Modern Xiaomi smartphones with a shell MIUI or HyperOS provide users with ample opportunities for personalization, and setting a unique ringtone on an incoming call is one of the most popular ways to stand out. Often, your favorite track is too long or contains an introduction that you do not want to hear every time you call, in such cases, you need to highlight a specific piece of composition, making it a separate file for installation as a melody.
Fortunately, you don’t have to search for a computer or download bulky software to accomplish this task.The built-in features of the Android operating system, adapted by Xiaomi engineers, allow you to work with audio directly on the device.We’ll look at a few proven techniques that will help you cut music quickly and efficiently, whether it’s a popular hit or a voice message.
In this article, we will take a look at how to use the standard voice recorder that you already have on your phone, and we will also look at the proven third-party solutions from Google Play. You will learn about the nuances of file formats and understand how to avoid loss of sound quality when editing.
Use of the built-in Xiaomi voice recorder
Many smartphone owners do not even realize that the standard application Mi Recorder has hidden functionality for editing audio, which is perhaps the fastest way, since it does not require installing additional software and works even without access to the Internet.
To get started, open the Recorder app and find the entry you want in the list. Click on it to open the play menu, and look at the three dots in the top right corner or the edit button. In the menu that opens, select the Edit option, and then the screen will have an audio wave timeline. By moving the sliders around the edges, you can cut off the extra parts of the record, leaving only the desired fragment.
Once you have decided on the trimming boundaries, press the save button. The system will prompt you to save the file as new so that the original remains unchanged. This is an important point, since Mi Recorder is by default trying to protect the user's original data. The saved file will automatically enter the audio folder, from where it can be selected as a call signal.
⚠️ Note: Xiaomi’s standard voice recorder may not support cropping of third-party music files (MP3, FLAC), It's designed primarily to work with your own voice recordings, and it's better to use specialized applications to edit music tracks.
The main advantage of this method is that it's simple and it doesn't have to be advertising-free, you don't have to understand complex interfaces, you just have to move sliders, but to create a quality ringtone from a music file, this method may not be flexible enough, especially if you want high accuracy up to a millisecond.
💡
Before you start editing, make sure to make a copy of the original track, which will protect you from accidentally losing the file if the cropping process goes wrong.
Cutting music through online services in the browser
If you don't want to clog your phone's memory with apps, online audio services are a great solution. Chromium-based browsers like the standard MI Browser or Google Chrome are great at modern web-based audio processing technologies, a method that is versatile and works equally well on anything from budget Redmis to flagship series.
One of the most popular and functional services is mp3cut.net. Go to the site through your smartphone browser, click Open File and select a track in the device's memory. Once downloaded, you will see a convenient audio track that can be scaled with two fingers to more accurately adjust the trimming boundaries. The service allows you not only to cut, but also to apply the effects of smooth attenuation.
- 🎵 Accuracy: The ability to manually set the start and end times of a track to millisecond accuracy.
- 🔄 Formats: Support for conversion to MP3, WAV, M4R and other formats right in the process of pruning.
- ⚡ Speed: Processing takes place on the server, so the speed depends only on your Internet connection.
After setting the settings, click the Cut button, wait for processing and download the finished file. Also, it is worth considering that downloading heavy files in high quality (for example, FLAC or 320 kbit MP3) can take some time.
The Best Apps for Cutting Audio on Android
For users who plan to create ringtones or work with audio regularly, the best solution is to install a specialized application. Google Play Market has many tools, but not all of them are equally convenient and safe. We recommend paying attention to time-tested programs such as MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker or Audio Editor.
These apps provide complete control of the audio stream. You can not only crop the track, but you can also mix multiple files, overlay effects, change the playback speed and normalize the volume. The interface is usually adapted for touch screens, allowing you to control the process of touching. This gives you much more freedom than standard system tools.
