Nokia releases exclusive Windows Phone 8 app for ringtone creation

Creating ringtones on Windows Phone isn't technically a difficult task, but it's not incredibly straight forward either. Nokia has taken steps to address this for its Lumia Windows Phone owners with a new app that's available in the Nokia Collection. Ringtone Maker is a simple app that does exactly what it says on the tin - it enables users to take tracks saved locally on the device and turn them into ringtones.

This eliminates the requirement to upload, edit and save files which is what's necessary to create ringtones in Windows Phone. The only problem with Nokia's ringtone app is that it doesn't appear to support tracks downloaded through Xbox Music (songs downloaded for offline usage, as well as purchased tracks) which is a shame. We attempted to purchase a track from the Store but it still didn't show up when using Ringtone Maker.

The reviews for the app have been negative thus far, so we can only assume problems we've experienced are hitting other users. This is a bummer as we'd expect Nokia to completely test apps before releasing them to the Windows Phone Store. So Ringtone Maker is a superb solution, should you be able to get it to work. There are other Ringtone Maker apps available too.

You can download Ringtone Maker from the Nokia Collection (WIndows Phone 8 only, folks). via: Plaffo

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

85 Comments

I don't think many of the apps get tested before released. Way too many apps that simply don't do what they say.
Well, it's working on my Lumia 920. I have tried a number of songs on my device. It won't support Xbox Music due to DRM. If Microsoft gave the code to open DRM locked songs, it would be a fantastic app. My only complaint is that a Ringtone can be no longer than 39 seconds, yet the max you can do is 30 seconds.
I have a Lumia 920 and the app doesn't work. No songs or playlists show; only albums and artists. However, when I click on an ether, the app closes.
It also closes when I attempt to cycle through the headers. Once it reaches albums, if you swipe left again, it doesn’t go songs, the app closes.
I know this will sound weird, but do you have the Skype Preview installed? If so, you might want to remove it as it is known to cause other system issues. Like I said in my post above, it works for me without crashing, but I don't have Skype installed (I did, but removed it due to too many instability problems.)
Rich, I think you should update the title to Windows Phone 8 app...
Good call, updated :-)
Nevermind. Good app
To me that worked. You need to swipe anywhere but the scroll bar of the song. That did it for me. Hope it helps
Thanks. I spoke too soon
On my Lumia 820, all I have to do is drag a song over to the ringtones folder and it becomes available. Granted, a full song takes up more space, but with WP8, I don't have to worry about extra steps... EDIT: I realized after posting lots of people want a specific part, so editing is still a must. But for WP8 owners who don't care so much, it's nice to be able to simply copy the song over.
Can u explain to others how you did this. Thanks
After connecting my phone to my PC, I opened Explorer. I found the file I wanted as my ringtone and used the select and copy functions. I then found my phone in the folders section (right side frame) and expanded the phone until I opened the Ringtones folder. I then used the paste function to place the song there. Once that was done, I was able to select the song from my list of ringtones in the appropriate setting option on my phone.
Unbelievable that WP is still playing catch up with its previous mobile OS. In Windows Mobile it was a simple as can possibly be.
^This. On my N8, if I'm in the Music Player, I could simply tap on the menu bar, and select the sub menu option 'use as tone', and done! Or I could just load a tone on the device and go to Profiles and select which tone to use as a ringtone - no editing. I'm amazed by all of the steps needed for my Lumia 900; think I'll just stick with the pre loaded ringtones :)
