w380a locked off ability to set my MP3s as ringtones, is there a work around?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Demaestro
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Demaestro

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So I got the Sony Ericsson w380a and I really like it... i have Opera mini running. Mobile email works... all the good stuff.

However when I got to -->Settings -> RingTunes & Alerts.... it doesn't show me any of the MP3s that I have transferred from my computer and that play in my phone's player. It only shows me the pre-installed ones.

When I go to -->File Manager--> Music.... it has a menu option -->Use As which allows you to select music and use it as ring tune... however this option is grayed out in the menu... even when I am in file manager and i go to one of the pre-installed MP3s that do let me set them from the -->Settings -> RingTunes & Alerts, menu the option is still grayed out.

I don't want to have to return this phone as I really like it but my old LG lets me do this and I am going to shove this phone right up Fido's butt if I can't get around this.

anyone know of a work around?

Also if I go to sonyericsson.com/fun and DL a ringtone from them my phone won't even let me use it..... angry... any help would be much appreciated, possibly rewarded.

thanks
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This is most probably to do with DRM encryption. This is basically a technology that some phone networks use to ensure that the only ringtones you can use come from them. In other words, they only want you to be able to use the MP3 ringtones that you purchase from them directly. Sly, isn't it?

You have a couple of options:

The first would be to just purchase a ringtone you like directly from them. Obviously this involves forking out money to purchase them, which believe it or not, happens to be their exact intentions ;)

The second option would be to find a DRM encryptor and convert the MP3 of your choosing into an encrypted file. I myself have yet to come across any free applications that do this, but you never know, a detailed scan on the likes of Google may bring you some results.

Unlocking the phone could be a possibility, but I don't think that would solve your problem. It's more likely to be the branding of your phones firmware (operating system). You can de-brand your phone, but I'd steer clear of this as much as you can - it can be a very confusing and risky environment. It would also void your Warrenty, so it's probably not a good idea.

Those are your options anyway. I wish you the best of luck and if you find yourself a bit stuck, just let me know ;)
 
I also own a W380a and was unable to set mp3s that I copied to the phone as ringtones. After trying methods shown in this thread: cellphoneforums.net/sony-ericsson/t263402-mp3-your-ringtones-w580i.html I was eventually successful. The w380a doesn't seem to recognize .dm files but instead uses .dcf files which can still be created with the DRM packager provided in the above thread. However the .dcf files are shown as locked and the phone will still not have anything to do with them. I continued to read through the thread and discovered if you just simply convert the .mp3 files to .wav and copy them to the memory card, the phone will allow you to set them as ring tones. The only downside I see to this is filesize but other than that it totally works and I'm now quite happy. Hope this helps.
 
Dosn't the file sound a bit low quality in a .WAV format? Maybe things have moved on from when I first learned about Sony Ericsson's handling of .WAV files, but I thought Sony Ericsson's could only handle a maximum sampling rate of 16KHZ in a .WAV file? I remember this setting gave extremely bad quality - almost comparable to the classic .AMR format...
 
The files I've copied so far are 44KHz and I copied, just to compare, the same mp3 file and they sound the same. Only differences are, the mp3 will only play with the walkman, cannot be set as a ringtone, and the filesize is considerably smaller. Now I will experiment with my friend's w810i to see if the DRM packager will be successful and if not will .wav work and sound ok?
 
thanks for the advice to convert the mp3s to wav. It worked on my sony ericsson W380 from Fido.
as it was mentioned before, the disadvantage of using the wav files is that they're pretty big.. but the quality of the mp3 sound is preserved.
i still hope to find a way to force the phone to use mp3s.
next thing i'll try is putting it in the microwave.
 
You can use DRM packager to Create ringstones for your W380a.

It is easy i think the song needs to be 20 second length, so you can cut the mp3 with any mp3 cutter you want.

Next, you use drm packager and you protect the file.

What you need to do is not to copy the file in the ringtones folder or something like that, you need to put the file created with DRM packager in the white space where you can select your Phone or your Micro Card, then your phone with immediatly run the file and add it as a ringtone.

You can search on daily motion, i've seen a video where someone explain how to do it, and it works very well.

Have fun
 
I'm having trouble making my music as ringtones, i've followed what you guys where doing and i can't seem to get it.
can anyone please help me with the how to add ringtones to w380a in steps.

thanks.
 
As to the last post, I don't know if you ever found out how to get usable ringtones for your w380, but just in case you didn't or for anyone else who has this problem, here is a solution. For this you will need 2 programs, both of which are free. You will need the Sony Ericsson PC Suite, which should have come with your phone on a disc. If not, you can download it for free from the Ericsson web site. The second program you will need is dBpoweramp, or another program that will decode an MP3 into a .wav file. The one I found is a trial version, that after 21 days converts to the free version, which is all you need anyway. As a side note, I have Vista, so the PC Suite I am using is 4.0, and may be different from previous versions than the way I am describing it. Hopefully the user interface is self-explanatory enough to use if that's the case. The version I have is super easy to use, so if they're anything like it, it should be fine.

1. Find a song you want to use as a ringtone. You can use an MP3, but this process would make the MP3 about 40 Mb in size, which is overly large for me. A better idea would be either use a program to cut an MP3 to about 30 sec. max length, or to use a free sharing site, such as Zedge, to download a ringtone to your computer. (This is the method I use.)

2. If you have dBpoweramp, all you need to do now is right click the file, and choose "convert to". A window pops up. You don't need to change anything in it, except for where you want the converted files to go, if you so choose. Now, click "Convert".

3. Connect your phone to your computer. IMPORTANT! CHOOSE PHONE MODE!

4. Open up Sony Ericsson PC Suite. Click the Files icon under the Editors section on the left side of the screen. The right side opens up a screen showing My Computer on one side, and Mobile Phone on the other. You don't need to open anything on the phone side. Just navigate to where the converted files are stored on the My Computer side of the screen. Click on the arrow in the middle that points toward Mobile Phone. The file will automatically download into your phone and be stored on your memory card under Music.

You're done!! The file is usable for anything you want now. Ringtone, message alert, alarm signal. For those who may be worried about sound quality, don't. The .wav file is in 44 KHz, and, to me anyway, sounds comparable to the MP3's on my phone. Perfectly fine for a ringtone.

Hopefully this helps people out there who's cellphone companies are trying to mess them over by putting codes in their phones so they can't use anything as a ringtone unless it's bought through them. I actually wouldn't have a problem with it if the ringtones were longer, but there is no way I am paying over $4 for a ringtone that is only 8 seconds long! Personally, I find that ridiculous.
 
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