When installing an application from third-party sources or even from the marketplace, pay attention to the permissions requested. Some programs may require access to contacts or geolocation, which is completely unnecessary for working with audio files. Data security should be a priority, so choose software with high ratings and a lot of positive reviews.
| Annex | Functional | Advertising | Support for formats |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP3 Cutter | Basic cropping, call setting | Present. | MP3, WAV, OGG |
| Audio Editor | Mixing, effects, equalizer | It's in the free version. | All popular. |
| Ringdroid | Automatic definition of the chorus | Minimum. | MP3, M4A, WAV |
| Lexis Audio Editor | Professional processing, noise reduction | No (in database) | MP3, WAV, FLAC |
Using specialized software, you can create ringtones of any complexity, for example, you can make the start of a call quiet and then the volume rises, and these fine-tunings are not available in standard tools, but are easily implemented in advanced editors.
Why do some apps require access to a microphone?
Step-by-step instructions for creating a ringtone
The process of creating and installing a ringtone on Xiaomi has its own peculiarities associated with the Android permission system. Even if you successfully clipped a track, the system may not allow you to immediately install it on a call without the right sequence of actions. Let’s take a look at an algorithm that is guaranteed to work on current versions. MIUI.
First, make sure that the cropped file is stored in the phone's memory. It's advisable to put it in the Ringtones or Notifications folder at the root of the internal memory. These are system folders, the contents of which are automatically scanned by the shell and displayed in the list of available tunes. If there is no such folder, you can create it manually through the file manager.
☑️ Checklist of ringtone installation
Next, go to the Settings menu → Sounds and vibrations → Rington. In the list that opens, scroll down to the end or click on the plus to add a new sound. The system will suggest you select an audio file from memory. Find your cropped track and confirm the selection. Now it is installed on the entire phone.
If you want to set a unique melody for a particular contact, the process will be different: Open the Contacts app, select the right person, click Change and find the Call Melody field, where you can assign a customized track that will only sound when you call from that caller.
Working with formats and sound quality
When cutting music, it is critical to understand the difference between compression formats. Most ringtones are MP3, as it provides good quality with a small file size. However, modern Xiaomi smartphones support more advanced codecs such as AAC or even FLAC, but for calls they are often redundant.
Re-saving a file in a lossy format (like MP3) every time you crop it can lead to degradation of quality. If you plan to edit a track, try to work with the original file or use lossless formats (WAV) in the interim. Only convert the final version to MP3 for installation on the call.
Notice the bitrate of the track. For ringtones, the value is enough. 128 kbit/s or 192 kbit/s. Bitrate files 320 kbit/s It's going to take up more space, but you're not going to hear the difference on the speaker of the smartphone. Optimizing the file size will help you save space in the system partition allocated for the media.
⚠️ Note: Do not attempt to install ringtone files with DRM-protection (for example, tracks from the subscription Yandex.Music or Spotify in offline mode), the system will not be able to play them outside the source application, and the call will be.
💡
The optimal format for ringtones is MP3 with a bitrate of 128-192 kbit/s. This ensures compatibility with all models and saves space.
Frequent problems and their solution
Users often face a situation where a cropped file simply does not appear in the list of available ringtones, most often the problem is access rights, editorial applications and the system itself need permission to read and write files in memory, check the permission settings for the application you used to trim.
Another common problem is that a file is too short or too long. Android can ignore tracks shorter than 5 seconds or longer than 30-40 seconds for standard ringtones. If your file doesn't install, try to increase its duration a little by adding silence at the beginning or end.
Sometimes, after updating the MIUI firmware, the list of tunes may be reset or stopped updating, in which case it helps to clear the Media Storage app cache through the app menu, and after rebooting, the phone will rescan the memory and find all the audio files, including your new ringtones.
If you use cloud services to store music, make sure that the file is physically uploaded to the device. The ringtone cannot play directly from the cloud (Google Drive, Yandex.Disk), it must lie in the phone’s internal memory in a folder accessible to the system.