One of the first things I wanted to do after syncing my new shiny iPhone was to add some custom ringtones and little did I realize how big an obstacle this was. I’m not sure how I missed this at all from all the iPhone buzz. I thought you could just add the files to the phone like I’ve done in the past with my Moto Razr, but alas…

So, I’ve looked into a few ringtone adding applications and hacks, but there is one that I really like and got working, so I’ll list the steps here. Tested with iTunes 7.4.1 on Mac.

1. Create an AAC audio file of your ringtone, using something like Garageband, QuickTime Pro, or Audicity.
2. Rename the file’s extension from .m4a to .m4r using the Get Info window on Mac
3. Import that file into iTunes. If all worked, it won’t show up in your iTunes library.
4. Go into ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Ringtones/ and you should see the file you just imported.
5. Rename the extension back to .m4a like it was before.
6. Your ringtone should show up in the RingTones tab in iTunes and will sync with your iPhone.

This method is a lot of work and most likely won’t work with the next iTunes update. So if you’re looking for something easier and don’t want to pay to create ringtones from the iTunes Store, take a look at iToner here. (Mac Only)

Tips fround from Engadget here.