If wp8 still catching up ,feel free to get a windows mobile device , and wait till the catch up is completed lol ,pls don't even remember me windows mobile after this Lumia 920 and wp8 everything that I have own before is trash,even phone arena picked the Lumia over galaxy s3 and iphone5 .
Who cares what your sexist self has to say.
Lol.. Hyperbole much? Feel free to get that totally advanced WinMo phone then....
But he's right. In many ways WM still has features that we're still waiting to be put into WP.
That's why I got a Lumia 920, HTC , Samsung they just don't care .
Exactly. Nokia is cranking out app after app while HTC and Samsung are MIA in the app department. You can't just create six or seven apps and call it a year. It's a shame, because the 8x is a very good phone.
HTC brought beats audio and a dedicated audio amp to WP and they don't care? You need to get your facts straight.
While I personally like Beats Audio, the Dolby Audio Nokia added to the Lumia is quite good, and I would even say on par when I'm using my Beats Studio headphones. What dominicancash said is true. From an app development perspective, Nokia is cranking out apps to better thei ecosystem. Where are comprable apps from Samsung or HTC? If they did, I wouldn't complain and it would only better serve the entire Windows Phone community and ecosystem.
That's not alot, Nokia is bringing in more than that even 3rd party apps/games that where not available on WP. I only hear people complaining about Nokia's exclusivity deals while HTC/Samsung did nothing for the ecosystem.
Yeah! Where are HTC's apps?? I haven't heard of one.
Nokia Germany said this app would be availble for 7.x too.http://www.nokia-smartphone.de/2012/09/14/gute-nachrichten-fur-nokia-lum...
What could be the reason for not making it available for Nokia Wp7.x users? I'm sure the app is simple enough so that the the older lumias can handle it. I used it on my Lumia 820, worked great. Sad that my L800 can't get it.
Perhaps you should visit this site more often; this article states that it's forthcoming with 7.8: http://www.wpcentral.com/features-windows-phone-78-get-detailed-hands-report
Thanks for the link.
Not available for windows phone 7.5. Scanned the code and it comes up that my device needs to be updated(already at 8779 update) so whats up there? Must be windows phone 8 only, thats junk. Mkes sense why xbox music files dont work right, thats a junk program too, at least from using windows 8.
Affirmative, it's not available for 7.x. Made this more clear in the article :-)
Or you could reference the previous article posted on this site on 11/23/12 that stated that this would come with the 7.8 update for Lumia devices.
Is it just me or are the Windows 8 only releases getting frustrating. Initially, I was okay with the concept of 7.8 but given that it is nowhere to be seen, stories about Windows 8 and releases that are Windows 8 only are rubbing salt in a wound.
Agree. But then we lived without these handful of apps for quite some time. Lets wait another '60' days I guess. To be fair Microsoft always maintained that 7.8 will only start to roll out at least 3months after 8.
Think the link is for wrong app. It was a ringtone maker for $1.99. But I went to Nokia collection and found it.
Nevermind it was listed as title not found.
Closes as soon as it opens! Quality!
Mine opens, but as soon as I touch "Pick a Song", it crashes.
Same here...
Same here. Black 920.
Same here.
Same here. Black 920
Works great!
You *can* use Xbox music that was purchased, but oddly it only shows up via playlist. It says 'lonely in here' under songs, and its not selectable via artist screen.
Doesn't work with any music on my phone, guessing it doesn't work with 320 kb/s mp3's or any aac files.
What if the unthinkable happens one day.? As WP rises, its more becoming Nokia only rather than any other OEM having any meaningful share. So given that, what if Nokia buys WP from MS(or MS sells it to Nokia) - that will definitely stop the catch up phrase and from then on all OS will be catching up with Nokia (lets call it Lumia OS).

