Using a ringtone is one of the most useful ways to differentiate your calls from the rest of the phone-bound masses. It also helps you differentiate between calls from friends and family, as well as business and personal calls. Depending on your particular needs, you can even set different ringtones for different alerts. Ringtones are generally no more than 30 seconds in length, and can be shortened manually or automatically. Ringtones are often digital files stored on a phone, pager, or other portable communications device.

The first downloadable mobile ringtone service was introduced in Finland in 1998 at https://klingeltone-kostenlos.de/. The Nokia company developed a programming language, the Ringing Tone Text Transfer Language (RTTTL), that enabled ring tones on mobile phones. This language contains descriptions of the bits that make up a ringtone, as well as a simple keypress sequence that is appropriate for the device you own.

The simplest form of ringtone, a monophonic ringtone, is a single tone that plays only when a ringtone button is pressed on the phone. Ringing tones can be loaded onto the phone through a data link, an infrared interface, or a USB cable.

The most complex form of ringtone, a polyphonic ringtone, contains a melody and harmony. It is the most compatible form of ringtone, but can be more expensive to download. A ringtone can also be created by using a ringtone maker. Those that use a ringtone maker can choose to have their song sung over the phone or played over the air. Some of the ringtone programs are designed to load into the phone over the air via a data cable or Bluetooth.