Key Takeaways

• You can use the Zedge app to find custom ringtones from movies, video games, and more.
• Use the Ringtone Maker app to edit audio files and create your own custom ringtones.
• Android also lets you set a custom tone for each contact and app on your phone.

Android excels at customization, and your ringtone is no exception. Want to use your own track as a ringtone? Apply custom ringtones to specific contacts? Set custom notification sounds? Here's what you need to know.

How to Create Custom Ringtones on Android

No, we're not talking about writing your own music. Downloading tracks and saving them in the right places will suffice.

You can grab thousands of ringtones and notification sounds using an app like Zedge. You can quickly download ringtones from movies, video games, memes, and more. The app can set any available sound as a ringtone, notification sound, or custom notification.

Download: Zedge (Free, subscription available)

If you don't want to use the app, you can stick to the Zedge website and download files directly or check out one of the other top sites for downloading ringtones. Or check out these free ringtones that sound like real phones.

To make changes to a tone before you assign it, consider Ringtone Maker. This app can create ringtones, alarms, and notification sounds from multiple audio file types. You can use it to edit audio on your phone, perhaps to boost a track's audio, trim silence, or similar.

Download: Ringtone Maker (Free, premium version available)

How to Change Your Ringtone on Android

Now that you've gotten your hands on tunes and chimes, you're ready to actually set your ringtone. The steps may vary slightly depending on your Android phone's model, but we've covered detailed instructions for both Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones.

On a Google Pixel Phone

If you own a Google Pixel or any phone that runs a mostly stock version of Android, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings and tap Sound & vibration.
2. Tap Phone Ringtone, Default notification sound, or Default alarm sound depending on what you want to change. This will take you to a page containing a list of preinstalled tones as well as the ones you've added.
3. Pick a category and then tap a ringtone to listen to it. Select My Sounds to view files your phone has scanned in folders labeled "ringtones." To manually add files from other locations, tap the + icon in the bottom-right corner.
4. When you've decided which one you like, hit Save in the top-right corner.

On a Samsung Galaxy Phone

Samsung's version of Android is slightly different due to the One UI interface. Here's what you need to do to change your ringtone on a Samsung Galaxy phone:

1. Go to Settings > Sounds and vibration.
2. Select Ringtone or Notification sound.
3. Choose from the existing options or tap the + icon in the top-right corner to add a ringtone or sound you downloaded. Your phone will display any audio file it detects in your internal storage, so use the search option and enter the filename.

Don't overlook app notifications. Most apps let you choose a unique ringtone or notification tone for different types of alerts. You can change the notification sounds for each app on your phone.

How to Set a Custom Ringtone for a Contact

You can assign a specific ringtone to a contact if you want even more customization. And when that particular contact calls, you'll know who it is just from the tone.

On a Google Pixel Phone

To set a contact's ringtone on a Pixel phone or any phone that runs stock Android, follow these steps:

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Select the contact for whom you want to use a custom ringtone.
3. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and choose Set ringtone.

Now, simply select your desired ringtone, and you're all set!

On a Samsung Galaxy Phone

The steps on a Samsung phone are nearly identical. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Contacts app and select the contact for whom you want to change the ringtone.
2. Tap the three dots in the bottom-right corner and select Change ringtone/vibration.
3. Now, select whether you wish to set a custom ringtone or vibration.

Now, simply choose your desired tone from the list and exit the menu.

Before smartphones came along, changing the ringtone was one of the first steps to make a phone feel like your own. Now, with so many options, much better speakers, and custom sounds per app and contact, the experience is even better than it was back then.

Whether you're changing your ringtones for fun or to be sure you can tell calls apart, Android devices make the whole process easy.