How to put your song on the phone: all ways for MIUI

Why Xiaomi’s standard ringtones don’t suit users?

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones come with a preset set of ringtone ringtone, but not all of them like owners. Someone wants to hear their favorite song on an incoming call, someone needs a unique tune for different contacts, and some are just tired of standard signals. Fortunately, MIUI makes it easy to replace the ringtone with any audio file - the main thing is to know where to look for the right settings and how to circumvent possible system limitations.

In this article, we’ll look at all the current ways to set your music to a call, from standard MIUI 14/13/12 tools to workarounds for files that the system refuses to accept, and how to assign customized tunes to individual contacts, why some songs don’t appear in the ringtones list, and what to do if your favorite call disappears after the system update.

Before proceeding to the instructions, make sure your audio file meets the basic requirements:

• 🎵 Format:.mp3,.m4a,.wav (preferably) MP3 bitrate up to 320 kbit/s)
• 🕒 Duration: optimally 20–40 seconds (the system can cut too long tracks)
• 📁 Location: The file must be in the phone's memory (not on the phone's memory). SD-map or cloud)

Method 1: Installation of the melody through standard MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in system tools. It works on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 12 and later, including the Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Xiaomi 13 and others.

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the desktop).
2. Go to the section Sound and vibration.
3. Select the Melody of the Call (or the Sound of Notifications if you want to change the signal for SMS).
4. At the top of the screen, tap on Local Melodies (or My Melodies in some firmware versions).
5. The system will display all audio files suitable for use as a ringtone. Select the desired track and press OK.

If your song doesn’t appear on the list, check out:

• 🔍 Storage folder: files should be in /storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/ or /storage/emulated/0/Notifications/ (The system scans only those directories).
• 📌 Format: MIUI Ignore files with.flac,.aac extensions (unless they are converted to MP3).
• 🔄 Cash: Sometimes it helps to reboot the phone or clear the cache of the Settings app (in Settings). → Annexes → Application management).

Download the song in MP3| Transfer the file to Ringtones| Check the track duration (up to 40 seconds)|Reboot the phone

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⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Redmi) 10C or POCO M4 Pro after updating to MIUI 14 may be missing the Local Melodies section, in which case use Method 3 with file manager.

Method 2: Assigning an individual melody to contact

If you want a particular caller to have their own unique call, do the following:

1. Open the Contacts (or Phone) application.
2. Find the right contact and tap it.
3. Click Change (pencil icon in upper right corner).
4. Scroll down to the default call melody and select Add a melody.
5. The system will suggest selecting a file from standard ringtones or your local tunes (if they are in the Ringtones folder).

Important: Individual tunes only work for contacts stored in the phone book, not in the phone book. SIM-And you should also note that:

• 📱 On Xiaomi with a double. SIM-The melody will only be played for calls to the main card. SIM.
• 🔕 If the contact calls via WhatsApp or Telegram, his call will use the settings of the messenger, not the system.
• 🔄 After resetting settings or updating MIUI individual ringtones can be reset.

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To quickly find a contact for assigning a melody, use the search in the Contacts app (the magnifier icon at the top of the screen).

If the desired track is not in the list, first add it to the Ringtones folder (see Method 1), then go back to editing the contact.

Method 3: Manually Adding Ringtones Through File Manager

If the standard method didn’t work (for example, the song doesn’t appear in Local Melodies), try adding it manually:

1. Connect your phone to your computer via USB (in file transfer mode) or use a file manager on your smartphone (such as Files from Google or Mi File Manager).
2. Go to the root folder of internal memory: /storage/emulated/0/.
3. Create a folder called Ringtones (if you don't have one), and you can create a Notifications folder for notifications.
4. Copy your audio file into this folder, and the file name should be in Latin (without spaces or special characters).
5. Reboot the phone.

After the reboot, check for the track in Settings → Sound and Vibration → Call Melody → Local Melodies.

⚠️ Note: On some firmware (for example, MIUI Global Stable for European region, Ringtones folder can be ignored by the system. /storage/emulated/0/Media/Audio/Ringtones/.

Method 4: Using Third-Party Applications

If the built-in MIUI tools don't suit you, you can use third-party utilities.

• 🎶 Zedge – the largest database of ringtones and notifications with the ability to download custom tracks.
• 🔊 Ringtone Maker – lets you crop songs and save them straight to the Ringtones folder.
• 📱 MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker is a handy editor for creating tunes from any audio files.

Instructions for Zedge:

1. Install the app from Google Play.
2. Launch Zedge and allow access to the storage.
3. Go to the Ringtones section and select your favorite track (or upload yours through My Stuff).
4. Click Set as ringtone – the system will redirect you to the MIUI settings, where you will be left to confirm the selection.

Advantages of third-party applications:

• ✅ A large selection of ready-made ringtones.
• ✅ Possibility of cutting tracks without a computer.
• ✅ Automatically place files in the right folders.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Some apps show ads.
• ❌ Additional permissions (access to files, contacts).

Solving common problems

Even after setting the melody correctly, Xiaomi users sometimes run into problems, and let's look at the typical cases and their solutions.

1.The call is reset to standard after the MIUI update

This is a well-known MIUI 13/14 problem, which involves resetting user settings in major updates to avoid losing the ringtone:

• 📁 Save a backup of the Ringtones folder to your computer or cloud.
• 🔄 After updating manually return files to the folder and restart the phone.
• 📋 Write down the names of individual tunes for contacts (they will have to be reassigned).

2.The melody plays quietly or with distortions

Reasons:

• 🔊 Low quality of the original file (bitrate below 96 kbit/s).
• 📵 Speaker limitations (on some Redmi models, the maximum volume of the call is lower than that of multimedia).
• 🔧 Incorrect sound uniformity settings in Settings → Sound and vibration → Equalizer.

Solution: Convert the track to MP3 with a bitrate of 192 kbps and a frequency of 44.1 kHz. Also check the volume settings in Settings → Sound and vibration → Loudness (Call slider should be at maximum).

3 You can't pick a song longer than 30 seconds.

MIUI automatically cuts ringtones longer than 30 seconds, but this restriction can be circumvented.

1. Use the Ringtone Maker app to trim the track for up to 25-30 seconds.
2. Or rename the file by adding an underline character at the beginning of the title (e.g, _my_ringtone.mp3) — Sometimes it helps to cheat the system.

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If none of the methods worked, try resetting the sound settings to factory: Settings → System → Resetting → Resetting the sound settings.

Additional tips for working with ringtones on Xiaomi

To ensure that your ringing sounds always work correctly, follow these guidelines:

• 📂 Backup: Regularly save your Ringtones folder to the cloud (Google Drive, Mi Cloud) or computer, which will help you quickly recover your tunes after a reset or update.
• 🔄 Cache Clearing: If ringtones are lost or not lost, clear the Settings and Media Storage app cache in Settings → Annexes → Application management.
• 🎧 Testing: Before assigning a melody, check how it sounds through the phone's speaker (not all tracks are well received on small speakers).
• 📵 Energy saving: In Ultra-saving or Charge saving mode, some Xiaomi models turn off custom ringtones. check battery settings.

For advanced users:

• 🛠️ If you use custom firmware (like Pixel Experience or LineageOS), the ringtone folder may be different. /system/media/audio/ringtones/, But the changes will require root rights.
• 📲 On some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T) You can choose different tunes for SIM1 and SIM2 double-set SIM-map.

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To quickly find the Ringtones folder, type:audio in the file manager and the system will show all the audio files on the device.

FAQ: Frequent questions about ringtones on Xiaomi