A recent discussion among friends wondered if anyone really used ringtones anymore. The idea was that most people (those who still use their phones to hold verbal conversations) either go with whatever ringtone their phone comes with or just use vibrations.

Once upon a time, ringtones were a thing. You could use them for amusement. (My favorite was a bored voice that said, “Ring. Ring. Ring.”) You could use them to know who was calling without having to look at the phone (so you knew when to pick up and when to let it go to voicemail). Now, maybe, not so much.

Still, Google recently added a bunch of new ringtones to its Pixel phones, so presumably, some of us are still playing around with these sounds. In case you count yourself in that group, here’s how to change your ringtone, create your own, and assign a unique ringtone to a contact.

Because the methods for Samsung Galaxy phones and Google Pixel phones can vary, we’ve included directions for both. If you have a different Android phone, you should be able to use one of these as a guide.

These directions were tested using a Pixel 6 and a Galaxy S23 running Android 13.

Using a Samsung Galaxy

Change your ringtone

• Go to Settings > Sound and vibration > Ringtone.
• Once you’re in Ringtone, you can choose from a wide variety of sounds. Your current volume and whether you have vibrate activated will be on top, along with Samsung’s brand sounds. If you’ve chosen a different sound, you’ll have to swipe down to find it.

Add a custom ringtone

• Go to Settings > Sound and vibration > Ringtone.
• Tap the plus sign in the upper-right corner.
• You’ll see a list of all your available audio files on the Sound picker page. Select the one you want to use. A toggle above the list lets you play either the entire file or selected highlights.
• Tap Done.

Add a unique ringtone for a contact

To select a specific ringtone for one of your contacts:

• Open the Phone app and choose Contacts from the bottom menu.
• Select the contact you want to choose the ringtone for.
• From the icons that appear, select the Information icon.
• Tap the three dots labeled More and select Change ringtone/vibration > Ringtone.
• You’ll be back on the Ringtones page; select the ringtone you want to assign to that contact.

Using a Google Pixel

Change your ringtone

• Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Phone ringtone.
• Alternately, you can press your volume up or volume down key, tap the three dots under the volume indicator, tap the Settings button, and select Phone ringtone.
• Once you’re in Phone ringtone, you can choose from a wide variety of sounds; your current ringtone will be on top. When you’ve chosen a ringtone, hit Save in the upper-right corner.

Add a custom ringtone

There are a number of apps available in the Play Store that will create and install ringtones for you. However, if you have an audio file of your own that you want to use, here’s how to make it available:

• After creating or downloading the audio file, use Google’s Files app to locate it by going to Browse in the bottom menu, and then choose the Audio category. (If you use a different file app, of course you can use that instead.)
• Find and tap the audio file.
• Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right and select Move to.
• A pop-up on the bottom will suggest Move to Internal storage. Tap on that.
• Find the Ringtones folder, tap on it, and then tap the Move here button.

Now, when you go to Phone ringtone, you will find the audio file in the My Sounds category.

Add a unique ringtone for a contact

To select a specific ringtone for one of your contacts:

• Open the Phone app and choose Contacts from the bottom menu.
• Select the contact you want to choose the ringtone for.
• From the contact page, tap the three dots on the upper right, and select Set ringtone.
• You’ll be on the Sounds page (which is, in essence, the same as the Phone ringtone page). Select the ringtone you want to assign to that contact.