Want to make AI ringtones for your Android phone? Here are my favorite prompts and tips

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority

Over a month ago, I wrote about my experience trying AI ringtones and ultimately how I felt that Gemini was the best tool for the job. My original article got a decent amount of feedback, so I decided to dive a bit deeper into what kind of ringtones I’ve made and the prompts involved in creating them. Even more crucially, I’ve rounded up some tips to ensure your prompt delivers what you’re looking for.

Here are a few of my favorite prompts

Before I get into the prompts, I will warn you that the length of the tones varies quite a bit across my selections. Traditionally, a ringtone is usually only around 30-45 seconds of audio. For basic prompts, that’s easier to achieve. Something I’ve discovered is that the more detailed your prompt is, the longer the song ends up being — regardless of any size limiters you put into a prompt. I might be crazy, but I feel like this has become even more noticeable recently. It was once pretty easy for me to get a 30-40 second ringtone; now I tend to get lengths ranging from 30 seconds to almost three whole minutes.

The good news is that most modern smartphones can take a longer tune and let you customize what part of the track you want to focus on. Even if they don’t, some easy-to-use tools help you work around this (we’ll get to that in the tips section).

Now I understand not everyone is looking for the same thing when it comes to ringtones. You might prefer shorter, loopable tunes. If that’s the case, shorter prompts that make it clear you want a “phone ringtone” can help. If you prefer longer songs, you can edit them yourself. I have some examples of longer-form songs as well.

A playful ringtone for when my mom calls

This is one of the earliest prompts I made and is actually perfectly set at just 30 seconds. I wanted a simple ringtone reminder for when my mom was calling. Something equal parts fun and cheesy, and the result was fairly on point.

Don’t forget to take your pills: A heavy metal ballad

Andrew Grush / Android Authority

This one actually started as a joke, and that’s why I think it’s my absolute favorite tune I’ve ever generated. A few months back, a relative of mine was talking about how he kept forgetting to take his daily medication; I suggested an alarm. This ended up working for him, but he said he wished his phone had more options (he’s not the most tech-savvy).

I decided to make something that would serve as a reminder to take his pills and would playfully jab at how he’s forgotten before. Being that he was really into classic heavy metal, I tried to go with a style that mimicked some of his favorite bands like Metallica and Korn. While I’ve been able to generate some things by saying “inspired by” for video games and more, certain copyrighted materials tend to be more heavily protected here. I wasn’t trying to get it to literally sound like any particular band, but the AI couldn’t tell the distinction.

I had to go through several attempts here, but the tune was actually pretty spot-on once I found the right prompt.

Some things to keep in mind when making a prompt

Joe Maring / Android Authority

I’ve used Gemini to make dozens of ringtones and short songs. The truth is that no size fits all. For every song I’ve shared above, I likely made at least three to four attempts that ranged from long prompts with specific instrumentation and details to shorter, detailed prompts, or even ones that are vague as heck. That said, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a pattern to getting the right prompt. Let’s talk about some of the strategies that have helped me, other than those covered above, like using workarounds to describe band styles without calling them by name.

First, get as specific as you can if you know exactly what you are looking for. If you understand the song progression and other elements you are trying to emulate, a specific prompt can do wonders. That said, specific doesn’t mean long.

The most important thing to remember is that there's no magic bullet when it comes to ringtone prompts, and multiple tries are sometimes needed.

While long prompts can work, there’s also more room for things to go wrong. The AI has to interpret exactly how you want those details to be implemented, and that’s not an easy feat. If you find the detail didn’t work for a specific ringtone or song style you were looking for, it doesn’t hurt to take a simpler approach. Say what you are roughly aiming for, and leave the rest of the details to chance.

It’s also important to be aware of what version of Gemini you are using. The basic free tier has stronger limits on Lyra 3, usually sticking close to the 30-second mark. If you want really short, loopable ringtones, that’s actually one of the few advantages to not paying. Gemini Plus and Pro have higher caps, which is actually a negative when it comes to ringtones, as they tend to go longer, with a minute being its most common length. Because of how the tool works, adding qualifiers to your prompt like “30 to 45 second maximum” might prompt it to keep it on the shorter side of three minutes, but getting it to exactly 30 seconds is tougher.

One more piece of advice: if your phone’s OS doesn’t already have ringtone editing, you’ll want to get an app. I recommend Ringtone Maker. While I don’t love its ads, it’s an easy-to-use, free app that lets you quickly trim songs if you prefer to keep the length shorter.