How to set a custom ringtone on OPPO & realme

Before you start: make the ringtone

You need the ringtone as an audio file on your phone. Open the Android ringtone maker, pick a song or recording, trim it and tap Download. The MP3 lands in your Downloads folder, ready for the steps below.

Tips for OPPO & realme

• Look for Choose local ringtone: on some versions it's a small link at the bottom of the ringtone list.
• Dual-SIM phones show a ringtone setting for each SIM.
• If a file picker opens, go to Downloads to find your MP3.

Online ringtones vs your own file

Depending on your region and version, the ringtone screen may show online ringtones from the Theme Store before the built-in ones. You don't need them. Your own MP3 sits behind Choose local ringtone (sometimes Custom or a +), which opens the file picker.

If you only see the store, go back and open Settings → Sound & vibration → Ringtone directly from Settings.

Stop cleanup tools removing your ringtone

OPPO's Phone Manager and realme's cleanup tools can suggest deleting files from Downloads to free space. If your ringtone suddenly switches back to a built-in tone, that's the likely cause. Move the MP3 out of Downloads and into the Ringtones folder with the File Manager's Move option, then set it again. Files there are treated as ringtones and are less likely to be flagged as junk.

Notification sounds and alarms on OPPO and realme

Notifications: Settings → Sound & vibration → Notification sound, then choose a local file. A 1 to 3 second clip from the notification sound maker is easiest to recognise.

Alarm: open Clock, tap the alarm, tap Ringtone and choose a local file. The alarm tone maker adds a gentle fade-in.

Vibration: Sound & vibration also has a vibration setting for calls. Pick one you like or turn it off for sound only.

Ringtone not showing in the list?

• Open the Files app → Downloads and check the file is there. Some browsers save to a folder called Download.
• If the browser played the file instead of saving it, long-press the download and choose Download.
• Close the ringtone list and open it again. Restarting the phone also makes it show up.
• Rename the ringtone without emoji or special characters and download it again.
• Still missing? Use your Files app's Move option to put the file in the Ringtones folder of your phone's internal storage. Android lists everything in that folder as a ringtone. For notification sounds, use the Notifications folder.

Questions