How to Change Ringtone on HTC One

Regardless of whether you own last year’s HTC One or HTC One M8, customization is key. It’s one thing to take a phone call to hear a sterile sound that your wireless carrier has set as your ringtone right out of the box. It’s another thing to receive a call from a family member and hear a song you love or an audio clip that puts you in a better mood. Here’s how to change the ringtone on HTC One M8.

If you own the HTC One M7 that was released in early 2013, you may notice that the software screenshots here look fundamentally different than on your HTC One. This is because the new HTC One includes a major software upgrade called Sense 6. Sense 6 is available as a free software download not only for those who upgraded to HTC One M8, but also for HTC one M7 users. You will need this free update before you can use this tutorial. Go to the app to see if your carrier has unlocked it for your device. Tap then tap .

Choosing a Song You Already Own

HTC One runs Google’s Android operating system. This may not mean much to you right now, but you will find that the software running on your device is really generous in letting you mess with things without voiding your warranty. When it comes to ringtones, it’s even better than the iPhone 5s. If you don’t want to buy a ringtone directly from the iTunes Store, you’re really in trouble with the iPhone.

With HTC One, you can choose any song you already own as a ringtone with a few keystrokes.

First, your HTC One. If you put a password on it, you need to enter it. Unless you’ve tapped and dragged up the lock icon at the bottom of your HTC One screen.

By default, HTC One takes you to Blinkfeed, a quick way to see your social media contacts, the latest news, and more. Don’t touch any story or even swipe right to reveal other homepages. Instead, tap the icon at the top of your screen, which contains nine rectangular dots.

Welcome to the list of every app you have installed. Find the Settings app in your list of installed apps. If you’ve rearranged your apps, Settings could definitely be anywhere on the list. You can tap the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner to reorder your apps in alphabetical order. This should make the Settings app easy to find. When you do, tap the app to open it.

On Android, settings are organized by priority and what they do. Ringtones are a personal feature, so search for Personal area and then tap on it. In our example, it’s the second option from the bottom of the screen.

Now tap the option at the bottom of your screen to open the Ringtone settings area.

Unless unlocked, every HTC One comes with two sets of ringtones. Most of these are ringtones HTC chose to put on the HTC One you own. There will be tons of them. The settings in HTC One’s ringtone folder, which you may have added, will be followed in the shuffle. Since you’re reading this, you probably haven’t added any ringtones. This is good. Tap any ringtone in the list to hear a preview, then tap Apply if you find a ringtone you like in the list. If you have a song you prefer to use, tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of your screen.

Now find the song you want to use from your music collection and tap on it. If you think a song is too long after selecting it, you can trim it. If you like the song as it is, just tap it.

That’s really all you need to do. No buying extra parts unless you want to, and no third-party apps are required to get started. Of course, you can buy new songs to use as ringtones in the Google Play Store. HTC One doesn’t require it to be loud when you choose a song as a ringtone. That said, you should immediately look for something that makes a sound when your phone rings.

Songs with quiet intros to hear in the first ten or twenty seconds will make it really hard for your phone to ring in public or crowded places. Also, don’t be afraid to only download a song to the part you like. Doing so cuts out a lot of dead air and provides a much more useful ringtone.