# Interesting Fact about Mobile Phones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891 "2006-01-20T20:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![homeskillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@homeskillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homeskillet)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/1 "2006-01-20T20:49:51Z")
Is this true? Sounds like a farce to me. It was forwarded to me by an Irish friend’s sister who has a nasty habit of perpetuating internet drivel! I tried calling , but my phone won’t allow it, instead it tells me **Memory Space Not Occupied**. Incidentally, I can’t call 311 from my phone either. > [@](#): > > Interesting Facts about Mobile Phones > > 1. Emergency Number : The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobiles is 112. > > If you find yourself in an out of coverage area of your mobile network > and > there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing > network to establish the emergency number for you and interestingly this > number 112 can be dialled even while > the keypad is locked. ---
**Author:** ![homeskillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@homeskillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homeskillet)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/2 "2006-01-20T20:53:16Z")
**2. Keys Locked in the Car? (remote locking)** This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a Mobile Phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone on your mobile phone. Hold your mobile phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at your home press the Unlock button, holding it near the phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves time for someone to drive your keys to you. Distance is not a problem. You could be hundreds of miles away and if you can reach someone who has the other remote for your car, you can unlock the doors(or the boot). Editor’s Note: \*It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a mobile phone!" \*\*3. Your Mobile Battery is Very Low \*\* , you are expecting an important call and you don’t have a charger". Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate the battery, the key-in \*3370# your cell will restart with this reserve and your instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile next time. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/3 "2006-01-20T21:00:21Z")
1. [Nope.](http://www.snopes.com/science/mobile.asp) 2. [Nope.](http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/keyless.asp) 3. Stranger things have happened, but I find it unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/4 "2006-01-20T21:02:11Z")
#1: definitely a [myth](http://www.snopes.com/science/mobile.asp). #3: looks like a [myth](http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=*3370%23+myth+nokia&btnG=Search&meta=) to me. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/5 "2006-01-20T21:09:38Z")
The bit about the satellite is a myth, just as snopes says, but #1 (as stated in the OP) is true in some European countries. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/6 "2006-01-20T21:13:54Z")
I believe emergency numbers can be dialled with the keypad locked as standard; I’m fairly sure 999 can be dialled in the UK this way. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/7 "2006-01-20T22:38:55Z")
> [@homeskillet](#): > > Is this true? Sounds like a farce to me. It was forwarded to me by an Irish friend’s sister who has a nasty habit of perpetuating internet drivel! I tried calling , but my phone won’t allow it, instead it tells me **Memory Space Not Occupied**. Incidentally, I can’t call 311 from my phone either. You tried dialing what you thought might be an emergency number just to check it? You realize that emergency numbers are often overloaded with calls from idiots who aren’t really calling with an emergency, right? ---
**Author:** ![homeskillet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ba0ec/32.png) [@homeskillet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homeskillet)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/8 "2006-01-20T23:58:42Z")
> [@iamthewalrus(:3=](#): > > You tried dialing what you thought might be an emergency number just to check it? You realize that emergency numbers are often overloaded with calls from idiots who aren’t really calling with an emergency, right? Oh don’t give out to me. I hardly think an emergency number that’s never been announced or advertised is likely to be clogged. Besides there wasn’t any doubt in my mind that it wasn’t a real number (in the U.S. at least). ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/9 "2006-01-21T11:28:34Z")
> [@Crusoe](#): > > #1: definitely a [myth](http://www.snopes.com/science/mobile.asp). As worded in the OP, #1 is True. Note that Snopes addresses the case where there are no cellular networks available, while the OP refers to the case where you are out of your own cellular service provider’s network. From the Snopes article: > [@](#): > > The global mobile emergency number, 112, is “special” in the sense that (unlike other local emergency numbers, such as 999) it will use any tower your mobile phone can contact to complete the call, regardless of whether or not your phone is authorized to relay signals through that tower. It is possible to dial 112 from most locked phones (at least in Europe/Asia). 112 is the standard GSM emergency phone number. If you PIN lock your phone, and then power it off and then on again, you will be prompted to enter a PIN before you can begin using your phone. But if you dial 112 it will allow you to dial out to that number without requiring a PIN. Some phones also support dialing 112 without a SIM card. See also: > **[Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions](https://www.answers.com/redirectSearch?query=emergency-telephone-number)** > > Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/10 "2006-01-21T11:36:58Z")
