# Anyone ever have any phantom cell-phone vibrations? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046 "2012-04-26T19:14:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/1 "2012-04-26T19:14:19Z")
I did yesterday-I swore that I felt it clearly buzzing in my pocket (right at the end of a shift, natch; I had the auditory ringer turned off of course). When I got home, I went to check for the message or text, only to see…nothing new of any sort. 😕 You ever have that happen to you? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/2 "2012-04-26T19:23:02Z")
Believe it or not, this [topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=407531&highlight=%22phone+vibrations%22) has already been discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/3 "2012-04-26T19:36:05Z")
Yes, it was discussed and then, for some strange reason (I blame the FNORDFNORDFNORD) the discussion abruptly ended. Did Cecil ever research this phenomenon? A moment of googling shows that although this phenomenon was well-established as ‘not just in your mind’, there has been no serious research to determine what is causing this to occur. There have been some vague associations made between “Phantom Vibration Syndrome” and the phantom pain experienced by people who have lost limbs, but no real research has been done to determine any causative principle. It is as if there are people out there who just don’t want us to know about this. Or maybe there isn’t any money in finding out why this is happening. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/4 "2012-04-26T20:44:03Z")
Used to, but then I set [it](http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/phantom-phone/) to ring instead. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/5 "2012-04-26T21:11:30Z")
Been discussed here plus I read about it in Wired a few months ago. It certainly happens to me. The really strange thing is that when I left my phone on the kitchen table, I got the phantom ring sensation when an acutal text came to my phone. Which was not in my pocket. Cue eerie music. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/6 "2012-04-26T21:23:13Z")
All the bloody time. And like Arrendajo, sometimes when my phone is not in my pocket. But I just roll with it because I always have my phone on vibrate. I don’t even know what my ringtone sounds like. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/7 "2012-04-26T21:41:50Z")
Heck yeah! Very common and persistent hallucination! Irritating! I jump up and scramble for my belt…then realize it wasn’t real! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/8 "2012-04-26T21:51:00Z")
Yep, happens to me all the time ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/9 "2012-04-26T21:52:13Z")
I have a theory that in 30-40 years, nursing homes all over the world will be full of old people with dementia going, “Was that my phone? Did you hear my phone?” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/10 "2012-04-26T22:00:47Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I have a theory that in 30-40 years, nursing homes all over the world will be full of old people with dementia going, “Was that my phone? Did you hear my phone?” If there was a “Like” button on this forum, I’d click on it for this post. 😃 That is so going to be me. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/11 "2012-04-26T23:24:24Z")
The weirdest one I had was when my husband was calling me as I was driving home. The phone was in my pocket, but I didn’t feel the vibration there. Instead, I felt it very clearly on my right foot. ---
**Author:** ![kmshrader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@kmshrader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kmshrader)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/12 "2012-04-27T06:05:08Z")
All the time, but most disconcerting is when I feel something in my right back pocket (where my phone lives) and check, only to discover that my phone isn’t even in that pocket. But it’s always the same place, for me. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-have-any-phantom-cell-phone-vibrations/620046/13 "2012-04-27T21:47:17Z")
Cell phones can be remotely turned “on” for surreptitious listening purposes. Possibly a waking phone could vibrate a little. Of course the government would never be trying to listen in on any of us fine folks. Of course you’d have to paranoid to believe any of this. Sleep tight.