Re:Why don't cell phones have a dialtone?
by jordan0day on Friday April 12, 2013 @05:39PM
(#5541209)
I've noticed this caller-hears-ring-before-actual-ring thing, too (also on AT&T). I always presumed it was a way of giving them (the network) a little longer to make the actual connection, without the caller giving up thinking "it hasn't even begun to ring yet! Something's wrong!"
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That's what this seems to be, I've even noticed that the first ring may even sound a bit different from subsequent rings.
I think the first layer ring is the actual call setup being attempted across the cellular network. Once the receiving phone is located and receives the signal that a call is incoming, you begin to hear the second layer ring.
Re:Why don't cell phones have a dialtone?
by caseysoftware on Friday April 12, 2013 @09:19PM
(#5542126)
The ring that the caller hears is basically just a recording. And yes, that's it's purpose.. so you know it's doing something before it's actually completed.
It's the telecom equivalent of the loading pinwheel.