Since all the tutorials and forum posts on how to install a custom SMS tone have been rather vague, here is my own quick and dirty solution. Works pretty well on my phone.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • A jailbroken iPhone
  • SSH access installed and enabled
  • Wi-FI enabled and both your iPhone and your computer connected to the same network
  • Balls

//Preparing your message tone

  1. Make sure your message tone already has the right length (10-30 sec.) and format (AIFF). If not prepare it e.g. using Audacity or iTunes’ import function (Preferences > General > Import Settings > AIFF encoder; does not crop to the correct length, though).
  2. Rename the .aiff file to .caf (e.g. sms-received1.caf)


//Uploading the tone to your iPhone

  1. Access the iPhone via SSH (if you’re familiar with SSH and/or using Terminal skip to 4)
  2. Find your phones IP address: Settings > Wi-Fi > Click the small, blue arrow button next to the network name
  3. Use Cyberduck or equivalent software to connect to your phone: Connection method “SFTP (SSH)”, address “root@YOUR_FREAKIN_IP_ADDRESS”, path “/” (if you’re security unconscious enough, your password will be “alpine”)
  4. Find folder System/Library/UISounds/
  5. Replace one/some of the sounds below with your just created message tone


Here’s how the file names translate into the sound names:

sms-received1.caf = Tri-Tone
sms-received2.caf = Chime
sms-received3.caf = Glass
sms-received4.caf = Horn
sms-received5.caf = Bell
sms-received6.caf = Electronic


I try to keep the steps as rudimentary and easy to follow as possible. However, if you run into problems and quirks, leave a comment. Otherwise, enjoy!

Also, I included my two favorite Simpsons sounds (.zip): Homer’s “doh!” and Nelsen’s “Ha Ha” in as AIFF. The original wave files come from thesoundarchive.com. They don’t seem to own the rights, therefore they probably won’t sue me.


######################################################

If you have absolutely no clue of what I am talking about, here are some amendments:

Tutorials:

Software Needed:

Spread the word:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • MisterWong
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • Technorati
  • Furl
  • BlinkList
  • Linkter
  • Ma.gnolia
  • NewsVine
  • Spurl
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis
  • Yigg

Related posts

0 Responses to “iPhone hack: How to use a custom message tone”


Leave a Reply