How to change the ringtone on Xiaomi Redmi 9T: all the ways from standard to hidden

Xiaomi Redmi 9T is one of the most popular budget phones of the brand, but even its owners often face non-obvious moments when setting up. One of these moments is changing the melody of the call. It would seem that it could be easier? But in practice, users face a lack of favorite ringtones in the standard set, problems when loading their tunes or a sudden reset after the MIUI update.

In this article, we’ll look at all the ways you can change the sound of an incoming call on a Redmi 9T, from basic settings to hidden features to bypassing system limitations. We’ll focus on file formats, system folder location, and MIUI 12/13/14. If you want to put your music on the call but your phone doesn’t see it, here’s the solution.

We'll also talk about the system sounds of notifications and alarm clocks, because they're often set up with ringtones. And for those of you who like experimentation, we'll give you instructions on how to set the tunes through ADB (no root rights!). Ready? Then we'll get started.

1. Standard method: change the melody through the phone settings

The most obvious method is to use the built-in MIUI tools, which is suitable for most users, but has limitations: you only have to choose from pre-installed ringtones.

Open the Settings app and go to the Sound and Vibration section, and here you'll see a few tabs -- we're interested in Call Melody. Put it on, and you'll see a list of available sounds. Listen to them by clicking on any item and select which one you like.

Note that MIUI has melodies grouped into categories — Classic, Modern, Natural Sounds, etc. If you don’t like either option, you can download additional ringtones right from this menu: there’s a button at the bottom of the screen called “More” (three dots) → “Download tunes.” However, this method requires an Internet connection and does not always offer quality sounds.

• 🔍 Where to look: Settings → Sound and vibration → The ringing melody
• 🎵 Default formats:.ogg,.mp3 (But not everyone works right)
• ⚙️ Restriction: You can’t add your music without additional manipulation.

If you want to return a standard tune after experimenting, just select Default from the same menu, which will reset the settings to factory.

2.Adding your music as a ringtone: a step-by-step guide

The standard set of tunes in Redmi 9T is rather sparse, so many users want to put their music on a call. It takes a few steps to do this, but there are nuances: the system only sees files in certain folders and formats.

First, prepare the audio file:

1. Make sure the melody is short (preferably up to 30 seconds) – long tracks will be cut.
2. The file format should be.mp3,.m4a or.ogg. WAV and FLAC are not supported!
3. Rename the file in Latin (without spaces and symbols), for example: my_ringtone.mp3.

Now, transfer the file to your phone. There are two options:

1. Through USB-cable: Connect Redmi 9T Select file transfer mode (File transfer or MTP). Copy the audio file into the Ringtones folder on the phone's internal memory. If it's not, create it manually.
2. Through File Manager: Open any file manager (like Google Files or Mi File Manager) go to the root directory of internal memory, create a Ringtones folder (if it doesn’t exist) and put your file there.

After that, restart your phone (this is important!) and check if your tune appears on the ringtones list. If not, read the next section on problem solving.

File in MP3/OGG/M4A format

Length not exceeding 30 seconds

Latin name without spaces

The file is copied to the Ringtones folder

Phone rebooted-->

3. Why isn't my tune displayed in the settings?

Redmi 9T users often complain that “I copied the file to Ringtones, but it’s not on the list!” There may be several reasons, and we’ll take a look at each one.

Problem 1: Wrong folder.

The system only looks for ringtones in a folder. /storage/emulated/0/Ringtones (internal memory; or /storage/XXXX-XXXX/Ringtones (SD-map XXXX-XXXX — If you created a folder elsewhere (for example, in Download), the system will ignore it.

Problem 2: Inappropriate format: MIUI officially supports.mp3,.m4a and.ogg, but in practice some files may not play due to broken tags or custom codecs.

• 🎧 Transfer the file through the online converter to MP3 bitrate 128-192 kbit/s.
• 🔊 Check if the file is playing in the standard Mi Music player. If not, the problem is in the file itself.

Problem 3: Cash of media files.

Sometimes the system doesn't update the list of available ringtones to reset the cache:

1. Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management.
2. Find Media Storage and clear its cache.
3. Reboot the phone.

Problem 4: The limitations of MIUI.

In some versions of MIUI (especially on older builds), the system ignores custom ringtones if they are too long or have custom tags. Try cropping the file up to 20 seconds and removing all metadata (use Audacity or MP3Tag).

