Free iPhone Ring Tones: Way Easy

So when I got my iPhone I got an email from AT&T saying I could have a free ring tone if I signed up for paperless billing. So I was all like "sweet"! Really though, I went for it since I figured I'd be paying my bill online anyways. Of course it points me to the regular AT&T ring tone outlet, instead of the iTunes Music Store, so I was already skeptical, but chose something anyways. It then asked me who makes my phone; Apple was not a choice.

So thanks to a new friend of mine I was chatting to, I was told about Myxer.com, which let's people upload audio files, pick the section of the file they want and then send it to their phone. They also archive the creation so others can just pick one that has the section of the song they desire. So I pick one here and see there's a special link for getting the ring tone for the iPhone.

I follow the link, and instead of it sending you data over the cell phone network, it gives me a direct download for my computer. The file extension on this file is ".m4r". So this immediately got me thinking, well maybe I can convert an mp3 into a .m4r, and sync anything I want. A little research revealed that a .m4r is just a .m4a renamed.

All you do is pick your song, do your own audio editing to get the desired mix in Audacity, save it as an mp3, convert to AAC, change the file extension to .m4r, go to the ring tones tab in iTunes, and drag the file in there. Next time you sync the ring tone will be available.

Maybe I'm the last to figure this out, and even though the directions sound long, you guys know it's simple. Get your ring tone on duders.