Make a Ringtone

What it does

Making an iPhone ringtone without a Mac has always meant fighting either GarageBand's own trimmer or a web tool that wants the audio uploaded first. This shortcut keeps the editing on the phone. Pick any song, voice memo, or downloaded clip, trim it to 40 seconds or less — the ceiling iOS expects for a custom ringtone, and what Filemorph's in-app ringtone tool enforces too — then convert it to M4A, the on-device re-encode that actually makes the audio ringtone-ready. Renaming that file to .m4r doesn't change the audio; it just gives Finder's Tones sync the extension it looks for. Filemorph never sends the audio anywhere to do this. Installing the ringtone still takes one step Apple controls: syncing the renamed .m4r through Finder on a Mac, or importing the M4A into GarageBand for its own Ringtone export instead.

Build it in 2 minutes

There's no one-tap install for this one yet — add each action below in the Shortcuts app and you'll have it running in about two minutes.

The recipe

1. New shortcut → add action: Get File — pick the audio file (or use a Voice Memo)
2. Add action: Trim Audio (Filemorph) — Start Time (seconds): 0, End Time (seconds): 40 or less (iOS ringtones top out at 40 seconds, the same ceiling Filemorph's in-app ringtone tool enforces — Trim Audio itself won't stop you from going longer, but the result won't work as a ringtone)
3. Add action: Convert Audio (Filemorph) — Output Format: M4A (this on-device re-encode is what actually makes the audio valid ringtone material)
4. Add action: Rename File — Name: the same name with a .m4r extension (the extension Finder's Tones sync looks for; the rename itself doesn't change the audio)
5. Add action: Save File
6. After the shortcut runs: the saved .m4r file is ready for Finder's Tones sync on a Mac — copy it into your Tones section and sync over USB or Wi-Fi. Prefer GarageBand instead? Import the M4A from step 3 (before the rename) into a GarageBand project and use its own Share → Ringtone export, which creates and installs the ringtone itself
7. Name it 'Make a Ringtone' → add to Home Screen

Requirements

• Filemorph, free on the App Store, installed on your iPhone or iPad.
• Requires Filemorph Pro ($0.99/week, $3.99/month or $29.99/year with a 7-day trial on monthly and annual).

FAQ

Does my song or voice memo get uploaded to make this ringtone?

No. Trim Audio and Convert Audio both process the file on your iPhone; nothing is sent to a server, so this works in Airplane Mode too.

Why trim to 40 seconds?

That's the length ceiling iOS expects for a custom ringtone, and what Filemorph's in-app ringtone tool caps at. Trim Audio and Convert Audio are Pro features ($29.99/year, 7-day trial); the rename step is a free built-in Shortcuts action.