iPhone hack: How to use a custom message tone at tah

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

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).
Rename the .aiff file to .caf (e.g. sms-received1.caf)

//Uploading the tone to your iPhone

Access the iPhone via SSH (if you’re familiar with SSH and/or using Terminal skip to 4)
Find your phones IP address: Settings > Wi-Fi > Click the small, blue arrow button next to the network name
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”)
Find folder System/Library/UISounds/
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.

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

Tutorials:

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

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Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.