Tech Reference

How to set a custom ringtone on your Samsung Galaxy S10, and choose your own music or assign it to a specific caller

Written by Dave Johnson
Samsung S10e
You can set a custom ringtone on your Samsung Galaxy S10 for specific callers. Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
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Unlike the iPhone, which makes setting up a custom ringtone a fairly arduous task, the ability to customize ringtones on Android phones like the Galaxy S10 is built into the operating system. 

You can even turn your favorite songs into ringtones, or set a custom ringtone for specific callers.

Here's how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $899.99 at Best Buy)

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)

How to set a custom ringtone on your Samsung Galaxy S10

1. Start the Settings app.

2. Tap "Sound and vibration."

3. Tap "Ringtone."

ringtone 1
You'll find the Ringtone controls in the Sound and vibration section of Settings.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

4. To change the ringtone to one of the built-in sounds, tap any entry in the list and then tap the back button. 

5. To select a song stored on your phone, tap the plus sign at the top right of the screen. 

6. On the "Sound picker" screen, tap a song you want to use as a ringtone. The song will start playing so you can preview it. You can browse songs by track, album, artist, or folder using the tabs at the bottom of the screen, or search for a song using the Search button at the top of the screen.

ringtone 2
Select the song you want to use as a ringtone from the tracks stored on your phone.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

7. If you want the song to start at the beginning when a call starts, turn "Highlights only" off by swiping the button to the left. If on, Highlights Only starts playing the song somewhere in the middle when a call comes in. 

8. When you're satisfied with your ringtone selection, tap "Done."

How to set a custom ringtone for specific callers

If you want to associate a specific ringtone with certain callers, you can do that as well. 

1. Start the Contacts app and select a contact you want to set a ringtone for. 

2. At the bottom of the screen, tap "Edit."

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap "View more."

4. Tap "Ringtone" and select a sound or song. 

ringtone 4
When you tap Ringtone, you'll see the same controls as in the Ringtone settings.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

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dave june
Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.