# Do British & European cellphones mostly use that 'double-ring'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761 "2012-07-10T03:44:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/1 "2012-07-10T03:44:36Z")
Obviously you can set a custom ringtone just like everyone else, but is the preset ‘default’ ring for cellphones in Europe & the UK the fast double-ring like their landlines? Plus is this the ring you hear from the other end (again like with land phones)? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/2 "2012-07-10T04:12:48Z")
No. They use the same default ringtones that come on the Korean, Finnish, or Chinese handsets, or that are specified by the providers. So you hear T-Mobile’s distinctive tune a lot. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/3 "2012-07-10T05:19:15Z")
Nokia ringtone in UK: [HELLO!?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aVPqpnL7Y&t=0m25s) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/4 "2012-07-10T05:55:12Z")
The double ring is fast disappearing from landmine phones too, now that they are often digital, with customisable ringtones. The tone heard by the caller (generated by the network) has the familiar double pattern in the uk, for landlines and mobile alike. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/5 "2012-07-10T06:39:02Z")
I have a Galaxy Nexus and changed the default ringtone it had with this one: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=681733&d=1312826625](http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=681733&d=1312826625) (I guess this is what you mean by “double ring”?) All others were too faint to hear and since I mostly work outdoors I want a loud piercing sound as a ringtone. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/6 "2012-07-11T03:48:56Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > The double ring is fast disappearing from landmine phones too, now that they are often digital, with customisable ringtones. I guess now they just explode! 😃 > [@Dog80](#): > > I have a Galaxy Nexus and changed the default ringtone it had with this one: [http://forum.xda-developers.com/atta...3&d=1312826625](http://forum.xda-developers.com/atta...3&d=1312826625) > > (I guess this is what you mean by “double ring”?) > > All others were too faint to hear and since I mostly work outdoors I want a loud piercing sound as a ringtone. That doesn’t sound like it. [This Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringback_tone) has samples of the UK vs the US ring. Actually the ringback tone the caller hears (which is caused by the type of ringing the called phone makes). Like they say, you can hear it at the end of the Pink Floyd song Young Lust (_“there’s a man answering…”_) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/7 "2012-07-11T09:25:43Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I guess now they just explode! 😃 I need a better spellcheck on my phone. ‘Landmine phone’ is more likely than ‘Landline phone’, really Android? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/8 "2012-07-12T03:40:40Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/9 "2012-07-13T21:07:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Nokia ringtone in UK: [HELLO!?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27aVPqpnL7Y&t=0m25s) Don’t know about everyone else, but that video wasn’t available where I live this one [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0EmbY3XyI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq0EmbY3XyI) is. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-british-european-cellphones-mostly-use-that-double-ring/627761/10 "2012-07-13T21:24:32Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I need a better spellcheck on my phone. > > ‘Landmine phone’ is more likely than ‘Landline phone’, really Android? What ring does a landmine phone use? Brring, Brring…Boom!