Are you tired of the ubiquitous ringtones on your phone? Does your ring sound like everyone elses? In this article, you'll find several different ways to get the ringtone that you want to your phone for free.

[edit] Steps

Download the free Mac and PC-friendly audio editor Audacity if you don’t have a recording program already. Download Audacity
Download LAME, which allows Audacity to export files as MP3 files. Unzip LAME. Download LAME
Choose a song that you would like to use as a ringtone.
- If the file is already an MP3 file:
1. Open the file with Audacity.
2. Delete all of the song but the 15 seconds you want as a ringtone. Choruses and big impact moments are usually the best spots.
- If the file is in the iTunes MPEG4 format:
1. Open iTunes and put the song at the point where the 15 seconds you want as a ringtone is.
2. Open Audacity.
3. Press record.
4. Press play in iTunes and then record the 15-second snippet.
5. Stop recording in Audacity.
6. Delete any unwanted silence or music in Audacity.
This where you can downsize how many kb's your ringtone is.

Compress the song so your cell phone will be able to play it. Set the sample format to 16-bit, the rate to something below 32000 Hz, and put the song on Mono. Just remember that this will be played through a tiny speaker in your pocket.
Go to File, Export as an MP3. Locate the LAME file when prompted. Name the file what you want it to appear as on your phone.
Find out your phone’s email. Your phone’s email address is your 10-digit number at your carrier’s email URL. Example: 5555555555@company.net
- AT & T: @mms.att.net
- Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com
- T-Mobile: @tmomail.net
- Verizon: @vzwpix.com or @vtext.com
Send a picture message or text message to your email account if your carrier is not listed. This will give you an address to reply to your phone.
Email the MP3 file to your phone as an attachment. In just a minute or so, your phone should receive your file.
Open the email on your phone, save the sound clip under message options, set it as a ringtone, and enjoy!

[edit] Tips

If you have a phone that is BlueTooth enabled and has the OBEX File Transfer Profile, you can send the files through BlueTooth. However, this is also dependant on what kind of computer system you have and is beyond the scope of this document. This would be ideal if you don't have a messaging plan and your phone and computer have BlueTooth.
Adjust the volume of your file in Audacity before you export it, depending on how loud or soft you want it to be.
If you're using a verizon phone, you press the right soft key (it should say "options" on the screen above it) and select "Save as Ringtone".

[edit] Warnings

Check with your service provider to be sure that messaging is free. Admittedly, paying 25 cents isn't a bad price for what some providers charge for ringtones, but it's good to be sure.
This is legal as long as you don't distribute the music to others.
If you already have an MP3 file and decide to make it into a ringtone, make a copy of the original song first.