How to Set Tidal Song as iPhone Ringtone [Full Guide]

By Miley Swift Updated on 2026-07-31 / Update for Tidal Tips

Quick Answer: Can you use Tidal music as your iPhone ringtone? Yes, you can. But you can't do that directly as Tidal songs are protected, which can't be used on other devices. So, you need to convert Tidal music to local files via tools like AudFree Tidal Music Converter first and make Tidal music as iPhone ringtone.

Want to set your favorite Tidal song as a ringtone on your iPhone? However, you can't directly set the Tidal track as your iPhone ringtone within the Tidal app. Tidal music is in a protected format and can only be played within the Tidal app. As a result, iOS can't recognize them as ringtone files.

Today, on this page, we would like to share tips to help you set Tidal song as iPhone ringtone. Read on for more details.

use tidal music as iphone ringtone

Part 1. Preparation and Tips to Create Tidal Song as iPhone Ringtone

Before creating iPhone ringtone from Tidal, here are some preparations and tips you should learn.

Preparation:

1. An active Tidal account to download Tidal songs.
2. A Windows or Mac computer.
3. A conversion tool such as AudFree Tidal Music Converter.
4. A ringtone maker like GarageBand.
5. An iPhone.

Best audio format: For creating iPhone ringtones, MP3 or M4A is the best choice, as they can be imported into GarageBand for editing while keeping excellent audio quality.

How Long Can an iPhone Ringtone Be?

It is best to keep the ringtone duration between 20 and 30 seconds. Shorter ringtones offer several advantages: the most recognizable part of the song plays immediately; the loop sounds more natural; and the file size is small and easy to manage. If you are selecting a specific section of a song for your ringtone, the chorus or an instrumental passage is usually the best choice.

Tips for Creating a Better Ringtone from Tidal for iPhone

Before converting Tidal music, consider the following suggestions: choose segments with a strong rhythm or vocals, and avoid long intros or fade-ins; trim silent sections, ensure balanced volume levels, and preview the clip before exporting.

Part 2. How to Download Tidal Music for iPhone Ringtone via AudFree Tidal Music Converter

Since every Tidal track is copyright-protected and you can't preserve these streams on the local computer even if you already have a premium subscription, you need a powerful Tidal music converting software like AudFree Tidal Music Converter. It can unlock the copyright protection from Tidal songs, playlists, albums, mixes, podcasts, etc.

With it, you can download Tidal HiRes music or HiFi music into local M4A, MP3, FLAC, and other commonly used audio files without losing any original quality. Metadata info such as title, artist, album, etc. will be fully kept in Tidal tracks after the conversion.

To your surprise, AudFree Tidal Music Converter takes an exquisite technology to provide every user with a 37X faster-converting speed and a large capacity of adding 100 songs at a time. With this advanced program, you are supported to save any Tidal songs as local music files for iPhone ringtone making.

AudFree Tidal Music Converter

audfree tidal music converter
  • Losslessly unlock limits from Tidal songs
  • Download Tidal to MP3, or M4A for iPhone ringtone
  • Store full metadata such as title, artist, album, etc.
  • Work at 37X faster speed, reset output settings for ringtone

Before explaining the detailed steps, please download AudFree Tidal Music Converter by use of the above download button. You can get a 30-second conversion for 1 song in the trial version. To unlock the complete version, please register.

Now, let's see how to convert music to iPhone ringtone from Tidal with AudFree Tidal Converter.

Step 1. Add music from Tidal to AudFree
load tidal songs to audfree
Open AudFree Tidal Music Converter, then find Tidal track that you plan to use for iPhone ringtone, and click the "+" icon. Subsequently, touch the "Add to list" button to add your Tidal song to AudFree in a flash.
Step 2. Set output format for iPhone ringtone
change tidal output format as iphone ringtone
On the Windows computer, please find the menu bar from the upper sidebar of AudFree. Then press on the "Preferences" > "Conversion" to visit a setting window. On the Mac, please hit on the "AudFree Tidal Music Converter" from Mac's menu list on the top left corner. Next, you are supported to switch the output music options such as format, sample rate, bit rate, channel, and so on. It is better for you to select M4A or Mp3 as Tidal output format for better compatibility with your iPhone.
Step 3. Locally save Tidal tracks as iPhone ringtone
download tidal for iphone ringtone
Finally, just go to the "Convert" button on the bottom-right corner of AudFree Converting list window. Soon, AudFree Tidal Converter will run at a 37X faster speed to decode Tidal songs to local music files. When the conversion is done, a red spot with number will pop up on the "Converted" icon. Please click it to access the target music folder where all of the local streams from Tidal are listed.
Tips:

If you want to download music from other music services to set as iPhone ringtone, you can use AudFree Streaming Audio Recorder. This program allows you to download music from Spotify, YouTube Music, Tidal, Apple Music, Qobuz, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, Deezer, Pandora and so on for use locally.

