When someone hangs up a phone, whether it’s a landline phone or mobile phone, the phone typically makes some kind of audible noise to indicate the call has ended. The exact noise can vary depending on the type of phone and network technology. However, there are some common sounds that people will recognize when a call disconnects.
Dial Tone
One of the most familiar sounds when someone hangs up is the dial tone. This is the steady, monotonous tone you hear when you first pick up a landline phone. When your call partner hangs up their end, your phone will switch back to the dial tone to indicate the call has ended and the line is open again.
The dial tone is generated by the telephone exchange to indicate the line is open and ready to receive dialed digits. It’s a continuous tone made up of two superimposed tones – a 350 Hz tone and a 440 Hz tone. This creates a consistent sound that phone users easily recognize.
Reasons for Hearing the Dial Tone
There are a few specific reasons you’ll hear the dial tone when a call ends:
- Your call partner hung up their landline phone
- You hung up your own landline phone
- The call was disconnected or dropped from the landline network
Essentially any time a landline call ends, you’ll hear the familiar dial tone letting you know the line is once again available to make calls.
Click Sound
Another very common sound when someone hangs up a call is a “click” or “clack” sound. This is the noise produced by the phone’s internal switch hook and plunger hanging up.
When you place a call on a landline phone, the switch hook connects the phone to the phone line to make the call. When you hang up, the hook physically disconnects from the line and produces an audible click sound.
The switch hook is the movable metal or plastic hook that presses down when the handset rests in the phone cradle. Hanging up the handset releases the hook, which clicks as it reconnects with the plunger inside the phone. The click is transmitted to your earpiece so you know the call has disconnected.
Reasons for Hearing a Click
Here are some reasons you may hear a click or clack when a call ends:
- Your call partner manually hung up their landline phone handset
- You hung up your own landline phone handset
- Your call partner pressed the hook switch on their landline phone cradle to hang up
- One phone was hung up while the other remained off hook, releasing the switch hook
The click occurs right when the physical disconnection takes place during hang up. Both callers will hear the click when the hang up happens.
Beeping
A beeping sound is also quite common when hanging up a phone. This sound typically occurs when ending a call on a mobile phone network.
Mobile networks use different signals and protocols than landline networks. Rather than a switch hook, mobile networks generate in-band tones and call progress tones to indicate when a call starts and ends.
Hanging up a mobile phone triggers a call release signal that causes the network to send a beeping tone or recorded voice saying “call ended” to the connected devices so users know the call has disconnected.
Reasons for Hearing Beeping
Here are some reasons you may hear beeping or call ended messages when a mobile phone call disconnects:
- Your mobile call partner pressed the end call button on their smartphone
- You pressed the end call button on your own smartphone
- Poor signal caused the mobile network to drop the call
- Your call partner’s phone battery died, ending the call
- You went into a tunnel or area with no mobile signal, disconnecting the call
The beeping or voice notifications happen automatically when the mobile network senses the call has ended or been dropped from its side.
Dead Air
Sometimes when a call unexpectedly drops, you may hear nothing at all – just dead air or silence. This can occur if the network disconnects but fails to play the proper hang up tone or recording.
On both mobile and landline networks, there can be technical glitches that prevent the proper tones from transmitting when a call gets cut off. The result is the abrupt absence of any sound, a sudden empty silence to indicate your call has ended.
Reasons for Hearing Dead Air
Some reasons you may suddenly hear dead air and silence when your call disconnects include:
- Your mobile call dropped due to lack of network coverage
- Your call partner entered an area with no service, abruptly ending the call
- The network failed to transmit a busy signal or error tone
- Your internet phone call was disconnected due to internet connectivity issues
Dead air usually means an unexpected technical disruption occurred, preventing the proper hang up notification from playing. When this happens, you’ll immediately notice the lack of any sound from your call partner.
Conclusion
When someone ends a phone call, whether on purpose or due to technical issues, the phones will make some audible notification so the users know the call has ended. The most common sounds heard when someone hangs up are:
- Dial tone on landline phones
- Click or clack sound from the switch hook
- Beeps and automated messages on mobile networks
- Dead air or silence when a call unexpectedly drops
So next time you hear these distinct sounds, you’ll know your phone call has been disconnected and your line is ready for the next call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes the click sound when hanging up a landline phone?
The click sound is caused by the switch hook and plunger inside the landline phone. When you hang up the handset, the hook disconnects from the plunger which makes an audible clicking noise indicating the call has ended.
Why do mobile networks play beeps or recordings when a call disconnects?
Mobile networks play tones and automated messages when a call ends to notify users over the cellular network protocols. This lets mobile phone users know the call has been terminated or dropped.
Does a dial tone mean the call was disconnected?
Yes, hearing a dial tone when you were just in a call means the phone line has been opened and disconnected. The dial tone signals that the call has ended and the landline is ready to place another call.
What causes dead air when someone hangs up?
Dead air with no notification typically means the network failed to transmit the proper hang up signals. This usually happens when there are technical problems that abruptly cut off the call without sending a busy signal or recorded message.
Do all phones make a noise when someone hangs up?
Yes, all landline and mobile phones will make some kind of noise when a call ends. However, certain technical problems can prevent the audible notification from playing, resulting in silent dead air instead.
Key Takeaways
- Dial tones, clicks, beeps, and dead air are common sounds phones make when calls disconnect.
- Landlines make clicks from switch hooks and dial tones from the phone network.
- Mobile phones make beeps and play automated messages when calls drop.
- Technical problems can lead to dead air with no audible hang up notification.
- These noises all indicate to the users that the call has ended and the line is now disconnected.