It seems frustrating when you’re trying to reach for your phone, and it stops ringing before you can answer it. In this case, you might wonder that maybe your iPhone’s ringtone is too short? But you can only take a wild guess and never know the ringtone’s ringing duration.
The ringtone can last for a maximum of 40 seconds on iPhone, which is the limit set by iOS. Any ringing tone longer than this time duration, whether its system default or custom, may not sync with any Apple device.
We took the time to write a guide explaining how long a ringtone can be on iPhone and the methods for extending the ringtone duration to the maximum limit on your device.
Ringtone Duration on iPhone
The maximum ringing duration of the iPhone is 40 seconds which is limited for all ringtone files on iPhone. Any ringtone longer than 40 seconds may not sync with iTunes and iOS devices.
The ringing duration may also vary on the type of carrier you’re using. For example, the regular ringing on AT&T iPhone is by default limited to 20 seconds, which can extend up to 30 or 40 seconds upon the user’s request.
If you have set up a voicemail message on your iPhone, the standard ringtone length is less than 40 seconds which is limited by the Apple software.
Extending Ringtone Duration on iPhone
Are you wondering about how to extend the ringtone duration on your iPhone? Our three step-by-step methods will help you do this task without much effort.
Method #1: Using Voice Call Forwarding
If you can hear your iPhone ringtone for incoming calls only for a few seconds, or you are in a place where you cannot hear the ringtone long enough, you can extend it up to 40 seconds using these steps.
- Open the dial pad on your iPhone and dial “*#61#.”
- Tap the call icon and wait for a few seconds.
- The “System Interrogation” screen will feature a number next to the “Forwards To” section.
- Note the 11-digit number next to the “Forwards To” section and tap “Dismiss.”
- Again enter “**61*(11-digit number)**(ringing time in seconds)#” and tap the call icon.
- Wait for the message “Setting Activation Succeeded,” and the ringing duration will extend to the mentioned time in seconds next to the 11-digit number. However, The ringing time in seconds should not be more than 40 seconds.
Method #2: Setting Ringtone Duration Using iTunes
iTunes is the most compatible software for tweaking your iPhone, which you can use for setting customized ringtones for up to 40 seconds following these steps.
Step #1: Setup iTunes
Download and install iTunes on your Windows or macOS, launch it, click on “File,” and click “Open.” Browse and add songs from your system storage in the iTunes library.
Step #2: Setting Duration
Right-click on the song you want to set as a ringtone from the iTunes Library. Select the “Get Info” option from the pop-up menu, and a new window will appear on the screen.
Go to the “Options” tab. Set the start and stop duration from 00:00 to 00:40 seconds. Checkmark the boxes before the timer and then click the “OK” button on the lower right side of the window.
Step #3: Converting File to Ringtone
Select the shorter version of the song from the library after setting duration and go to File > Convert > Create AAC Version. Click “Yes” on the pop-up window to confirm and proceed with the conversion.
A shorter version of your song will be saved in the Songs Library. Right-click on the short song file and select “Show in Windows Explorer.”
The folder containing the ringtone file will open in a new window. Copy the file from the containing folder and paste it onto the Desktop. Right-click on the file name and click “Rename” to change the m4a extension to m4r.
Step #4: Setting Ringtone on iPhone
Connect the iPhone with your computer using a data cable and wait for iTunes to sync with the device. Tap on your device’s icon in iTunes and go to the “Summary” tab. Check the “Manually manage music and videos” option and tap “Apply” to save settings.
Select the “Tones” option. Drag and drop the m4r ringtone file in the “Tones” tab and press the “Sync” option on the iTunes home screen. Go to your iPhone Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Sound and tap on the new song file to set it as your new ringtone.
You have successfully set a custom ringtone on your iPhone for longer than its default (20 seconds) duration.
Summary
In this guide on how long a ringtone can be on iPhone, we guided you with several methods to modify the ringing duration on your phone using the original iTunes software.
We also stated the dependencies of carrier and software that limits the ringtone. We hope our guidelines were easy-to-follow and helpful in extending the ringing duration on your iPhone.
