Apple's 1.1.2 iPhone firmware release brought easy custom ringtones back to life. With 1.1.2 you can once again add end-user ringtones to iTunes and, from there, sync them to your iPhone. Did Apple intentionally thwart third party ringtones with its 1.1.1 firmware or not? Is the 1.1.2 reprieve an oversight or fixing an unintentional obstacle? Opinions vary.Some say that the 1.1.2 ringtone support shows that Apple messed up in its update version control. They think that the 1.1.2 reprieve is accidental, a simple Apple oversight, and one easily corrected. TUAW alum David Chartier disagrees. He says he's talked to developers who suggest that the 1.1.1 was the anomaly--that Apple had not intentionally countered custom ringtones to force iTunes purchases.
Much as I respect David's proposition, I find it hard to write off 1.1.1 as an unintentional consequence. Ringtone policy changes suggest otherwise. 1.1.1 completely altered the way ringtones worked:
- Audio files dropped into /Library/Ringtones and /var/root/Library/Ringtones no longer worked.
- M4A, MP3 and WAV ringtones no longer worked. The files needed to be M4R, with proper metadata.
- Ringtones added to /var/root/Media/iTunes_Control/Ringtones worked in a limited fashion but only when added laboriously to a custom Ringtones.plist file.
- You could no longer drop M4R files into your Macintosh or Windows PC's Ringtones folder or the Ringtones part of your iTunes library.
So what does this say about 1.1.2? I think it says that either Apple changed its mind--hard to tell because they don't issue press releases on this kind of decision--or that Apple goofed. 1.1.3 will show us either way. If ringtones go away, or if they stay, we'll have our answer.
Our own Nik Fletcher has a different take. He thinks that Apple intentionally opened the 1.1.2 hole. He feels that it's been left open so that at least Europeans can get some custom ringtones going until the deals with the labels get sorted. A handsets that truly had no custom ringtone stuff would be DOA in Europe. There is, right now, no UK ringtone store or sales in iTunes.
Assuming simple custom ringtones stick around and Apple does not "correct" this issue, the iPhone once again moves closer to the pack. Many cell phones permit third party ringtones, and the iPhone will join their enlightened ranks. If ringtones go away, it's time to think about investing in iToner. When you buy their software, you're not really buying the ability to make custom ringtones, you're purchasing Ambrosia's expertise and their determination to make custom ringtones work with the iPhone so long as its possible. It's an investment in people not technology
Right now, there's simply not enough information out there to predict which way Apple will go. What do you think? Is 1.1.2 the rule or the exception? Let us know in the comments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-13-2007 @ 4:12PM
Tovi said...
This still doesn't work for me. The ringtones show up on my iPhone but no sound comes out of the speaker of my headphones.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:16PM
Bob's Your Uncle said...
I can see them in my Ringtones list, but not under the Ringtones tab when my iPhone is plugged in. So, even though they've been created, and are recognized by iTunes as a ringtone, they don't transfer to my iPhone. Strange.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:26PM
Ian Eure said...
Worked as advertised for me. I really hope they don't disable this again. I should be able to use whatever I want as a ringtone, not just the stuff they sell on iTS.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:35PM
Johnny said...
I will not pretend to have any idea what's going on, but I do know one thing. For a while, Apple was clutching its fist tight and really starting to lose my unadulterated love for them. I think in large part, Leopard has brought back that love by fixing some things that I specifically asked for. Of course, I'm sure my feedback goes right into the list of changes for the next OS. LOL. But seriously, I may be crazy, but something makes me feel like allowing ringtones may have been intentional and maybe, just maybe, they actually realized how silly it was not to allow custom ringtones (other than iTunes ones) just like they finally realized they had to let people know an SDK was on the way.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:48PM
billg said...
You people are really serious about having 10 seconds of crap come out when your iphone rings. I thought ringtones were for teenagers? If it's for "fun and entertainment", I've never seen adults get so pissy over fun except maybe over Christmas.
Shouldn't you be working yourselves into a frenzy over the lack of Celebrity iPhone Wallpaper Applications with cute graphics like hearts and stars or something?
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11-13-2007 @ 4:54PM
David Chartier said...
Just to balance out with some sensibilities, I added "This Wasn't an Apple Vs. Anyone Issue All along, and Apple Has Just Been Cleaning up How the iPhone's OS and Frameworks Function. I.E., They Aren't Out to Get Us™" to the vote list.
Many of the developers and hackers I've spoken with are of the opinion that the changes Apple has been making to iPhone firmware are more about cleaning up code and optimizing frameworks than thwarting things like custom ringtones. The fact that previous solutions break with some of the firmware updates—just like third-party apps—seems like merely an unfortunate consequence, not a result of some initiative to crack down on custom 'tones.