By the way, the ringtone maker is god send for me. Kudos to Nokia!.
That thought has been going around my head from Nokia announced the shift to WP. And then when the own WP, they bring back a lot of Symbian features. I still miss it. N8 was a brilliant handset, ahead of its time.
That's kinda lame, no wp7 yet, lol. I don't see why wp8 needs this so much more than 7 because wp8 supports drag and drop mp3 files at least. Anyways, anyone remember making ringtone on their old nokias? I wish they would release something like that.
There is a ringtone maker coming for WP7.8 Lumia devices (by Nokia ofc). :)
You all be thankful..ios until today dont have ringtones
There's an app for that..free ringtone
What? This makes no sense.
Crashes when tapping on "Pick a song"
I know this is off subject but I need help....Can anyone tell me if you can take your music from Zune WP7 & put it on my nice new shiny HTC 8x WP8?? Thanks!
As far as I know only way to sync music on WP8 is 1) drag & drop in windows explorer 2) drag and drop from iTunes 3) windows phone sync app (available on Microsoft website) 4) windows media player.
Ok thank you very much I really appreciate that..
Slightly off topic: Are there any timed Nokia exclusive apps from the summer that are going to become available for all any time soon?
Good question.. It seems like there were a few that came out several months ago that were promise to lose their exclusivity.
Not available on the 900.
For WP8 only.
It tells me it not availale for my device. Funny i have the 920. What am i doing wrong?
Awesome. Wanted something like this.
Try rebooting your phones after you load it. I didn't see any of my local music within the app until after I rebooted.
For everyone else who are still on Windows Phone 7 or who don't have a Nokia, and even for those who are not satisfied with Nokia's offering, you definitely should have a look at this app:
http://j.mp/ringcorder Video demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHjNNrjQ9M DISCLAIMER: I am the app developer, and although my business can't have direct access to the media library just like Nokia, I feel that my app is a worthy and well made alternative.
Crashed after I select pick song.
Running the 920 on ATT serivce.
Did soft reset then got same crash.
I have heard nothing but bad about Xbox music so far....
The Xbox Music Client on Windows Phone 8 is great. It's the Xbox Music app for Windows 8 that is subpar. In fact, what makes it subpar is the fact Microsoft separated Collection Management and Device Syncing into two different apps. And both are seriously lacking in functionality.
I've tried turning my 920 off and on, uninstalled reinstalled, but it still crashes everytime I click select a song.....
BRILLIANT! I just posted in forums yesterday that I wanted to restore some ringtones from my trophy onto my 822. Now I don't have to bother! I installed this app and its great! No problems at all, works great! Thanks NOKIA!!
The difficulty of setting a custom ringtone on Windows Phone is shameful. It was shameful on day 1 and even more shameful that it has continued for so long. It was incredibly easy to set a custom ringtone on my previous Nokia dumb phone. I think Nokia is having to make all these little apps and enhancements (e.g. Bluetooth file transfer) to cover up the failings of Windows Phone because their customers aren't happy about "upgrading" to newer Nokia devices that lack such basic functionality from their old phones thanks to stupid decisions by MS.
It was cumbersome on wp7 but is super easy on wp8. I just dumped all my favorites into the ringtone folder. Is nice to have this app for editing though.
Can you clairfy what you mean by dumping songs into the ringtones folder? is this within the app or are you doing this some where else? thanks!
MerlotC is referring to copying MP3 tracks to the Ringtones folder when you browse with Windows Explorer to your Windows Phone 8 device. Since you can now see your WP8 device as a storage target, you can use Windows Explorer to copy and paste, or drag and drop, files into the folders present.
Strange that there are several reviews of it crashing but works great for some like me (on my red 920). Dont know what the difference is but I dont have cloud on and use wmp to organize my songs which may be a factor.
It works on the cyan one too! :)
Works great......lumia 920
Finally!
Great app. Works perfectly on my 920.
Nokia, I love you! ;)
Doesnt work, keeps crashing.
I'm on an 820. App crashes when I try to use it. Question about the drag and drop option for ringtones. Are you just moving your music file to one folder from another? If so, are you still able to listen to the track with the Xbox Music app? Or are you making copies of the file into the ringtone folder? Thus making duplicates on the phone.
Can't find this app in the Nokia collection section. Can anyone help?
Its only due to DRM music files. Its not a limitation of the app but rather the OS. It says right in the guide to add ringtones that the file you use must be DRM free.
I only see albums and artists on my Nokia 920, no songs or playlists (which are there). I don't have Skype installed.
I still don't see this app in the store. Can anyone help me locate it?
Not me either, maybe got pulled

Show more comments