How to set a custom notification sound on iPhone

Which iPhone alerts can use a custom sound

Custom tones you install show up in every tone list above, so you only need to create the clip once.

Step by step: make and set a custom text tone

1. Pick the sound

   Open RingTon101 and import a song, a video from Photos, a voice memo, or something from the built-in sound library. Short, punchy sounds work best: a drum hit, a two-word catchphrase, the first bar of a chorus.

2. Trim it short

   Drag the handles to a 2–10 second clip. Notification sounds longer than that talk over the next alert and get annoying fast. Preview it a few times — you'll hear this a lot.

3. Boost and fade

   Raise Boost Volume so it's clearly audible from a pocket, and add a quick fade-out so it doesn't end with a click.

4. Export as Text Tone

   Tap Ringtone → Download. In GarageBand tap Share → Ringtone → Export, then choose Use sound as → Standard Text Tone. (Choosing Standard Ringtone instead is fine too — the tone still appears in the Text Tone list.)

5. Assign it

   Go to Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Text Tone and pick it. For one person only: Contacts → the person → Edit → Text Tone.

Custom notification sounds for specific apps

iOS doesn't let you choose a system-wide sound per app, but many apps have their own setting:

• WhatsApp: Settings → Notifications → Message Notifications → Sounds. It lists Apple's built-in tones and, on recent versions, custom ringtones you've installed.
• Telegram: Settings → Notifications and Sounds → Message Notifications → Sound → Upload sound — you can upload the trimmed clip directly (export it with the Song format from RingTon101 and save to Files).
• Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Voicemail: use the rows under Settings → Sounds & Haptics — all of them list your custom tones.
• Apps without a sound picker (most banking, social and news apps) use their own bundled sound; there's no way to change it.

Ideas for custom notification sounds

• The one-second stab from your favorite song's intro.
• A family member saying your name (record it in Voice Memos — see the voice memo guide).
• A game or movie sound effect from a clip you saved.
• Different tones for work and personal contacts so you know without looking.

Troubleshooting

The tone plays for calls but not texts

Assign it under Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Text Tone as well; the ringtone and text tone are separate settings.

The custom tone doesn't appear in WhatsApp

Update WhatsApp; older versions only show Apple's tones. Restarting the app after installing a new tone also helps.

It's too quiet when the phone is in my pocket

Re-export with a higher Boost Volume and check Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Ringtone and Alert Volume.