4. Alternative methods: applications for changing ringtones

If the standard methods don't work, you can use third-party applications that circumvent the limitations. MIUI And set any sounds as ringtones, alerts, alarms.-3 tested.

1. Zedge (free, there's advertising)

• 📥 Pros: a huge library of ringtones and wallpaper, a simple interface.
• ⚠️ Cons: Requires access to storage, sometimes uploads unnecessary files.
• 🔗 How to use: download the application, find your favorite ringtone, click "Install» → «The ringing melody».

2. Ringtone Maker (free)

• ✂️ Feature: Allows you to crop any song from your library under the ringtone.
• 🎛️ Setting: Select a track, set the beginning and end of a fragment, save as a ringtone.

3. Files by Google (built-in tool)

• 📁 Method: Open the file in the application, tap on three points → «Use it as» → «The ringing melody».
• 🔄 Nuance: It doesn't work on all versions MIUI.

Warning: Some applications (such as Ringtone Maker) can create duplicate files in the Media/Audio/Ringtones folder. If too many ringtones appear in the settings after using them, clean this folder manually.

💡

If it doesn't apply after installing the ringtone through the app, try manually selecting it in the Sound and Vibration settings → Call Melody. Sometimes MIUI "forgets" to apply the changes.

5. Advanced method: changing the ringtone through ADB (no root)

This method is suitable for experienced users who want to bypass all restrictions. MIUI And you can set any sound as a system ringtone, USB-cable and on-debugging USB.

Step 1: Preparation

Step 2: Installation of ADB

• Download Google’s Platform Tools and unpack the archive.
• Place your audio file (for example, custom_ringtone.mp3) adb.exe folder.

Step 3: Commands to install ringtone

Open the command line (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) in the adb folder and execute in order:

adb devices

(Your Redmi 9T should be displayed)

adb push custom_ringtone.mp3 /sdcard/Ringtones/

(copying file to phone)

adb shell settings put system ringtone "file:///sdcard/Ringtones/custom_ringtone.mp3"

(setting as a ringtone)

Then restart your phone. Your tune should appear in the settings and apply by default.

⚠️ Warning: If the ringtone hasn't changed after you run the commands, check the path to the file. MIUI The right path looks like /storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/custom_ringtone.mp3. Also make sure that the file has the correct access rights (they can be checked through adb shell ls). -l /sdcard/Ringtones/).

6. Customize individual melodies for contacts

Redmi 9T can assign unique ringtones to different contacts, which is convenient if you want to know who's calling without looking at the screen.

Open the Contacts app and select the contact you want. Tap Change (pencil icon) and scroll down to Call Melody. Here you can select any ringtone you can find (including the ones you added yourself).

If you want to assign a single tune to a group of contacts (such as a family or coworker), first create a group:

1. In Contacts, click on three points → Contact Management → Groups.
2. Create a new group (e.g., Work) and add contacts to it.
3. Now, when editing a group, you can assign a common ringtone.

Important: in MIUI 14+, the group ringtone function can be hidden, so to return it, update the Contacts app via Google Play or roll back to an older version.

• 👥 Who is suitable for: those who want to personalize calls from different people.
• 🔔 Restriction: You can’t assign different tunes to a single contact (e.g., for work and personal calls).
• 📱 Alternative: Use apps like Contact Ringtones for advanced settings.

7. Resetting sound settings to factory

If something goes wrong after experimenting with sounds (for example, all ringtones are missing or the phone makes strange sounds), you can reset the sound settings to the factory.

Go to Settings → Sound and vibration, and in the upper right corner, click on three dots → “Reset.” Confirm the action.

• The ringing melody will return to standard.
• The volume of notifications and media will drop to 50%.
• The vibrations will be activated when calling and texting (if it has been disabled).

If the reset doesn’t help (e.g., all system sounds are gone), the firmware may be damaged, in which case the phone reset to factory settings (but it will delete all the data!):

1. Make a backup copy of important files.
2. Go to Settings → About the phone → Reset settings.
3. Select “Erase all data” and wait until it is completed.

⚠️ Note: On some versions MIUI If you reset, you may lose the Ringtones folder with custom tunes. To avoid this, copy it to your computer or to the cloud before reset.

💡

Resetting your audio settings does not delete your files, but returns all sound parameters (ringtones, volume, vibration) to factory values.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing the ringtone to the Redmi 9T