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11-13-2007 @ 4:55PM
joeyjoe said...
This doesn't work for me. The ringtones show up under the ringtones tab and also in the sync list, but when I go to the iphone and settings, they are not available.
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11-13-2007 @ 5:05PM
Austin said...
works for me, but they sound a bit crap and tinny, even with equalizer manips and volume manips in iTunes before conversion.
Thanks though to relevant developers!
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11-13-2007 @ 5:19PM
theotherstevejobs said...
What about the fact that Apple has been blamed and bitchslapped in the media by the media companies for the last 6 months. They claim that Apple is screwing them because Apple isn't handing over iPod profits, and that Apple will be the death of the music industry.
Well, maybe its time for a little payback - and by allowing people to put their own ringtones on their phones without giving the music companies ANOTHER $0.99 - this could Apple's way of saying -
"Fsck you, music cartel. You don't like us making music players and its all our fault?... well, we can make that happen real fast. How about we just cut you off at the knees on your stupid ringtone market. Just keep it up, and maybe we'll put links to Handbrake and TVShows.app on our downloads page, Universal/NBC? How'd you like that? Would you like a kick in the groin with your whining about us?"
I say good for Apple. Its not their problem the music companies can't get their crap together.
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11-13-2007 @ 5:22PM
Abe said...
@comment 5:
I guess you enjoy having marimba as a ringtone. I don't. Long live free ringtones!
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11-13-2007 @ 5:23PM
iMatt said...
I paid $15 for iToner, and I've been impressed w/ Ambrosia's ability to keep their software up to date.
When 1.1.1 came out, iToner stopped working for a few days, but then it was fixed.
Seems to me that it's worth the $15 to pay some experts to get my ringtones to work, rather than constantly trying to do it myself.
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11-13-2007 @ 5:29PM
chinhster said...
Try deleting your ringtones from iTunes and then adding them back in (by double-clicking). That's what it took for me.
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11-13-2007 @ 5:36PM
izmikiar said...
it worked for me
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11-13-2007 @ 5:38PM
izmikiar said...
make sure you select "selected ringtones" under "ringtones" and also all ringtones are with .m4r good luck
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11-13-2007 @ 6:25PM
Karl-Franz Marquez said...
#5 Did it ever occur to you that one of the benefits of a custom ringtone is the ability to differentiate your phone's unique ring from that of others in a crowded room? "Custom ringtone" does not necessarily mean "musical ringtone". Anything to make your ringtone individual works. Having custom ringtones also allows you to assign more unique sounds to help identify a caller without looking at the screen.
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11-13-2007 @ 6:27PM
billg said...
@10 (Abe)
It's not that I do or don't like "marimba", it's that I don't understand why anyone over the age of 16 cares about this.
Maybe I just don't have the same frenzied fascination with hearing 10 seconds of "Party Like a Rockstar" (or Journey, or "Uncle Fucker", or OMG the most hilarious quote from Sex and the City ever) blaring over and over from ten cell phones in a movie theater.
I know it's a futuristic marvel of science and privilege, but how many people have lived their lives without customized ringtones? Is there nothing more interesting for nerds to do with computers? All this time, effort, and hot air could be spent hanging out with friends in the real world or at least finishing Duke Nukem or whatever nerds drool over.
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11-13-2007 @ 6:33PM
billg said...
@15 (Karl-Franz Marquez)
Good point. However, you're the first person I've seen mention adding custom, distinct ringtone noises for utility versus clips of audio for entertainment and how it relates to itunes and piracy and Big Media.
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11-13-2007 @ 6:54PM
scruffy said...
@ billg
i'll go one further than Karl-Franz Marquez in the utility department; my favorite custom ringtone is a clip of silence. there are some contacts that i want to go to voicemail and not even have to hear the phone. or i might want to make the default ringtone silent and only have the phone ring if it's a contact. it would be nice if that functionality were built in but for now a custom ringtone is the only way to go.
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11-13-2007 @ 7:16PM
Jon said...
gather around children and let me tell you why Apple has restored ringtone function. Apple is as obsessed with people updating their iphones as I am (probably because of security reasons like the insanely dangerous TIFF exploit) and they know that the only way to do this is to create an incentive for those with jailbroken phones. with 1.1.1 there were lots of little features that made it worth updating but for 1.1.2 there was nothing (unless you really like international keyboards) because they hadn't anticipated the security issues. thus the return of hacked ringtones. now people will upgrade to 1.1.2 and Apple will be happy. it was more than enough to get me to upgrade.
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11-13-2007 @ 8:52PM
Karim said...
billg: LOL
I want a recording of you saying, "You people are really serious about having 10 seconds of crap come out when your iphone rings" so I can use it as a ringtone.
I'd record myself saying it, of course, but am afraid it would not sound annoyed and whiny enough. ;-)
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