How to set iPhone ringtone and text tones for your contacts

BY Osas Obaizamomwan

Published 2 Mar 2016

While the popularity of ringtones has certainly died down compared to a few years ago, they are still useful from time to time. Whether you want to set a custom tone so you always know when your boss or girlfriend is calling, or if you just like hearing different tones on a regular basis, you can set different ringtones and text tones for a contact in your iPhone. 

How to set iPhone ringtone and text tones for your contacts

I will say that I find it very unfortunate that Apple still hasn’t come up with a dead easy way to add music from iTunes and create snipped ringtones. Hello, by Adele would be a no brainer. If you are interested in doing that, you’re going to want to check out this article. But for the following guide we will be focusing on the standard ringtones and text tones that are made available in iOS 9.

Step 1: Find a Contact

Open up the Contacts app and find a name that you would like to give a specific ringtone to.  When you find that contact, tap on the Edit button in the top-right.

Edit Contact

Step 2: Find a Contact

In the Edit page you will see the option Ringtone in blue text. It will have a default ringtone unless you have already altered that setting. Tap on Ringtone and you will be taken to the Ringtone list with all of the ringtones you’ve created as well as the default Apple ringtones. Select a ringtone that you want to have for this particular contact and hit Done. You will see the new ringtone name listed in the Ringtone section.

New Ringtone - iPhone

Step 3: Rinse and Repeat

Repeat steps one through three for any contact you have stored in your phone. Remember, that you can also add a personalized text tone for a contact by tapping the Text Tone option instead of the Ringtone option.

Text Tone

If ringtones and text tones are not enough customization for you contacts you can also create custom vibrations so you’ll know without even looking at your phone who is calling or texting you. Again, go to Contacts -> Edit and select Vibration. From here you can select an option from the list or create your own vibration by tapping and holding on the creation screen.

New Vibration - iPhone

That’s all there is to it. With this option you can set different ringtones and text tones for your family, friends, or coworkers.

Let us know which ringtones are your favorite in the comment section.