Argh Apple, is there really no easy way to use an mp3 my alarm?

Scam

Scam

Scam

Soldato
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Been a week or so with my iPhone 13, coming from being a solely android user previously.. Everything is ok so far (and this being a work phone, it was free and also means I dont have to carry two handsets around which is a blessing).

But all I want to do is use my Mr Blue Sky as my morning alarm. All I can seemingly do is pick music from Apple Music (which I don’t sub). Tried to jump through the hoops of adding the mp3 to my library on my Mac, then syncing it so that it appeared on my phone, but apparently you need to be a subscriber to do that :confused:

How can I do this? I’m guessing playing a Spotify playlist is out of the question? Thanks.
 
I'm not sure if it will be the same for alarms, but for ringtones/notifications I had to use iTunes to convert them to AAC and needs the m4r file extension.

Open iTunes, go to the "Songs" list in "Library", highlight the mp3 you want to use, then under "File" select "Convert" and pick "Create AAC Version". Then drag the AAC version to the desktop, and change the m4a extension to m4r. Now on iTunes, navigate to your device, select "Tones" and drag the m4r file there. Once it syncs over, see if you can select the file as an alarm.
 
Orcvader said:
(snip) Now on iTunes, navigate to your device, select "Tones" and drag the m4r file there. Once it syncs over, see if you can select the file as an alarm.
Click to expand...
I might be being extremely dumb but iTunes doesnt appear to exist anymore. And if I plug my iPhone into my Mac it doesnt even recognise it to manually copy files across :confused: The only option seems to be syncing my library, which Apple Music doesnt let me do because I'm not a subscriber? :confused:

Semple said:
Is there an alarm app you could use that you could choose to play an mp3 file.
Click to expand...
I'd rather not install a third-party app to do such a simple thing.. but if I really can't figure it out then maybe..
 
Scam said:
I might be being extremely dumb but iTunes doesnt appear to exist anymore. And if I plug my iPhone into my Mac it doesnt even recognise it to manually copy files across :confused: The only option seems to be syncing my library, which Apple Music doesnt let me do because I'm not a subscriber? :confused:
Click to expand...

Huh, it still exists for Windows, but a quick search they split iTunes up into multiple different apps for macOS.

Apparently GarageBand can do it: https://www.techadvisor.com/how-to/apple/custom-ringtone-iphone-3622959/
 
I'm allowed to still hate on Apple as the only reason I got this iPhone 13 is because it's a work handset, and after spending years carrying around two phones I finally caved and am dual-sim'ing it. Saves me buying a phone...

@Orcvader I will try Garageband, that popped up on a Google search I did yesterday.
 
I used iRinger to convert mp3 to a 30 second M4R and then i use CopyTrans Suite to copy the "music" file to the iphone - it sees that its an m4r and the phone will see it as a ringtone / alarm sound
 
Bump. Tried the GarageBand method which worked but only gives you 30sec files.

Does anyone know if you can choose iTunes songs as your alarm? When going to pick a song it tells you you can only pick songs downloaded in Apple Music. But wondering if I can purchase the individual songs I want on iTunes for my alarms..
 
Turns out iTunes songs work fine. Rather than faffing with an app I just bought the song lol.
Next question for an Apple noob, why the heck are alarms so loud? And why cant I turn them down independently of other ringers? This seems daft.. I’m happy with a loud ringer but not the alarm :( Any way to do it?
 
Semple said:
Seems ironic as that's the general basis for the iphone OS - keeps things simple.
Click to expand...
That’s rubbish from people who are happy with things like default wallpaper. There are so many weird decisions on iOS that it hurts my head.
 
Scam said:
Turns out iTunes songs work fine. Rather than faffing with an app I just bought the song lol.
Next question for an Apple noob, why the heck are alarms so loud? And why cant I turn them down independently of other ringers? This seems daft.. I’m happy with a loud ringer but not the alarm :( Any way to do it?
Click to expand...
There was Some extremely complicated way of doing it.. enabling volume control for all in settings then select the sound for alarm in the alarm app and while it’s previewing, lower the volume using buttons. Basically you need to Google it for full instructions :D I couldn’t get it to work.
 
