3 today and was wondering the same thing! This worked for me:

1. Plug your phone into your PC via USB cable

2. Open up my computer, and browse to the mobile device

3. Copy the MP3 file into the "ring tones" folder

4. On the phone goto settings>sound>Phone ring tone, and you should see your MP3 file in there to select.


running Andriod 4.0.4

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  1
Kornel Kovacs
  • Forum posts: 1

Nov 8, 2012, 9:15:47 AM via Website

Thanks man. This saved my day :).

Cheers,
Kornel

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  2
Brittany
  • Forum posts: 4

Apr 28, 2013, 7:06:46 AM via Website

I don't have a Samsung Galaxy S but I assumed since I have android 4.0.4 this would work for me. None of it did. I can't get my custom ringtone to show up in the list of ringtones in settings. I've rebooted my phone a couple of times and it still won't show up, I have checked that the file is not damaged, and that it's in the correct folder on the SD card. I played it on my phone and it works. The file is not bigger than 300k but I'm not sure that matters on android phones (or other smart phones). I have the Kyocera Rise. I've even downloaded an app which forces a rescan of my SD card for media. It scanned properly since I saw the notification yet it still won't show up in my settings list for ringtones. I guess my phone just won't allow it. I did have it set up properly at one point (using the same folders) and it worked but when I formatted my SD card via the settings since I had so much extra crap in there from old apps I wanted to start fresh. Now it just won't work.

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  10
HowDoYouAndroid.com
  • Forum posts: 145

Apr 30, 2013, 3:47:24 PM via Website

Your problem is probably that it's the wrong file type. Open the custom ringtone in iTunes and right click, create mp3 version. If the option is create AAC or WAV or something like that instead of mp3, then click edit, then preferences. You'll be on the general page, where you can click Import Settings. Click Import using "Mp3 Encoder." Then you should be able to right click the song to create an mp3 version. Now copy THAT one into your phone's ringtone file, and it should show up correctly.

HowDoYouAndroid.com

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  2
Brittany
  • Forum posts: 4

Apr 30, 2013, 5:36:18 PM via Website

The file is an mp3. It plays in my media player on the phone as well as in itunes.

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  10
HowDoYouAndroid.com
  • Forum posts: 145

Apr 30, 2013, 6:25:43 PM via Website

Playing on your phone and in itunes doesn't make it specifically an mp3... did you check that the file is actually an mp3?

HowDoYouAndroid.com

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  2
Brittany
  • Forum posts: 4

Apr 30, 2013, 6:38:05 PM via Website

Yes, I did. I created the file myself and exported to mp3.

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  10
HowDoYouAndroid.com
  • Forum posts: 145

Apr 30, 2013, 9:19:36 PM via Website

Ok, next suggestion would be to keep it on internal storage, rather than exporting to your SD card.
This one is probably too easy to work, but just in case, you might want to try opening the song on your phone's media player, and then looking through menu options there for a set as ringtone option. Some phones have it... not sure if the kyocera rise does.

HowDoYouAndroid.com

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  2
Brittany
  • Forum posts: 4

Apr 30, 2013, 10:49:12 PM via Website

I'd have to experiment with different media players. I have Google Play Music (which is default) and ES File Explorers quick-play but that has no options at all. And when I select my ringtone in ES File Explorer there is no option to set it as the default ringtone. And Google Play Music doesn't list it as a music file. Plus if I choose any other music file it does see there is no option to set it as a ringtone. So it seems I'm SOL.

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  10
HowDoYouAndroid.com
  • Forum posts: 145

May 1, 2013, 1:45:37 AM via Website

Ok, I stopped assuming your phone works like an S2 now, and I have some hopefully HELPFUL suggestions. ;)
Just for convenience, I'd put the ringtone file on your desktop to start. Right click the file, and click rename. Rename it to "(name).mid"... as in make it .mid. You might get a warning that it won't play, but disregard. Now copy that file to "Saved Sounds" on your phone. On your phone, open the media gallery, find the ringtone, hit options, and set as default (or individual) ringtone.
Ok, any better on this one??

HowDoYouAndroid.com

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  3
asdf asdf
  • Forum posts: 21

Jul 20, 2013, 12:44:45 AM via Website

Perhaps this video will help you:
/watch?v=YPsMtjhDxBo

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  35
Kris Carlon
  • Forum posts: 1,110

Jul 22, 2013, 6:01:58 PM via Website

The other thing you can do is download an app to edit MP3s (most of them can do file conversions too, if the file you want to set as your ringtone is AAC or WAV or whatever). I tend to do it this way because then I can choose the specific part of a song I want as my ringtone, considering my phone rarely rings for more than a few seconds before I answer it. Just go to the Play Store and search for 'MP3 trimmer' or 'MP3 cutter' or 'ringtone maker' or any other combination of those words and find one with good feedback.

And yeah, that video is a good tutorial!

— modified on Jul 22, 2013, 6:04:02 PM

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  1
Meira McMahon
  • Forum posts: 1

Jul 23, 2014, 4:28:43 AM via Website

If you look in the file manager for the MP3 you want to use, select the file, on the menu choose MOVE, then select ringtones as the destination. Once it's in there you can select it from the Ringtone list.

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  2
apps talavera
  • Forum posts: 4

Oct 5, 2015, 2:58:05 PM via Website

Best app to download mp3 ringtones
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ringtones.para.whatsapp.gratis.tonos.para.whatsapp.ringtones

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  3
Teppy Tomy
  • Forum posts: 9

Sep 13, 2017, 10:06:11 AM via Website

file MP3 lenght 3 minute. for ringtone ???
it is longer.

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  3
Teppy Tomy
  • Forum posts: 9

Sep 18, 2017, 12:31:46 PM via Website

I am using Ringtone of [Samsung Galaxy] S8 for S5. But [This RingTone] is not play in S5.

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  1
Jakesh Mohapatra
  • Forum posts: 1

Mar 22, 2018, 4:24:06 AM via Website

Richard S.

Yes, it's a basic question but it's oddly difficult to find the answer. I had a tough time working it out when I got my Galaxy S in December. It seems a bit clunky but it seems to be the way the phone was designed.

Here's how you set your mp3 as a ringtone:

  1. Open any file manager app

  2. Look for a folder called Media in the phone's main directory.
    (Most likely it doesn't exist, so create it by right clicking and choosing New Folder, then rename the folder to be media)

  3. Inside the media folder, you need a folder called Audio. Again, if it’s not there create it as above

  4. Inside the Audio folder, create subfolders for the sound categories you want to change:

    • Ringtones for sound files you want to use for incoming calls
    • Alarms for sound files you want to use for alarms
    • Notifications for all other alerts such as incoming SMS, emails or alerts from individual apps, etc

(lower/upper case is irrelevant - the folders can be "Media", "MEDIA", "media", etc)

Copy the MP3 file you want to use to the relevant folder

You should now see your MP3 file listed in the menu for selection in the relevant sound settings menu (to access the ringtone/notification settings, press the hard Menu key from one of your home screens, then press Settings then Sounds and Display, or go to settings from within a relevant app)

Alternatively, most audio player apps allow you to set music files as ringtones when playing them, either with a hard press or from the Menu key. Note, the default Android music player does not have this function, which I consider to be a little odd.

Thanks!

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  2
agan molex
  • Forum posts: 8

Apr 27, 2018, 5:52:18 AM via Website

Thanks a lot. I worry about that!

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  5
Philomela
  • Forum posts: 39

May 12, 2021, 6:20:41 AM via Website

Merci pour votre article, je l'ai entendu via la radio en ligne

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