How to change the sound of a call on a Xiaomi smartphone: 5 ways for all models

The phone's ringing is the owner's calling card, their voice in the digital world. Standard MIUI tunes get boring quickly, and a poorly chosen ringtone can irritate others. Fortunately, you can change the sound of a call to Xiaomi in minutes - and it does not need root rights or complex manipulation.

In this article, we'll look at all the current ways, from basic settings to hidden firmware chips, how to set custom tunes, customize contact ringtones, and even create unique audio profiles, and why some files don't appear on the list of available ones and how to fix them.

Attention! Instructions are checked on MIUI 14/15 (including HyperOS) and are relevant for all modern Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO and Black Shark models. If you have a device older than 2019, some menu items may differ - we will warn you about this separately.

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1. Standard method: through MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in tools of the system, which is suitable for most users and does not require the installation of additional applications.

Open the Settings app (the gear icon on your desktop) and go to the Sounds and Vibrations section. Here you are interested in the Call Sound. Tapping it will open a list of available tunes, divided into categories: standard, downloaded and system.

To listen to a tune, just tap the name of the tune. To select, click on the circle on the right. Changes will apply automatically - no additional saving is required.

⚠️ Note: Some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 13T Or the Redmi Note 12 Pro.+) This menu may not have a Downloaded section, which means that the system does not see user files.

2. Individual contact ringtones

You want important people to have unique tunes? In MIUI, it's system-level. Open the Contacts app, find the contact you want, and tap it. In the upper right corner, click Edit, then scroll down to the Sound of the Call.

Here you can choose from a standard tune or download your own (if the file meets the system requirements). Limit: maximum duration of an individual ringtone is 30 seconds. Longer files will be cropped automatically.

🔹 Useful Lifehack: If you want to assign unique sounds to your contact groups (such as Work or Family), use Google Contacts, which is more flexible than the standard Xiaomi app.

⚠️ Attention: On HyperOS devices (e.g. Xiaomi 14 or Xiaomi 13 Ultra), the path to customizing individual ringtones has changed. → Select contact → Three dots (menu) → Set up the sound.

3.Why aren't my files on the ringtones list?

A common problem is that the user downloaded the melody, put it in the phone's memory, but there's no sound setting for the file, and there are several reasons, and they're all solvable.

1. Wrong folder. The system only looks for ringtones in certain directories:

/storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/ - for the sound of the call

/storage/emulated/0/Notifications/ - for notifications

/storage/emulated/0/Alarms/ - for alarm clocks

If your file is in Downloads or Music, the system will not see it.

2. Inappropriate format. MIUI supports only.mp3,.m4a,.ogg and.wav..flac or.aac files will not be displayed.

3. Too big. The optimal bitrate for the ringtone is 128-192 kbps. Files with a bitrate of 320 kbps can be ignored by the system.

4. Media cache is not updated. Once you add the file to the correct folder, restart your phone or manually update the media base through the Files app (click on three dots → Settings → Update media files).

4. Installation of ringtones through third-party applications

If standard MIUI capabilities aren't enough, Google Play apps will come to the rescue, and we tested the top solutions and selected the best ones:

📱 Zedge is the largest database of ringtones and wallpapers. The app automatically adds selected tunes to the system folders. Plus: there are categories by mood (calm, energetic, funny.

🎵 Ringtone Maker is a song-cutting tool that allows you to cut a piece out of any song and save it as a ringtone.

🔊 MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker is an analogue of the previous one, but with support for.flac and.wma formats.

⚠️ Note: When installing ringtones through third-party apps MIUI You can ask permission to access files. Never give applications access to folders with personal data (for example, /DCIM/ or /Downloads/), If they are not related to media processing.

5. Hidden capabilities: sound profiles and modes

Few people know, but MIUI has hidden audio settings that allow you to flexibly control ringtones depending on the situation, for example, you can customize individual tunes for Work, Home and Night modes.

To activate this function:

1. Go to Settings → Sounds and Vibrations → Sound Modes.

2. Select one of the predefined profiles or create a new one (click Add).

3. For each profile, set up a separate bell sound, volume and vibration.

🔹 Advanced Trick: If you have Xiaomi with Dual Apps support, you can assign different ringtones to the original and cloned WhatsApp/Telegram. For that:

1. Open Settings → Apps → Dual Apps.

2. Select the messenger and activate the cloning.

3. In the sound settings of each instance of the application, assign a unique tune.

⚠️ Note: On HyperOS devices (such as Xiaomi 14 Pro), the path to audio profiles has changed. → Display and sound → Sound modes. Also, the ability to create more than 3 user profiles has disappeared, which is a limitation of the new shell.

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If you travel frequently, create a roaming profile with notifications turned off and a quiet call sound, which will help to avoid unexpected expenses on mobile Internet.

Problems and Solutions: What to Do When Nothing Works

Sometimes, even after all the manipulations, the sound of the call doesn't change or is reset to a standard one.

🔄 Problem: After the phone is rebooted, the ringtone is reset.

Solution: This is a bug in some versions of MIUI 13, and it helps to reset the sound settings.

Settings → System → Resetting settings → Resetting sound settings →

Then re-assign the desired melody.

🔇 Problem: The sound of the call is quiet, despite the maximum volume.

Solution: Check whether Do Not Disturb or Pocket Mode is activated (turns on automatically when the phone is down). Also make sure that the full volume profile is selected in the settings.

📱 Problem: POCO F5 or Redmi K60 There is no way to choose custom ringtones.

Solution: This is a firmware restriction for some regions. Bypass it by installing the ringtone through the Google Files app:

1. Find the melody file in the phone's memory.

2. Slip three dots next to the file.

3. Select Set as → Call Sound.

🔊 Problem: The sound of the call is interrupted or playing with a stutter.

Solution: Most likely, the file is corrupted or has too high bitrate. Convert it to MP3 128 kbps through online services (e.g. audio-converter.com) and try again.

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If the sound of the call doesn’t change after all the manipulations, check to see if there is an ad-blocking app on the phone (such as AdGuard), some of which interfere with the system sounds.

7. Alternative methods for advanced users

If you're not afraid of experimentation, you can go beyond standard settings. Here are two methods for enthusiasts:

🛠️ Method 1: Manual editing of system files (requires root).

With Root Explorer or Mixplorer, you can replace standard MIUI ringtones with your files.

1. Copy your file to /system/media/audio/ringtones/.

2. Assign him 644 (rw-r-----).

3. Reboot the phone.

⚠️ Warning: Incorrect editing of system files can lead to loss of warranty or unstable phone operation!

🤖 Method 2: ADB-ringtone.

If you have USB Debugging unlocked, you can assign a ringtone via the command:

adb shell settings put global ringtone_uri content://media/internal/audio/media/123

Where 123 is your file ID in the media database, you can find it through the Media Storage Info app from the Play Market.

📌 Important: These methods are only suitable for advanced users. For most tasks, standard tools will suffice. MIUI.

FAQ: Frequent questions about changing the sound of a call to Xiaomi