Scam said:
And why cant I turn them down independently of other ringers? This seems daft.. I’m happy with a loud ringer but not the alarm :( Any way to do it?
Click to expand...

Interesting to hear .. as someone who's thinking of making the leap to the dark side this thread has highlighted a few limitations I wasn't aware of!
 
Yaayuh! said:
Indeed. This is the most stupid thing about the Apple Alarm app.
Click to expand...
I'm keen to know what other niggles occur? So far I've heard/aware of...
  • Independent ringer on alarm issue
  • Gmail isn't push in the mail app (but can check every 15 mins)
  • Less customisation but I could probably get over that
  • Can you browse files easily on the phone with a file manager?
  • Is it still the case if I plug in an iPhone into a PC - I can't just peruse the files like an additional drive?
  • Ad-free YT can be addressed with the Indian VPN trick
  • Assume Apple Pay works just the same as Google Pay?
  • Is casting to a TV as easy?
Sorry for the plethora of questions.

Edit - awesome, thanks @Yaayuh!. Will wait for some 13s to hit the refurb stores later in the year and have a think. I just want an excellent camera and excellent battery life, getting both on Android has been a struggle for me.
 
Last edited:
doodah said:
I'm keen to know what other niggles occur? So far I've heard/aware of...
Sorry for the plethora of questions.
Click to expand...


  • Independent ringer on alarm issue --Very annoying, but i've been meaning to try out a 3rd party Alarm app
  • Gmail isn't push in the mail app (but can check every 15 mins) -- Use the Gmail app?
  • Less customisation but I could probably get over that
  • Can you browse files easily on the phone with a file manager? -- Not really tried, I use OneDrive an iCloud for storage
  • Is it still the case if I plug in an iPhone into a PC - I can't just peruse the files like an additional drive? -- See above
  • Ad-free YT can be addressed with the Indian VPN trick -- Yep
  • Assume Apple Pay works just the same as Google Pay? -- It's dead simple and I use it as my primary payment method.
  • Is casting to a TV as easy? -- Dead simple, providing devices support Airplay
 
doodah said:
I'm keen to know what other niggles occur? So far I've heard/aware of...
  • Independent ringer on alarm issue
  • Gmail isn't push in the mail app (but can check every 15 mins)
  • Less customisation but I could probably get over that
  • Can you browse files easily on the phone with a file manager?
  • Is it still the case if I plug in an iPhone into a PC - I can't just peruse the files like an additional drive?
  • Ad-free YT can be addressed with the Indian VPN trick
  • Assume Apple Pay works just the same as Google Pay?
  • Is casting to a TV as easy?
Sorry for the plethora of questions.

Edit - awesome, thanks @Yaayuh!. Will wait for some 13s to hit the refurb stores later in the year and have a think. I just want an excellent camera and excellent battery life, getting both on Android has been a struggle for me.
Click to expand...


"Independent ringer on alarm issue."

Doesn't bother me tbh.

"Gmail isn't push in the mail app (but can check every 15 mins)."

This bothered the hell out of me. but like the Samsung phones i used before i used to use the Gmail app. So on my iPhone, i just used the Gmail app. sorted.

"Less customisation but I could probably get over that"

I used to be a nova launcher. and customized a lot of my old androids. But ios is getting better.
Can use widgets. custom icons wct. Although i am using it as standard and finding it doesn't bother me really

"Can you browse files easily on the phone with a file manager?"

There is a file manager app built-in just like Samsung.

"Is it still the case if I plug in an iPhone into a PC - I can't just peruse the files like an additional drive?"

I was curious about this so i tried. When you connect your phone to a windows pc it shows up. but there is an empty drive. Apparently, Doing a quick google it says. it does allow you to transfer photos though.(i haven't tried this yet as i haven't actually taken any pics yet on my phone)

"Ad-free YT can be addressed with the Indian VPN trick"

It is very rare i watch youtube on my phone, i have a tablet and a computer, But you can get a vpn and pay very little per month to get youtube premium.

"Assume Apple Pay works just the same as Google Pay?"

After using both Samsung pay(with curve) and google pay. i actually find apple pay works better(for me anyhow)

"Is casting to a TV as easy?"
Most modern smart TVs support this. Again i haven't done this but my children do it all the time on our tv.
 
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