Looking for advice - my new SE 518a won't let me download homemade ringtones

[Portnoysboy]

I recently bought a Sony Ericsson 518a through AT&T. The phone seems great, but it won't let me download home-made ringtones. A friend sent me a piece of audio, edited to ringtone size, but I can't seem to download it as a ringtone on my new phone. It does not appear to be a file size or type issue. SE tech support points the finger at AT&T, and AT&T points theirs right back at SE. I have several friend in the UK and Europe who had no problem downloading this same piece of audio to their phones (mostly Nokias). I have managed to get the piece into my phone, even into the ringtone section, but when I click on "Use as ringtone", I get "Cannot use this file". Can anybody here offer any advice? Thanks!

[scotsboyuk]

Has AT&T been fiddling with the firmware? They may have disabled user ringtones?

[whosurbud]

Originally Posted by Portnoysboy

I recently bought a Sony Ericsson 518a through AT&T. The phone seems great, but it won't let me download home-made ringtones. A friend sent me a piece of audio, edited to ringtone size, but I can't seem to download it as a ringtone on my new phone. It does not appear to be a file size or type issue. SE tech support points the finger at AT&T, and AT&T points theirs right back at SE. I have several friend in the UK and Europe who had no problem downloading this same piece of audio to their phones (mostly Nokias). I have managed to get the piece into my phone, even into the ringtone section, but when I click on "Use as ringtone", I get "Cannot use this file". Can anybody here offer any advice? Thanks!

Give this a whirl.

Sony Ericsson - Support - Softwaredownloads - Detailed - Disc2phone - W300i

It 's free and among other things, like ripping from CD, what it does is allows you to apply a DRM signature of your choosing to your music. Like ur friend said, trim it down to size first, then apply your own DRM signature (Digital Rights Media) .Be creative and make it last till the year 2030 or something.Once it has a valid DRM applied, I think it will take. Has worked for me in the past.

Not sure, but I think after a certain date the phone manufacturers and/or carriers in the US have to comply with the music industry, such that only files with a signature can be applied to the phone, such that recording artists actually have a chance of seeing some revenue.