How-to Create Ringtones from the MP3s You Already Own

Ringtones are probably one of the biggest rip-offs of cellular companies. If you buy it from their on-phone stores, you'll be charged anywhere from $.75 to $1.99. Since the phone companies know this, don't expect your fancy media capable phone to let you set a song on your memory card as a ringtone. Don't fret, there is a way around this dilemma. Read through this simple tutorial, complete with screenshots , and learn to make your own, free ringtones.

Step 1 : Load MediaCoder
Visit MediaCoder's Website and select Installer: Primary Site. The download may take a bit of time if you aren't using high speed internet (the file is 17 megabytes). Once it's downloaded, follow the quick and painless installation instructions. The first time it runs, it will open a browser window to let you know what's new in your version. Just check the box to not show the window the next time, then select the launch button.

Step 2 : Load Your Song
Now you should be looking at the MediaCoder main screen. Be sure to maximize the window. Click on Add in the upper left corner, and select your file. It should now display in the file list.

Step 3 : Select Your Audio Section
On the bottom left, you will see a group of tabs - Summary, Output, Audio.... Select Time. Now that we're here, click on Select. This will launch a mini-window that will play your MP3 file. The two buttons we're concerned about are Mark In and Mark Out, Start and Stop respectively. When your song reaches the point that you want to begin your ringtone, click Mark In. When it reaches the desired end point, click Mark Out. Click OK to close the mini-window and save your time settings. You can click Select again to hear exactly what your ringtone will sound like.

Step 4 : Create Your Ringtone
Now that you have the time perfected, click the Start button at the MediaCoder main screen. The ringtone will be placed in the same folder as the source file, and named originalfilename_transcoded.mp3. Open the ringtone in a media player to make sure it was coded correctly.

Step 5 : Upload Your Rington
Visit the Rumkin uploader. This tool works with almost all carriers, as long as your phone is web and MP3 capable. Just fill in the form and click Upload. On the next page you'll be given a "Jump Code" that allows you to point your phone's browser directly to the download URL should the text message fail.

Step 6 : Get Your Ringtone
Your cell phone should receive the text message soon after uploading. Go to the URL in the text message and download the file. Once it's downloaded successfully, you can set it to whatever event you'd like. Viola! You've got the ringtone you want, without spending a dime.

To see a visual walk-through of the MediaCoder steps, click here.

Please note that this tutorial assumes a data plan is active on your phone. Transferring MP3s uses large amounts of data. Ensure that you have a data plan sufficient for the size of the file(s) you are transferring.