Phones calling Phones - No human intervention required.

[Ruth]

And this is done without human intervention. I'm wondering if the Cs can explain (or anyone else for that matter!) why my phone gets calls from other people's phones with no human intervention whatsoever. A couple of times I can hear the owners of these phones in the background moving around, breathing and in one case, muttering to themselves. Often they sound like they are at a distance from the phone. On enquiry they were completely oblivious to any calls being made.

I called one of these people back and she said that other people had told her that this had happened before. Strange. My phone is not a smart phone by the way, and I was wondering if there was some sort of 'hacking' going on (of smart phones, because why would anyone want to 'hack' a 'dumb phone' like mine?).

In a way, it reminds me of years ago when my telephone company started sending out automated surveys to my home phone and the computer was trying to interrogate my answering machine.... with absolutely no success at all. It's hard to tell what's really going on here, only that it's very weird.

 

[Cosmos]

I think there are a number of possibilities on how and why that happens sometimes. Some of which are just coincidences: like people calling you by accident either because they typed in the wrong number or because their phone "button" was accidentally pushed to call someone (in this case, you) without them knowing it. Or their phone is wonky/broken and does sometimes "strange" things such as calling without them knowing it. Or someone is by accident calling other people because he/she is rather old and/or does not understand how smartphones work (aka. an inexpert in smartphone use pushing wrong buttons and not knowing what he/she is doing).

The last scenarios happened to me a number of times as well and in the case of the last three scenarios it was most often accompanied by what you described above: hearing them (or anything they do at that moment) in the background while they are not responding to you if you ask and so on:

A couple of times I can hear the owners of these phones in the background moving around, breathing and in one case, muttering to themselves. Often they sound like they are at a distance from the phone. On enquiry they were completely oblivious to any calls being made.

In my case something like that happened: a relative called me by accident and that relative didn't know that she did so, so; I was on the phone and heard "moving around, breathing and in one case, muttering to themselves" and wondered what is going on. Turned out that cellphone from that relative called me by accident (she didn't know it at the time) and she was having the phone in her pocket.

I called one of these people back and she said that other people had told her that this had happened before. Strange.

That is exactly what my relative told me as well, with the addition that her "smartphone seems to be broken in some ways". I also think that it that case there is a good likelihood that she is actually sometimes calling other people herself by accident because she is rather old and does not understand how smartphones work (aka. an inexpert in smartphone use pushing wrong buttons and not knowing what she is doing there). And she explains it to herself as "the smartphone is broken" while in reality she simply is an inexpert in it and most often convinced "she never called you".

From the sounds of it, something along those lines could be happening to you.

 

[brandon]

That is exactly what my relative told me as well, with the addition that her "smartphone seems to be broken in some ways". I also think that it that case there is a good likelihood that she is actually sometimes calling other people herself by accident because she is rather old and does not understand how smartphones work (aka. an inexpert in smartphone use pushing wrong buttons and not knowing what she is doing there). And she explains it to herself as "the smartphone is broken" while in reality she simply is an inexpert in it and most often convinced "she never called you".

I get this a lot, accidental calls, always from my grandma, hearing her moving around or talking to someone else and clearly not knowing she's called me.. We figured out at least one of the ways it happens is when she's had text messages open, then put her phone down, or in her pocket, without "locking" it first - accidentally brushing a "call this person" on-screen button with a finger.. I watched her do it to someone else once when I was over there. As she put her phone down, the screen changed to say "dialing so-and-so..." .. Easy to do when you're not used to touchscreens..

 

[Cosmos]

I get this a lot, accidental calls, always from my grandma, hearing her moving around or talking to someone else and clearly not knowing she's called me.. We figured out at least one of the ways it happens is when she's had text messages open, then put her phone down, or in her pocket, without "locking" it first - accidentally brushing a "call this person" on-screen button with a finger.. I watched her do it to someone else once when I was over there. As she put her phone down, the screen changed to say "dialing so-and-so..." .. Easy to do when you're not used to touchscreens..

Exactly the type of things I discovered as well with my relative after some investigation (like you did above).

 

[Bastian]

And this is done without human intervention.

Or more probably without human intent : the mobile phone is in a pocket or in a bag, its keyboard or touch screen pressed against something hard enough, so that it "dials" a number / calls someone in the directory.

I'm wondering if the Cs can explain (or anyone else for that matter!) why my phone gets calls from other people's phones with no human intervention whatsoever.

Most of the time, because the phone keyboard or screen wasn't "locked".

A couple of times I can hear the owners of these phones in the background moving around, breathing and in one case, muttering to themselves. Often they sound like they are at a distance from the phone.

You're right : it sounds remote as if the phone is at distance of the person(s), but more probably it's in a pocket or in a bag (where everyone usually carries its phone), so the sound is muffled.
(NB : It's a good lesson about being careful with interpretation of facts : one should stick to the facts as much as possible, and be aware when/where interpretation begins...)

On enquiry they were completely oblivious to any calls being made.

Of course.

I called one of these people back and she said that other people had told her that this had happened before.

Me too : from time to time I receive such non-intentional calls, and from time to time my (dumb)phone in my pocket emits such calls (generally to nonexistent numbers, but sometimes it calls someone registered in the directory.

A few days ago, I finally discovered why my (dumb)phone calls a former girlfriend from time to time, since two years. Up to then, I suspected a "paranormal" factor (reinforced by the fact that I still have some love for her), because I wasn't seeing a materialistic explanation. But the explanation was so simple : her number was registered among the favorites, direct access by sustainly pressing the key 5 (right in the center of the keyboard).

Strange. My phone is not a smart phone by the way, and I was wondering if there was some sort of 'hacking' going on (of smart phones, because why would anyone want to 'hack' a 'dumb phone' like mine?).

Hacking not needed...

It's hard to tell what's really going on here, only that it's very weird.

It seems weird, but in fact it's "wired" !

 

[Revolucionar]

My view is that it’s always more beneficial to consider all the down to earth possibilities before even thinking about any of the more esoteric causes. In this case, it is far more likely that these are just cases of so-called “butt dialling” than anything else.

I think the tendency to ascribe magical causes to mundane occurrences is merely a result of one’s desire for something interesting and more fun than the boredom of regular 3D life. I’ve been there myself, and it invariably leads to bad places. Critical thinking is probably the most important tool that can help us stay rooted in objective reality and we all know how critical (excuse the pun) that is.