How to Set Unique Ringtones for Each Contact on Your iPhone

This article explains how to set a ringtone for an individual on an iPhone with iOS 12 or iOS 11.

How to Set Ringtones for Individual Contacts on iPhone

Assigning different ringtones to specific contacts in your address book is a fun way to customize your iPhone, and it helps you know who's calling without looking at the screen. To personalize the ringtones for your callers:

1. Tap the Phone app to launch it.

2. Tap Contacts.

3. In the contacts list, find the person whose ringtone you want to change from the default. You can do this by searching for their name in the search field at the top or by scrolling through the list.

4. When you've found the person, tap their name to open their contact information.

5. Tap Edit. The contact information is now editable.

6. Swipe down, then tap Ringtone.

7. The list of ringtones available on your iPhone is displayed. This includes the iPhone's built-in ringtones and alert tones, as well as any ringtones you created and ringtones you bought from Apple. Tap a ringtone to hear a preview.

8. Tap the ringtone you want to assign to that person to place a check mark next to it, then select Done to return to the contact's edit screen. The name of the ringtone you chose is displayed next to Ringtone.

9. Tap Done at the top of the contact's edit screen to save the change. Whenever that person calls you, you'll hear the ringtone you picked.

How to Customize Contacts' Vibration Patterns on iPhone

If your phone is set to vibrate instead of ring for incoming calls, you can customize each contact's vibration pattern. This tells you who's calling even if the ringer is turned off. The Vibration option is on the same screen as the ringtones.

To change a contact's vibration setting:

1. Go to the Ringtone screen (see Steps 1 through 6 above).

2. Tap Vibration to display the set of vibration patterns that comes on the iPhone.

3. Tap one of the vibrations to feel a preview. When you find the one you want to use, tap it to put a check mark next to it.

4. Tap Ringtone.

5. Tap Done to return to the contact's editing screen.

6. The chosen vibration is listed next to Ringtone along with the ringtone the iPhone uses when vibration is turned off. Tap Done to save the change.

How to Get New Ringtones for iPhone

The tones that come with the iPhone are nice, but you can expand that selection to include virtually any song, sound effect, and more. Here are a couple of ways to acquire new ringtones.

Buy Ringtones at the iTunes Store. To do this, open the iTunes Store app on your iPhone, tap the More button, then tap Tones. You're now in the ringtones section of the iTunes Store where you can listen to previews and buy ringtones for your iPhone.

Make Your Own Ringtones. There are tons of ringtone apps that help you make your own ringtones. Among them are:

• Ringtone Designer 2.0
• Ringtones for iPhone
• Ringback Tones for iPhone
• Cool Ringtones: Ringtone Maker

How to Change the Default Ringtone

The iPhone uses the same ringtone for every contact and incoming call by default unless you change it. If you only want to use a single ringtone for all calls, you can change the default ringtone if you want.

1. Open the Settings app on the iPhone.

2. Select Sounds & Haptics.

3. Tap Ringtone.

4. Tap the ringtone you want to use as the default.

5. Tap Back to save the new default.

How to Change Alert Tones for Text Messages on iPhone

Just like you can change the default ringtone for all calls or assign individual contacts their own ringtones, you can do the same for the alert tones that play when you get a text message or other alerts.