June 29th, 2009

Vintage Phone Ringtones

European Phone 1920s

Some people think it’s cool to have the latest popular tune announcing every cell phone call. Others prefer a cell phone that sounds more like a… well, more like a phone.

Call me a square, but I’m in that second group. I prefer old phone ringtones that recall the clunky phones from my childhood. Or better yet, the brrring, brrring, brrring you hear in the movies from vintage phones from the 1920s and 1930s.

If you share my nostalgia for bygone phones, and your carrier allows you to download or install new ringtones, check out the antique phone sounds below.

To be truly different in a world that’s desperately trying to be hip and up-to-date, you have to be square and hopelessly out-of-date. The best way to be cool is to be so uncool you come out the other side.

MIDI-Compatible Old Phone Ringtones
These are polyphonic MIDI ringtones, so your cell phone would need to support that format (many do, including the BlackBerry).

American Phone
Arubian Phone
Belarussian Phone
British Phone
Chinese Phone
Egyptian Phone
French Phone
German Phone
Icelandic Phone
Italian Phone
Japanese Phone
Malaysian Phone
Russian Phone
Swedish Phone
Swiss Phone
Venezuelan Phone

MP3-Compatible Old Phone Ringtones
If your mobile phone supports MP3 files, you could try these MP3 ringtones, which also sound like old-style phones.

Ringtone #1
Ringtone #2
Ringtone #3
Ringtone #4
Ringtone #5
Ringtone #6
Ringtone #7
Ringtone #8
Ringtone #9
Ringtone #10
Ringtone #11
Ringtone #12
Ringtone #13
Ringtone #14
Ringtone #15
Ringtone #16
Ringtone #17
Ringtone #18
Ringtone #19
Ringtone #20
Ringtone #21
Ringtone #22
Ringtone #23
Ringtone #24
Ringtone #25
Ringtone #26
Ringtone #27
Ringtone #28
Ringtone #29
Ringtone #30
Ringtone #31
Ringtone #32
Ringtone #33
Ringtone #34
Ringtone #35
Ringtone #36
Ringtone #37
Ringtone #38
Ringtone #39
Ringtone #40
Ringtone #41
Ringtone #42
Ringtone #43
Ringtone #44
Ringtone #45
Ringtone #46

iPhone-Compatible Old Phone Ringtones
These are the same as the MP3 ringtones, except they’re in an iPhone compatible format. Your iPhone can now sound like an antique or vintage phone.

Ringtone #1
Ringtone #2
Ringtone #3
Ringtone #4
Ringtone #5
Ringtone #6
Ringtone #7
Ringtone #8
Ringtone #9
Ringtone #10
Ringtone #11
Ringtone #12
Ringtone #13
Ringtone #14
Ringtone #15
Ringtone #16
Ringtone #17
Ringtone #18
Ringtone #19
Ringtone #20
Ringtone #21
Ringtone #22
Ringtone #23
Ringtone #24
Ringtone #25
Ringtone #26
Ringtone #27
Ringtone #28
Ringtone #29
Ringtone #30
Ringtone #31
Ringtone #32
Ringtone #33
Ringtone #34
Ringtone #35
Ringtone #36
Ringtone #37
Ringtone #38
Ringtone #39
Ringtone #40
Ringtone #41
Ringtone #42
Ringtone #43
Ringtone #44
Ringtone #45
Ringtone #46
Strowger Automatic dial candlestick - 1905

Extra: Bells and Chimes
These are traditional bell and chime sounds. You could use them as ringtones or as alerts for text messages, e-mails, or calendar events.

MP3
Bicycle Bell
Mechanical Chime
Door Bell
Sleighbells
Chromatic Bells
Deep Chime
Church Bell

iPhone
Bicycle Bell
Mechanical Chime
Door Bell
Sleighbells
Chromatic Bells
Deep Chime
Church Bell

Extra: Airline Ding Tones
If you would like to duplicate the airline ding tones, here are those familiar sounds for your MP3-compatible phone or iPhone.

MP3
Airline – One Ding
Airline – Two Dings

iPhone
Airline – One Ding
Airline – Two Dings