[my-mate-marmite]

Hello all,

Just a quickie. A colleague of mine is claiming he is trapped abroad due to the volcanic ash and therefore cannot return when he was scheduled to. We work in the banking sector and holidays have to be booked way in advance and unless there are exceptional circumstances, these are not usually allowed to be extended. He originally wanted to book a longer break, but was told this couldn't be authorised as too many people would be on leave at that time. He left a message for my manager saying he would not be back until the end of the week due to the ash situation and when he called his mobile back it just rang as normal and no one answered. My manager said it was odd as the dial tone was as normal, i.e. as if you were calling someone in the UK, when apparently if you are abroad the dial tone should sound a bit different. Is this true?

Thanks!

[susie-4964]

Originally Posted by my-mate-marmite

Hello all,

Just a quickie. A colleague of mine is claiming he is trapped abroad due to the volcanic ash and therefore cannot return when he was scheduled to. We work in the banking sector and holidays have to be booked way in advance and unless there are exceptional circumstances, these are not usually allowed to be extended. He originally wanted to book a longer break, but was told this couldn't be authorised as too many people would be on leave at that time. He left a message for my manager saying he would not be back until the end of the week due to the ash situation and when he called his mobile back it just rang as normal and no one answered. My manager said it was odd as the dial tone was as normal, i.e. as if you were calling someone in the UK, when apparently if you are abroad the dial tone should sound a bit different. Is this true?

Thanks!

I can't be sure, but I'm not sure it would sound different. When you dial a UK mobile from the UK, you're connecting to the UK operator, not the foreign one. The UK operator then links with its foreign partner network, and the mobile phone owner has to pay for the "foreign" part of the call. A lot of people leave their mobiles on answer when they're abroad to save money.

[Lily_2008]

Yeah I think it should sound different. If you dial a UK mobile which is in the UK the dial tone sounds like the tone you get when you use a landline, but if the mobile you are calling is abroad it's more of a beeping sound.

[LCDMAN]

You mean ringing tone, not dial tone. It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

[susie-4964]

Originally Posted by LCDMAN

You mean ringing tone, not dial tone. It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

Yes, that's what I thought.

[ForestChav]

Originally Posted by LCDMAN

You mean ringing tone, not dial tone. It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

Correct.

[Lily_2008]

Originally Posted by LCDMAN

You mean ringing tone, not dial tone. It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

But it says here:

a UK mobile will give the UK ring when
- it is in the UK and turned on.
- it is anywhere and been turned off (powered off)

It only gives the foreign ring if
- it is turned on and available in the foreign country.
- it has recently been turned on, and has gone out of coverage.
after about a period of time (20mins - 1 hour) if it does not come back, it is assumed to be turned off, and go to the UK ring (as above).

[chrisjr]

You only get a "foreign" ring tone if you connect directly to a foreign telecoms system. Which only applies to land lines where you have to use the 00 plus country code International dialling prefix.

That does not apply when dialling UK mobiles from the UK as you just dial the number as normal. Which means your call goes to the same entry point into the mobile network whether the recipient is in Tonbridge Wells or Timbuktu.

[my-mate-marmite]

Blimey, this is more confusing than I thought!!

[collincn]

Originally Posted by LCDMAN

You mean ringing tone, not dial tone. It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

A chap who rang me whan I was in portugal last month knew I was abroad as the ringing tone was different. Mine's a UK mobile (Orange)

[Lily_2008]

Originally Posted by chrisjr

You only get a "foreign" ring tone if you connect directly to a foreign telecoms system. Which only applies to land lines where you have to use the 00 plus country code International dialling prefix.

That does not apply when dialling UK mobiles from the UK as you just dial the number as normal. Which means your call goes to the same entry point into the mobile network whether the recipient is in Tonbridge Wells or Timbuktu.

Oh okay yeah, sorry I was wrong! I just checked again and it's only foreign landlines which have a different ringing tone, UK mobiles are the same anywhere.

[Shells Bells]

When my Boss is away and I ring her on an English phone, I get a different dialling tone, not the usual one we get here....

