# Do you know anyone who keeps the key sounds enabled on their cell phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 1, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202 "2010-07-01T15:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/1 "2010-07-01T15:54:44Z")
I never understood having the keys make artificial noise when you tap them. Isn’t the visual feedback good enough? Anyway, I can only think of 2 people I have known who keep the sound enabled. One was a kinda weird and unkempt guy I knew at work. The other is a really old guy I currently work with who frankly probably has no idea how to disable it. Anyone here keep the key noise enabled on their cell phone? If so, why? ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/2 "2010-07-01T16:08:15Z")
The key noises are enabled on my phone. I don’t need them, but I don’t particularly not need them either; if they were off by default I wouldn’t bother to turn them on. I don’t send more than one text a week or so and don’t make a lot of calls either, so it isn’t like I am beeping up a storm. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/3 "2010-07-01T16:39:13Z")
I keep mine enabled. I like that audio feedback, especially since my phone can be a little hard to dial correctly. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/4 "2010-07-01T16:56:25Z")
I keep mine on because my phone is old and the keys sometimes don’t work. Hearing the sound lets me know the key was actually entered. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/5 "2010-07-01T17:42:35Z")
My phone is about 6 - 7 years old, I didn’t know the key sounds could be disabled. I just looked at it and I still don’t see how to disable them. I use my cell phone maybe once or twice a week. (52, a little weird, slightly unkempt on bad hair days) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/6 "2010-07-01T17:47:00Z")
My phone is only a year old and they can’t be disabled unless it’s on vibrate or silent. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/7 "2010-07-01T17:49:22Z")
My mother has a phone that makes “pen scratching on paper” noises when the buttons are pressed - it is the most annoying thing ever and it takes all my strength not to grab the phone and chuck it out the window when she sits there for aaaages making “scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch” noises with her phone. I’ve offered to disable the sound but she likes it, so, there’s nothing I can do. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/8 "2010-07-01T18:18:47Z")
I don’t text or make very many calls, and I like the audible feedback when I’m dialing a number. Something on my phone has to _really_ not work for me for me to bother to find out if it could be changed. The beeping when I press a key doesn’t, so I have no idea if it could be changed or not. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/9 "2010-07-01T18:57:17Z")
I’d never thought about it until now. I’m just used to picking up a normal phone, listening for dial tone, then dialing and hearing evidence that I’ve been pressing buttons. I took a stroll through the menus of my work phone, and the keypad options are either normal tones or a really annoying “xylophone” sound with no apparently ability to change their volume My own phone only offers the option to change the volume of the key clicks. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/10 "2010-07-01T19:25:52Z")
My keys don’t make noise when I’m typing an email or text, but I kept the numberpad sounds enabled for when I’m dialing. I just like them. My phone (Droid) also has an option for [haptic feedback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_technology) when certain buttons are pressed, and I’ve kept that enabled, too. ---
**Author:** ![Morgis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Morgis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgis)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/11 "2010-07-01T20:36:43Z")
I like the cute little beeping while I text. I do know how to disable the sound, and if I’m texting somewhere that beeping would be inappropriate, I mute it. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/12 "2010-07-01T20:41:03Z")
I always kill it right away. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/13 "2010-07-01T20:49:52Z")
I’m 25. I don’t use the phone much, I’ve never thought to turn it off, and it doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/14 "2010-07-01T21:04:31Z")
I’m 31, I text all the time. I have a RAZR which is probably pretty old. I don’t use it a lot to make calls but I text a lot. It didn’t occur to me until just now that my keys make noise. They just do a little barely-audible “boop” or maybe a “bleep.” Not as loud as the ringer. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/15 "2010-07-01T22:55:32Z")
The answers so far are interesting. One of the first things I do when I get a new phone is disable the key sound. I assumed that everyone I know (other than the two listed in the OP) also had theirs turned off. It seems like most of you have the sound on, meaning I’m going to have to pay better attention to see who I know has it on or off. It’s funny, the old guy I mentioned has his sound way up. Every now and then I’ll here the key beeps for like 5 minutes as he finger-pecks the keypad to do who knows what (text message, calender…). This scenario brought up a memory of walking into the bathroom at work and standing at the urinal and hearing (loudly) the key beeps of the unkempt guy in the stall all the while I was going. It seemed strange then, seemed strange now, hence the OP. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/16 "2010-07-02T00:57:42Z")
I wonder if you don’t notice because they’re not very loud? I’ve never owned a phone where the beeps were so loud they’d bother me. And I get bothered by noises quite often. To answer your question, no, I’ve never turned the beeping off. I’ve been using cell phones since the mid 90’s, and I’m on mine all the time for business purposes. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-keeps-the-key-sounds-enabled-on-their-cell-phone/545202/17 "2010-07-02T19:50:48Z")
I don’t know anyone personally who has the sound turned on if they have a smart phone. Some older phones seem to have an obligatory sound that’s fairly unobtrusive. I take public transit every day, and have only encountered one guy who had the keypad sound turned on his smart phone. It was really annoying. I get annoyed easily by stuff like that, so I would probably notice others if there were more.