How to put your song in a call Xiaomi Redmi Note 7: all ways

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is still one of the most popular budget smartphones thanks to its balanced specs and support for updates. But even after years of use, many owners have difficulty trying to set their own tune to a call instead of standard MIUI signals. The problem is that the system limits the choice to preloaded ringtones, and adding custom tracks requires knowledge of hidden features or workarounds.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven ways to put any song on a call in Redmi Note 7 — from standard settings to using third-party applications. All methods are tested on MIUI 12-14 and do not require root rights.

If you've tried to change the ringtone, but your track is not visible in the settings, or if you've lost user tunes after the system update, you'll find a solution here, and for those who want to automate the process, we've prepared a checklist with step-by-step actions and a format compatibility table.

Why are the standard methods not working?

The main reason Redmi Note 7 doesn’t show added tunes in the call selection menu is because the files are not properly arranged or formatted.The MIUI scans only certain folders (/Ringtones, /Notifications, /Alarms) and ignores files with bitrates above 320 kbps or longer than 30 seconds.

Also, after MIUI updates, folder permissions are often reset, and previously added ringtones disappear from the list, not a bug, but a feature of Media Storage, the system service responsible for indexing media.

• 📁 The folder is wrong: files should be in the /storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/, Not Download or Music.
• 🎵 Inappropriate format: MIUI It only works consistently with.mp3,.m4a.ogg..flac or.wav files may not be displayed.
• ⏱️ Tracks too long: optimal 15 to 30 seconds; long songs are cut or ignored.
• 🔄 Cash is not updated: after copying the file, you need to restart the phone or manually update the media base through Settings → Annexes → Show it all. → Media Storage → Memory. → Clear the cache.

⚠️ Attention: If you are using MIUI 14 and above, check if the "Light Version" mode is enabled in the audio settings, and only standard tunes are available in this mode, and the user tunes are turned off.

Method 1: Using standard MIUI settings

The easiest method is to use the built-in MIUI tools, but it only works if the file is already in the correct folder.

1. Copy your audio file (for example, song.mp3) folder /Ringtones internal memory (not on the internal memory) SD-map!).
2. Open Settings → Sound and vibration → Call.
3. In the list of available tunes, select Local (or My Melodies in new MIUI versions).
4. Find your file and click on it for pre-listening, then confirm the selection.

If your song is not displayed, check out:

• 📌 The file name does not contain any special characters (e.g., #, %, spaces at the beginning).
• 🔊 File format —.mp3 bitrate not higher than 320 kbit/s.
• 📂 Ringtones folder is created at the root of internal memory, not nested in other directories.

If after all the manipulations the melody never appeared, try to restart the phone – sometimes MIUI does not immediately index new files.

Method 2: Using a file manager (without a PC)

If you don't have access to your computer, you can add a ringtone directly through the file manager on your phone, which is suitable for a standard Files app or any third-party application (for example, Solid Explorer or FX File Manager).

Step-by-step:

1. Open the file manager and go to internal memory (/storage/emulated/0/).
2. Create a folder called Ringtones (if it doesn't exist). Importantly, the register matters -- the folder should be called Ringtones, not Ringtones or Ringtones.
3. Find your audio file (such as in the Download or Music folder) and copy it to /Ringtones.
4. Go to Settings → Sound → Call and select your file in the Local section.

If the Ringtones folder already exists but the tunes don’t show up, try:

• 🔄 Move the file to another folder (like Download) and then back to Ringtones.
• 📛 Rename the file by adding a number to the beginning of the name (for example, 1_my_song.mp3).
• 🗑️ Delete the.nomedia file if it is in the Ringtones folder (it blocks scanning of media files).

