Standard Tones

• The iPhone has always come with an array of ringtones for both texting and phone calls. Accessible under "General" and then "Sounds," you simply need to tap a selection to both preview and set it. You can choose from more than 20 standard ringtones and six text tones on the iPhone 3G or 3Gs. iPhone 4 users have several new, additional text tones, which play for about 10 seconds longer.
  
  

Custom Ringtones

• iPhone users have long been making custom ringtones, either with free applications directly on their phones or with computer programs such as GarageBand and iTunes. These ringtones can be up to 30 seconds long, and users can use any sound clip they wish. Apple even sells custom ringtones from the iTunes store, though these ringtones cost as much as the song itself. Because of the availability of these custom ringtones, many users assume that they can use custom text tones. However, this is not yet the case.
  
  

Jailbreaking

• To circumvent many of the restrictions on the iPhone, including the inability to use custom text tones, some iPhone owners hack, or "jailbreak," their devices. Basically, this involves installing special software that allows you to access locked files in the iPhone. You can then manipulate the phone to do whatever you want, provided you have some technical knowledge. However, this process voids your warranty with Apple, and it is easy for inexperienced users to permanently damage their devices.
  
  

Custom Text Tones for Jailbroken Phones

• There are actually several ways to get custom text tones on a jailbroken iPhone, but each performs the same basic operation. The essential goal involves replacing one or more of the existing text tones with a custom text tone, so the iPhone will register it as one if its own. A few different programs can accomplish this, but the most commonly used are iPhone Explorer and Cydia. These programs allow you to access the text tone files on the phone and upload your own music file to replace it. However, the process is somewhat complicated, so you shouldn't attempt it unless you have some technical knowledge or experience.