Part 3. How to Use Tidal Song as iPhone Ringtone with iTunes

Having saved songs from Tidal to local computer, you now can start creating Tidal songs as your iPhone ringtone without limitations. Below presents how to get the thing done with iTunes or Apple Music app.

Step 1. Open iTunes or Apple Music app on your Windows or Mac desktop and upload the local Tidal audio files to the iTunes or Apple Music library.

Step 2. Select the song that you would like to create a ringtone and right-click to choose "Get Info" > "Option".

Step 3. A new window for editing will open, you can set the Start Time and Stop Time of the ringtone, which should be less than 40 seconds.

create tidal song as iphone ringtone with itunes

Step 4. Right-click the selected song again and hit the "Convert" > "Create AAC Version". It will create a new segment of this Tidal track.

Step 5. Right hit to the new clip and choose "Show in Windows Explorer or Finder".

Step 6. Delete this new version from the iTunes library. But don't throw it to the recycle bin.

Step 7. Drag and drop the new Tidal ringtone to a new folder on the computer. Then you need to change the file extension from M4A to M4R.

Step 8. Double-click this M4R ringtone, and it will be added to iTunes' ringtone library automatically.

Step 9. Sync your iTunes library on the iPhone, then in your iTunes' ringtone library, you can use Tidal music as iPhone ringtone with ease.

Part 4. How to Set Tidal Song as iPhone Ringtone via GarageBand

Besides using iTunes or Apple Music app, there is an alternative that also helps you to custom Tidal track for ringtone on iPhone. That's to make use of GarageBand - a full-featured music creation studio on iOS and Mac. It includes a collection of instruments, with which you can create ringtone from Tidal for iPhone in a desirable way. Here is how to do.

Way 1. Via Converted Tidal Tracks

Step 1. Transfer the converted Tidal music files from your computer to your iPhone via AirDrop, iTunes, Finder, etc. Once transferred, ensure the audio files is accessible from the Files app on your iPhone.

Step 2. Open GarageBand on your iPhone and create a new project.

Step 3. Tap Audio Recorder and allow microphone access if prompted. Then tap Tracks to enter the editing mode.

Step 4. Touch the Loop Browser icon in the top-right corner, choose Files > Browse items from the Files app, then find the converted Tidal files, and drag it into the GarageBand timeline.

import tidal song to garageband

Step 5. Now, you can trim the audio track to keep the section you want.

Way 2. Via Audio Recording

Step 1. Launch GarageBand app on your iPhone, then find the "Audio Recorder" option.

record tidal song as iphone ringtone via garageband

Step 2. Next, open Tidal and play the song that you want to set as ringtone.

Step 3. Go back to GarageBand and tap to let it record the playing Tidal music.

Step 4. Once recorded, press on an icon shaped by brick wall to access the editing screen.

Step 5. In the editing screen, you can split or cut the Tidal music recording based on your demand.

How to Use Tidal Music as iPhone Ringtone

Step 1. After editing, select "My Songs" option by clicking a down-arrow icon at the top left corner.

Step 2. Hold the Tidal track and choose "Share" > "Ringtone" > "Continue" > "Export" > "Use sound as..." to directly set the Tidal track as your iPhone ringtone.

export tidal song as iphone ringtone via garageband

Step 3. If you tap "OK" instead of "Use sound as...", the custom Tidal track will be exported to iPhone.

Step 4. In this case, you should open "Settings" on iPhone and then tap "Sounds & Haptics" > "Ringtone". The Tidal track exported from GarageBand will be presented on the top of ringtone list. Simply choose it to use it as ringtone on iPhone.

use tidal music as ringtone on iphone

Part 5. How to Fix Tidal Ringtone Not Working on iPhone

Although creating custom ringtones from Tidal for iPhone is quite simple, you may occasionally encounter issues during the process. Now, check the problems and solutions below.

Issue 1: The Custom Ringtone Doesn't Appear in Settings

Fix: Make sure you selected Ringtone instead of Song when exporting from GarageBand. Also, restart your iPhone and export the ringtone again.

Issue 2: GarageBand Won't Export Tidal Music as iPhone Ringtone

Fix: You can close the GarageBand app completely and reopen it. Then update GarageBand and restart your iPhone. Also, make sure your phone has enough storage.

Issue 3: The Tidal Music for iPhone Ringtone Plays Quietly

Fix: Go to your iPhone's Settings > Sounds & Haptics and increase the Ringtone and Alerts volume. Also, make sure Change with Buttons is enabled if you want to control ringtone volume via the side buttons.

Part 6. Bottom Line

By following the steps above, you can easily use Tidal music as ringtone on iPhone. You can just use AudFree Tidal Music Converter to download Tidal songs for iPhone. Then you can use GarageBand or iTunes to set Tidal songs as iPhone ringtone. Besides that, you can use the local Tidal music as clock alarm, use them in DJ apps and so on with ease.

Miley Swift

Staff Editor

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Miley Swift is a professional content creator in the field of music entertainment and tech. Passionate about Tidal streaming technology, she is adept in offering and updating relevant tech skills and tools of Tidal music.