Method 3: Through PC (most reliable)

Connecting the Redmi Note 7 to your computer is the most reliable way to add a ringtone, as you have precise control over the location of files and their attributes. USB-cable and any file manager on a PC (e.g. Windows Explorer or Far Manager).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC in the "File Transfer" mode (when you see a request on the smartphone screen, select this option).
2. On your computer, open the phone folder and go to Internal Memory.
3. Create a Ringtones folder (if not), or open an existing one.
4. Copy the audio file into this folder. Make sure the file name is written in Latin (e.g. ringtone.mp3, not my song.mp3).
5. Securely remove the device and restart the Redmi Note 7.

After the reboot, the file should appear in the ringtones list. If this does not happen, check:

• 🖥️ Did the phone connect in “Charge Only” mode – in this case, the folders do not appear.
• 🔒 Is there a Hidden attribute on the file (in Windows, this can be checked in the file properties).
• 📵 Does the antivirus on the PC block access to files (sometimes) MIUI Marks suspicious files as unsafe).

⚠️ Note: If you connect Redmi Note 7 to a Mac, use the Android File Transfer app as Finder does not support the protocol MTP Xiaomi without additional software.

Method 4: Applications for installing ringtones

If previous methods didn't work, you can use third-party apps from Google Play, which automate the process of adding tunes and often solve problems with indexing files.

• 🎶 Zedge: a huge database of ringtones and notifications, integration with MIUI. Allows you to download tracks directly to the desired folder.
• 🔊 Ringtone Maker: a tool to crop songs and save them as ringtones. Supports exports to the United States /Ringtones.
• 📱 MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker: handy editor with pre-listening. You can cut the best snippet of a track.

How to use (in the example of Zedge):

1. Install Zedge from Google Play and open it.
2. In the "Ringtones" section, find your favorite track or upload yours through "My Files".
3. Click on the track and select "Install as a call".
4. Confirm the choice in the system menu MIUI.

Advantages of this method:

• ✅ No need to manually copy files – the application does it automatically.
• ✅ Supported formats that MIUI It is usually ignored (for example,.wav is converted to.wav.mp3).
• ✅ You can cut the track right in the application by selecting the best fragment.

💡

If the ringtone is not played through the app, check if the notifications are turned off in the Sound → Do Not Disturb settings. Sometimes MIUI resets the sound profile after changing the ringtone.

Method 5: For Advanced Users (ADB)

If none of these methods worked, you can manually add a ringtone through ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which requires a PC connection and basic command line knowledge, but is guaranteed to work even on custom firmware.

What you need:

• 🖥️ Computer with installed ADB-driver.
• 📱 Included debugging by USB Redmi Note 7 (Settings) → The phone. → Version. MIUI → 7 times to activate the developer mode, then additionally → For developers → Debugging by USB).
• 🎵 Prepared audio file in format.mp3 (for example, custom_ringtone.mp3).

Instructions:

1. Connect your phone to your PC and open the command line (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux).
2. Check the device connection command: Adb devices must display the serial number of your Redmi Note 7.
3. Copy the file to the system folder of ringtones: adb push custom_ringtone.mp3 /sdcard/Ringtones/
4. Update: Adb shell am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE -d file:///sdcard/Ringtones/custom_ringtone.mp3
5. Reboot your phone: adb reboot

After the reboot, your ringtone will appear in the settings. If the file does not appear, check the access rights:

adb shell ls -l /sdcard/Ringtones/

The output should contain a line like:

-rw-rw---- 1 root sdcard_rw 1234567 Jun 10 12:34 custom_ringtone.mp3

If the rights are not enough, set them by command:

adb shell chmod 644 /sdcard/Ringtones/custom_ringtone.mp3

Typical errors and their solutions

Even after adding the file correctly, the ringtone may not work, and here are the most common problems and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods helped, try resetting the sound settings to the standard:

1. Go to Settings → System → Resetting settings.
2. Select "Resetting Sound Settings" (not a full reset!).
3. After the reboot, repeat the addition of the ringtone.

💡

If you are using MIUI 13/14 or higher, check if Super Transcript is activated in the audio settings, and in this mode, some custom ringtones may be blocked.

FAQ: Frequent questions