Set a custom text tone on iPhone

Make the tone available first

If you already installed the sound, open the text-tone picker and look for its name. If you only saved it inside Ringy or another editor, finish an export workflow first. Apple’s GarageBand export offers a Standard Text Tone assignment after creating a ringtone.

Choose the message sound

Go to Settings → Sounds & Haptics and open Text Tone. Choose the available sound you want. For one person, open their contact card, choose Edit and change Text Tone there instead. Save the card when finished.

If the expected sound is not offered

Do not assume every file or every ringtone will appear in every alert picker. Confirm the export completed, check the name you gave it and compare the supported assignment choices in the export flow. If a specific system picker excludes the sound, changing the filename alone is not a reliable fix.

Choose a short alert

Messages can arrive in groups. A brief sound with a clear start is usually easier to live with than a full musical phrase. Preview it at a realistic volume and send yourself a test message, then test a contact override separately.

Notification permissions, Focus and the messaging app’s own settings can affect whether an alert plays. A WhatsApp or another app’s notification is not necessarily governed by the same setting as the built-in text-message sound. Use that app’s supported controls for app-specific alerts.

Related guides

• Ringtones, text tones and alarms: which setting changes what?
• Set a different ringtone for one contact
• A custom ringtone is missing or not playing: what to check