To change your ringtone on iPhone, open Settings, tap Sounds & Haptics, tap Ringtone, and tap a sound to pick it. The same screen changes your text tone, mail and calendar alert sounds, vibration patterns and ringer volume. It also holds the switch to turn off System Haptics, the small taps from system controls.
This guide covers changing the ringtone and other alert sounds, setting a ringtone for one person, buying or making new tones, changing vibrations, and setting volumes. The steps follow Apple’s guide to changing iPhone sounds and vibrations and its support article on tones and ringtones.
How to Change Your Ringtone
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Ringtone.
- Tap a ringtone to preview it. The one with the check mark is selected.
- Go back to save your choice.
Result: Incoming calls now play the new ringtone, unless a contact has their own ringtone set.
How to Change Text Tones and Other Alert Sounds
Apple says you can set different sounds for text messages, new voicemail, new mail, sent mail, calendar alerts, reminder alerts and AirDrop.
- Go to Settings › Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap a category, such as Text Tone or Calendar Alerts.
- Tap a sound to select it.
Result: That type of alert plays its new sound from now on.
How to Set a Ringtone for One Contact
- Open the Contacts app and tap the person’s name.
- Tap Edit in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Ringtone or Text Tone, then choose a sound.
- Tap Done.
Result: Calls or texts from that person play their own sound, so you know who it is without looking.
How to Get New Ringtones
Buy tones from the Tone Store
- Go to Settings › Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Ringtone.
- Tap Tone Store and pick a tone to buy.
Result: Apple says purchased tones appear at the top of the list of sounds. On a new iPhone, tap Download All Purchased Tones on the same screen to get them back. Apple notes that store availability varies by country or region.
Make your own ringtone
Apple’s tones article points to GarageBand for creating a custom ringtone on your iPhone from a song or recording. musicMagpie walks through the same GarageBand approach.
For a file saved on your phone, follow our step-by-step guide to creating an iPhone ringtone from Files with GarageBand. It covers importing the recording, choosing an excerpt, exporting the tone, and selecting it for calls.
On newer versions of iOS, AppleVis forum members report a simpler route: select an audio file, tap Share, and choose Use as Ringtone. If you see that option, it adds the sound to your ringtone list.
How to Change the Vibration Pattern
- Go to Settings › Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Ringtone or another sound category.
- Tap Haptics, then choose a pattern, or tap Create New Vibration to tap out your own. To remove the buzz instead, follow our steps to turn off vibration on an iPhone.
Result: The new pattern plays with that sound.
How to Change Text Message and Ringer Volume
Use Settings > Sounds & Haptics to change message-alert volume. Choose the instructions matching your screen. A text tone selects the sound; the volume slider controls its loudness.
iOS 27: separate alert and ringtone volumes
- Open Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
- Find Alerts and System Sounds.
- To keep alerts at the ringtone volume, leave Match Ringtone Volume on and adjust the ringtone slider.
- For an independent alert level, turn that option off and drag the alert slider.
This separates the alert group from the ringtone, not each individual app. Alarms and Timers has its own matching option. Apple’s iOS 27 sounds guide documents these groups. Return to Match Ringtone Volume to link their levels again.
iOS 26 and older layouts: shared ringtone and alerts slider
- Open Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
- Find the slider under Ringtone and Alerts (called Ringer and Alerts on some older layouts).
- Move it right for louder alerts or left for quieter ones. Listen to the sample and make small adjustments.
This shared setting also affects ordinary Clock alarms; changing an alarm’s sound in Clock does not give it an independent volume slider on these layouts. Apple’s alarm support guide explains the shared slider. Check an important alarm after reducing its volume.
Why the side buttons may change the wrong volume
During a call or media playback, the side buttons adjust that audio. Outside those activities they can adjust ringing and alerts when Change with Buttons is enabled. Turn it off in Sounds & Haptics to avoid accidentally changing the setting with the buttons. The Control Center volume control is for audio playback; use the settings above for alerts. See Apple’s volume-controls guide.
If a text still makes no sound
A louder slider cannot restore a silenced notification. Check Settings > Notifications > Messages: Allow Notifications should be on, and Sounds should have a tone rather than None. Also check Silent mode, any active Focus, and Hide Alerts for the conversation. A bell or moon icon next to the text conversation shows that it is muted. Apple documents these in its message-notifications guide.
After changing the level, ask someone to send a test text while the phone is locked. Check both an ordinary conversation and any contact with a custom text tone. If you want reminders rather than more volume, see how to set repeat message alerts.
Other Sound Settings
- Keyboard Feedback: choose a click sound, a haptic tap, or both when you type.
- Lock Sound: turn off the click when you lock your iPhone.
- System Haptics: turn vibrations for system controls on or off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I hear my new ringtone?
Check that your iPhone isn’t silenced and that the ringer volume is up. If a contact has their own ringtone, calls from that person play it instead.
Do bought ringtones carry over to a new iPhone?
Apple says purchases are tied to your Apple Account. Use Download All Purchased Tones on the new iPhone, though some older tones may not be available to download again.
More iPhone Guides
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.