[susie-4964]

Originally Posted by collincn

A chap who rang me whan I was in portugal last month knew I was abroad as the ringing tone was different. Mine's a UK mobile (Orange)

Maybe you have to look at it this way. When you're abroad, the full mobile connection has two stages, one to the UK service provider, and one from the UK service provider to the foreign partner. If the phone is switched off, the second stage doesn't apply, because the call will go straight to answer, therefore the ringtone will be "British". If the phone is switched on and ready to receive calls, the UK service provider will route the call to the foreign partner, and the tone you hear will be the "foreign" tone.

[summerain]

I've called home from abroad mobile-to-mobile, but from outside Europe. The ringing tone sounds the same, but slightly crackly and slower, it sounds 'distant'.

Though I was calling the UK, I'm not sure what people heard when they called me.

[babinaba]

Originally Posted by collincn

A chap who rang me whan I was in portugal last month knew I was abroad as the ringing tone was different. Mine's a UK mobile (Orange)

ditto when I was in France

[BrambleJelly]

I make calls abroad for my job quite alot.

I always know when my clients are abroad because the ring is different (calling their mobiles).

If they are in England it goes 'ring ring.... ring ring... etc'

If they are abroad it goes 'riiinnnnnnnggggg........ riiinnnnggggg.......'

That's my experience

[Charlie Coo]

Why not just ask what airport he is at and check out the validity?

[twingle]

When i ring friends abroad on their UK mobile it always sounds engaged but is the ring tone!

[Dan 8t1]

Originally Posted by LCDMAN

It's the same, as you are diallng the UK network - it's invisible where in the world his mobile really is. If you were calling a foreign landline then you would get a different ringing tone.

Originally Posted by ForestChav

Correct.

Incorrect (unless you were referring to the fact that it's called a 'ringing tone', not a 'dial tone').

I've called UK mobiles that have been abroad on a number of occasions, and have always been able to tell straight away they were abroad due to the different ringing tone.

So to the OP, yes - hearing the UK ringing tone when trying to call your colleague would suggest that he is in the UK.. or somewhere that uses the same ringing tone as the UK!

[Ellie82]

Originally Posted by Dan 8t1

Incorrect (unless you were referring to the fact that it's called a 'ringing tone', not a 'dial tone').

I've called UK mobiles that have been abroad on a number of occasions, and have always been able to tell straight away they were abroad due to the different ringing tone.

So to the OP, yes - hearing the UK ringing tone when trying to call your colleague would suggest that he is in the UK.. or somewhere that uses the same ringing tone as the UK!

In my experience this is correct. My mate went on holiday and I didn't realise he was away. I phoned him a couple of times without him answering, and the ring tone was significantly diffferent, which is how I realised he was abroad. At work we also get international calls which mean our phone rings slightly differently, altho that could be the way the phones are set up??

[izanami]

Originally Posted by twingle

When i ring friends abroad on their UK mobile it always sounds engaged but is the ring tone!

This is what happens when I call my mum in Spain.

[johnny_t]

Generally speaking, you should hear a foreign ringing-tone but, as mentioned above, there are exceptions. If he never turned his mobile on abroad (say, choosing to get a local PAYG SIM or just using payphones instead) then you would still get the UK ringtone.

I don't think you can really use it as proof one way or the other, to be honest....

[johnny_t]

Originally Posted by Dan 8t1

So to the OP, yes - hearing the UK ringing tone when trying to call your colleague would suggest that he is in the UK.. or somewhere that uses the same ringing tone as the UK!

Actually, it would only suggest his phone was in the UK, or was last turned off in the UK. It gives no hint as to where he is......

[Orangecrab]

My brother lives in Germany and his mobile is on the German network i.e. begins with 00 49 the German country code. Usually when I ring it from the UK, it has the continental single ring tone as is normal in Germany, but sometimes it has the British double ring tone. I think it is too general to say that any country or network has a particular ring tone, it can vary as this proves.

[slytherinchick]

Hubby is a lorry driver and is usually in Europe in the week. I call his mobile and you can tell straight away when he has left the country