Motorola RAZR V3 USB File Transfer + Ringtones with Ubuntu Linux

Transfer ringtones created in Audacity to a Motorola Razr in Linux using moto4lin. This article will outline how to get moto4lin on an Ubuntu Breezy system and transfer files to the Motorola RAZR v3 using a mini-usb cable.

I had to compile moto4lin, an alpha motorola filesystem viewer, to transfer files through USB.

Install the compiler, development libraries, and download the required files (moto4lin and p2k):

$ sudo aptitude install g++ libusb-dev libqt3-headers

$ wget http://easynews.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/moto4lin/moto4lin-0.3.tar.bz2
$ wget http://easynews.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/moto4lin/p2kmoto-0.1-rc1.tar.gz
$ tar zxvfj moto4lin-0.3.tar.bz2
$ tar zxvf p2kmoto-0.1-rc1.tar.gz

Compile and install p2kmoto and moto4lin. I like to compile using my home directory as the prefix so when my OS goes haywire I can recover the files I've custom compiled.:

$ cd p2kmoto-0.1
$ ./configure --prefix=$HOME/local && make && make install
$ cd moto4lin-0.3
$ ./configure --prefix=$HOME/local && make && make install

Now plug up your phone and execute moto4lin as root (make sure ~/local/bin is in your PATH). You should be able to click the Connect/Disconnect button. At this point the filesystem should be available.

Ringtones

Next the ringtones have to be created. The Motorola RAZR V3 happens to support mp3 ringtones, however they have to fit the following criteria in order to work properly:

File Type	Sampling Frequency	Bit Depth	Mono/Stereo	Bit-rate (kbps)
MP3	44.1kHz	16	Mono	64
MP3	24kHz	16	Stereo	40
MP3	24kHz	16	Mono	40
MP3	16kHz	16	Stereo	40
MP3	16kHz	16	Mono	32

That will make more sense once we install audacity and start a new project. We'll also need the lame mp3 encoding library later, so we can go ahead and download and compile that too.

$ sudo aptitude install audacity
$ wget http://easynews.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/lame/lame-3.97b2.tar.gz
$ tar zxvf lame-3.97b2.tar.gz
$ cd lame-3.97
$ ./configure --prefix=$HOME/local && make && make install

Now run audacity. Select a project rate of 44100Hz (at the bottom) and click "New Audio Track" in the "Project" menu. This is where you'll paste your sound clip. In the same window, open your the WAV file of that mp3 you're itching to hear on your phone. I used the audacity Trim function in the Edit menu to get the part of the track I wanted to be a ringtone. Then hit CTRL-A to select all of the track and CTRL-C to copy it. Then click back over to your empty audio track and hit CTRL-V to paste the audio into your Mono 44.1kHz track. Now we have to set the proper MP3 encoding bittrate. Choose Preferences from the File menu and "40" as the bittrate. Now, click "Export as MP3" from the File menu. Audacity will prompt you to tell it where your lame mp3 encoding library is. Point to the appropriate file, hit Ok and the export MP3 window should be available. Tell audacity where to save the file and voila, you've made an MP3 Ringtone.

Almost there. Now if your phone is still hooked up, go to moto4lin, connect to your phone, and click on the "audio" directory within the mobile's filesystem. Click upload, then select the ringtone. Next, delete the two Motorola database files "MyToneDB.db" and "TempToneDB.db" from the audio directory. I'm not exactly sure what these files do, but I do know that they will not allow you to "Attach as Ringtone" or allow you to select your MP3 from the "Calls" menu within the RAZR. Hold down the red disconnect button to turn off the phone, then turn it back on.

At this point, make sure the phone is not set to Silent or Vibrate. Go to Audio from your "My Stuff" icon and select your ringtone. Then hit menu (dot) button above the select pad to bring up the menu options. Select "Apply as Ringtone." Finally, ask someone to call you.

Thats it. Homebrew ringtones on the Motorola RAZR V3.

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