How to Customize Ringback Tones

Ringtones have been around several years longer than ringback tones, so they are slightly ahead in terms of options. Ringtones can be created, edited, copied and shared by an individual user. Ringback tones, on the other hand, are stored by the carrier. Consequently, you cannot customize the ringback tone. You can, however, customize how you use the ringback tones available to you.

Things You'll Need

• Cellphone that supports ringback tones

Instructions

Customize How Ringback Tones Are Used

1. Sign up for your cellphone provider's subscription ringback tone service. If your phone does not have such a service, you'll have to wait. For now, ringback phone service operates in house.

2. Select and buy a ringback tone or a variety of ringback tones to customize your cellphone. Most providers have thousands of different ringback tones to choose from and more are created everyday.

3. Log in to your account on your provider's site to manage ringback tones. There are many different ways you can manipulate your ringback tones.

4. Record a voice greeting to use your ringback tone as a way to announce the feature to callers. This service is not available from all providers.

5. Assign a ringback tone for your default tone. The default will play for anyone for whom you haven't assigned specific ringtones.

6. Designate ringback tones to be heard by specific callers. To do this, you'll have to input the name and phone number of the caller. Choosing a caller's favorite song to listen to while he waits for you to answer is a surprise treat.

7. Create a group of callers to hear a particular ringback tone. That way, only the people you choose will hear your ringback tone, but all others will hear the default ringback tone you selected or the standard "ring-ring" sound.

8. Assign which days each ringback tone will be heard. You can choose to have your ringback tone heard over the weekend when you are less likely to get calls of a professional nature.

Tips & Warnings

• Program your cellphone to play classical music as a ringback tone if you want a conservative, but unique, ringback tone during business hours.

• Create a playlist of tones to be heard in random order in accordance with your time and date specifications. The playlist keeps your ringback tones fresh and your callers guessing.

• Look forward to future ringback tone developments. If this medium follows the same route as ringtones, you'll eventually be able to create your own ringback tones for your phone.

• Sign up for voicemail if you don't already have it. Voicemail is often an integral feature in getting ringback tones to your phone.

• Carefully manage your ringback tones. Most providers cap how many ringback tones each user can buy.