There was a radio documentary the other day that said UK emergency services are getting overwhelmed by 999 calls from keypad-locked mobile phones in people’s pockets. They can’t dismiss them out of hand in case the call is someone being attacked/seriously ill, and can’t speak. 112 is a less likely combination to be accidentally dialled by your keys or pocket change, so I’d imagine sometime in the future they’re going to have a massive publicity campaign then phase 999 out. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/11 "2006-01-21T12:28:12Z")
I just tried on my cell (UK, O2) and both 112 and 999 can be dialled when the keypad is locked. However, in trying to change my security settings, I’ve managed to lock my phone without apparently meaning to - which means I’m going to have to call O2 in order to unlock it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/12 "2006-01-21T13:13:48Z")
At least in the European Union, 112 is currently being established (accompanied by information camapigns for people to use this number) as the international emergency number ([link](http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/civil/pdfdocs/112surv-2001.pdf) ; it is planned to replace diverging national emergency numbers with 112 on the long run. I could imagine non-EU countries would join this as well, since having a standard emergency call number in as many countries as possible is clearly of advantage - I’m sure many travellers don’t know the local custom of where they’re goin to. But of course cellphones won’t hook onto a satellite to get your call through; they just don’t have the equipment to do this. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/13 "2006-01-21T13:21:45Z")
China is 110. If you call 112, then the recording in Chinese will tell you to call 110. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/14 "2006-01-21T18:45:03Z")
#3 could be easily disproved by someone with a Nokia trying it (if it doesn’t in fact work). I’d do it, but I don’t have a Nokia. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/15 "2006-01-21T19:13:48Z")
> [@homeskillet](#): > > \*\*3. Your Mobile Battery is Very Low \*\* , you are expecting an important call and you don’t have a charger". Nokia instrument comes with a reserve battery. To activate the battery, the key-in \*3370# your cell will restart with this reserve and your instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile next time. \*3370# and #3370# activate and deactivate the enhanced full rate audio codec in the phone. Activating will make call quality better (not that I could hear the difference when I had a phone it worked on) and will actually _shorten_ the battery life in the phone. #1 is true in the EU, but in the US you can do it with 911, and in the UK 999. On my cellphone, I can dial any of those numbers with the keypad locked or the SIM inserted, but only 911 works. #2 is utter bullshit, unless you have one of the very ancient cars that used an acoustic (not radio) remote. In that circumstance, it may be possible that the phone could transmit the sound from one end to the other, but I find it unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/16 "2006-01-21T20:35:50Z")
I can dial 112 on my Canadian GSM phone and it will work, even though a locked keypad. (The usual emergency number is 911.) I tested this in an area of my apartment where I KNOW there is no coverage. I do not think this will work on the non-GSM netowrks in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/17 "2006-01-22T00:09:10Z")
To clarify on the locked keypads: On my cell phone, there’s an option to lock the keypad. But it doesn’t provide any security against others using the phone, since there’s no secret about how to unlock it. It says “Press unlock and then \*”, with one of the menu buttons labelled “unlock”. The purpose of this to prevent accidental calls, from something bumping the phone buttons. But 999 seems like it’s exactly the sort of accidental call this feature is intended to prevent: It’d be easy for keys, the arm of a chair, etc. to hit the same button three times in a row. Does this business of “works even when locked” apply only to the security locks, or also to the idiot-proofing locks? ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/18 "2006-01-22T00:24:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does this business of “works even when locked” apply only to the security locks, or also to the idiot-proofing locks? Both - at least in an environment where the 112 scheme is fully implemented. It might be different with cell phones that were configured for markets where the number isn’t available or doesn’t have the same special status. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interesting-fact-about-mobile-phones/340891/19 "2006-01-22T02:47:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does this business of “works even when locked” apply only to the security locks, or also to the idiot-proofing locks? Both. But you have to hit 999 then Send / Call, so it’s not entirely likely to happen accidentally. However, [this](http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/24/Northpinellas/Tiny_gadget_stops_acc.shtml) is one of many stories on Google that centers on the increase of accidental 911 calls from cell phones that use 9 as a speed dial for 911, so it does happen.