Phone “phantom ringing”–changing pockets

phonevibrate

UPDATE

A recent story on LifeHacker discusses the medical term for this issue http://lifehacker.com/5913334/phantom-cell-phone-vibration-is-a-sign-you-need-a-tech-break

I noticed a few months ago an interesting phenomenon.  I would feel my iPhone vibrate when I was not carrying it.  This strange sensation has happened a few time in the past, but last month it seemed more intense.  I found out this is something that others have experienced.  It even has a wikipedia page.  This sensation can be called “phantom ringing” or Ringxiety (what a great made up word).

The other interesting thing that happened around this time I also began to miss a lot of phone calls.  I keep my phone on vibrate continually.  Because of the number of text messages and calls I get, my phone goes off frequently.   However, in the last few months I have noticed that I am missing these calls (vibrations).     It is strange, I can feel phantom calls (vibrations) but not the real ones.  This is particularly bad when a client is trying to contact you.

So to help combat these issues I have tried a few things.  The first was to just turn on sound and use the ringer.  This worked for about a day.  It turns out that a ringer is annoying and also impractical if you attend a lot of meetings.  

To keep from missing important calls I turned on custom vibrations on my iphone (another post on that later).   The custom vibrations worked but it was only from particular contacts.

The change that has helped the most is to switch pockets.  I have carried my phone in my right pocket for years.  It has been second nature that any time I leave the house to put my phone in the right pocket, keys and wallet in the left.   So 2 weeks ago I friend from work suggested that I should give it a try.  I joked that I wouldn’t make it the day.  However, 2 weeks running I’ve been switched. 

DID IT WORK?

So far this has solved missing any calls and notifications. It has also caused me to think a bit when leaving the house.  Making sure I don’t forget things.  The most interesting change is attempting to answer the phone and not  drop it.  As a right handed person, this took a bit to get used to.  However, I find myself talking on the phone with my left hand more.

Overall, this has been a  good solution to missing calls but has not stopped the phantom ring.  As a side note, my dress pants seem to have a pocket inside the pocket that fits the iphone perfectly to keep it vertical.  This great feature is only in the right pockets….

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