How to change the ringtone of the call on Xiaomi Redmi 9: all ways and life hacks

Almost everyone wants to change the standard ringtone to Xiaomi Redmi 9 — factory ringtone is quick to get bored, and personalized sound makes your smartphone stand out from the others. But not everyone knows that customizing audio signals in MIUI has its nuances, from hidden menus to limitations on file formats. In this article, we will analyze all the available methods, from basic replacement through settings to install custom tunes through the file system.

The peculiarity of Redmi 9 (codenamed lancelot) is that it runs on MIUI firmware, where the audio customization interface is different from the "pure" Android. For example, there is no separate section "Sounds and vibrations" in the main menu, you need to search in sub-items. In addition, the system by default blocks the use of user tunes longer than 30 seconds, which creates additional difficulties. We will show how to circumvent these restrictions by legal methods.

Method 1: Replace the standard tune with MIUI settings

The easiest method is to select one of the preset tunes, which doesn't require any additional apps or superuser rights, but is limited to a standard set of sounds.

To change the ringtone:

1. Open the Settings app (the gear icon on the home screen).
2. Go to the section Sound and vibration.
3. Slap on the call melody item.
4. In the list that opens, select MIUI, Classic or Downloaded (if you have previously added your files).
5. Listen to your favorite tune by clicking on it, and confirm the choice with the OK button.

Note that in MIUI 12 and above, the list of tunes is divided into tabs. If you don't see the right sound, check all the categories available - sometimes factory ringtones are duplicated in different sections.

Method 2: Install custom melody from phone files

If you don't like standard sounds, you can download your own tune, and you can do this in.mp3,.m4a,.wav or.ogg formats, but with limitations:

• 🎵 Length not exceeding 30 seconds (otherwise) MIUI clip the file automatically).
• 📁 The file must be in the Ringtones or Notifications folder on the internal drive.
• 🔊 Bitrate not higher than 320 kbps (high quality can cause playback delays).

Instructions for addition:

1. Connect Redmi 9 to your computer via USB or use a file manager (e.g. Mi File Manager).
2. Create a Ringtones folder at the root of your internal memory (if you don’t have one).
3. Place the prepared audio file (for example, my_ringtone.mp3).
4. Return to Settings → Sounds and vibration → Call melody.
5. Select the Download tab – your file should appear in the list.

Cut the track to 30 seconds|Convert to MP3 (if another format)|Rename the file in Latin|Put it in the Ringtones folder|Reboot the phone (optional)-->

⚠️ Note: If the file does not appear in the list, check its name — MIUI It does not support Cyrillic and special characters in the names of melodies, ringtone_1.mp3).

Method 3: Set up individual tunes for contacts

MIUI allows you to assign a unique ringtone to individual contacts, which is convenient if you want to immediately know who is calling without looking at the screen.

How to do this:

1. Open the Contacts app (phone book icon).
2. Choose the right contact and tap it in his name.
3. Click Change (pencil icon in upper right corner).
4. Scroll down to the Melody of the Call block and select User.
5. Specify a file from the standard list or your collection (if you have previously added custom tunes).
6. Save the changes.

This also works for contact groups, such as assigning one tune to a family and another to a colleague, but the main limitation is that MIUI doesn't support dynamic volume change for individual ringtones, it will always match the overall volume setting of the call.

Method 4: Using third-party applications for advanced settings

If the built-in MIUI capabilities are not enough, you can install specialized applications that allow you to:

• 🎶 Set up tunes longer than 30 seconds.
• 🔊 Set different volumes for different contacts.
• 📱 Use dynamic ringtones (e.g., changing depending on the time of day).

Top.-3 Proven applications for Redmi 9:

After installing any of these applications:

1. Run it and select an audio file to edit.
2. Cut the track to the desired length (15-30 seconds are recommended).
3. Save the result as a "Ringtone" (Ringtone).
4. In MIUI settings, select a new file in the Downloads section.

⚠️ Note: Some apps (e.g. Zedge) require permission to access contacts and storage. If you refuse permission, you will not be able to save tunes directly to the system. To avoid data leaks, use official high-ranking apps from Google Play.

Method 5: Advanced File System Configuration (for experienced)

If you're ready to go into the technical details, you can manually replace the system ringtones, which requires root rights or ADB, but gives you complete control over the sounds.

Step-by-step:

1. Connect Redmi 9 to your PC and enable USB Debugging in Settings → About Phone → MIUI version (tap 7 times on version, then go back to Additional → For Developers).
2. Download and install ADB Tools.
3. Open the command line in the ADB folder and execute: adb pull /system/media/audio/ringtones This will copy the standard ringtones to your PC.
4. Replace the required files (for example, miui_ringtone.mp3) with their own melodies, keeping the original names.
5. Return files back: adb push your file.mp3 /system/media/audio/ringtones/adb shell chmod 644 /system/media/audio/ringtones/your file.mp3
6. Reboot the phone.

This method bypasses the MIUI limit on the length of the tunes, but has risks:

• 🚨 Incorrect file access rights can cause system failures.
• 🔄 After updating MIUI change.
• 🛠️ Requires backup of original files.

💡

Before replacing system files, create a backup folder /system/media/audio/ Adb pull team /system/media/audio backup_audio. This will help you to recover the original sounds if necessary.

Problem Solving: Why doesn’t the ringtone change?

Sometimes users find that new ringtones are not used or reset, and consider the typical causes and ways to eliminate them.

If the problem persists, try resetting the sound settings to factory:

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting settings.
2. Select Reset sound and vibration settings.
3. Confirm the action and restart the phone.

💡

Before resetting your audio settings, export your current tunes from /Ringtones/ – they will be deleted!

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing the tune to Redmi 9