Useful bit of knowledge for mobile phone users

[greensurfingbear]

Attended a mountaineering council of Scotland winter mountain safety lecture tonight. Got a useful little fact that I wasn't aware of. Being out in the sticks reception isn't always good enough to make a call on your mobile However it can still send a text. If you text the word register to 999 it will register your mobile to send emergency SMS. All you'll need to do in an emergency is text details to 999 if you don't have good signal strength. It's already been used to rescue injured hill walkers in Scotland. Useful to know when you've got limited signal figured it was knowledge worth sharing.


Orric

 

[petrochemicals]

Very useful to know, I did not know that.

 

[Hammock_man]

There is a leaflet at

http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/

 

[DavidJT]

Good tips - thanks

 

[Coldfeet]

Thanks for sharing - good information to know.

 

[xylaria]

I wonder why this marketed at the hearing impaired. I am getting a bit deaf now but a few years ago when I had alright hearing I had call for an ambulance while standing next to the A50. I couldnt hear myself think let alone the operator. I just gave my address and name and gave the location. The location was miss heard and the ambulance ended up the wrong side of the duel carriage way. If it wasnt for a luminous clad six foot tall cyclist standing on the barrier waving the ambluance would of driven off.

Every phone should be registered.

 

[pteron]

I wonder why this marketed at the hearing impaired. I am getting a bit deaf now but a few years ago when I had alright hearing I had call for an ambulance while standing next to the A50. I couldnt hear myself think let alone the operator. I just gave my address and name and gave the location. The location was miss heard and the ambulance ended up the wrong side of the duel carriage way. If it wasnt for a luminous clad six foot tall cyclist standing on the barrier waving the ambluance would of driven off.

Every phone should be registered.

This is a good point - why do we need to register? It should be on by default.

 

[Native Nathan]

narn handy, never knew that, Cheers Orric

 

[rorymax]

I await to be corrected, I doubt the accuracy of the initial post information, if there is no signal whatsoever then I do not see how a message or call can be made.

However, dialing 999 actions service providers (other than your own) to pick up and transmit the call, i.e. any network is compelled to action an emergency call.

That is how I understand it.

I will be glad to have clarification on this, I for one would not want to be under the illusion that an emergency call can be made from anywhere on the planet.

rorymax

 

[stu1979uk]

More useful info from ultimate navigation manual

"The emergency services numbers 112 and 911 are pre-programmed into all mobile phones or SIM cards. Dialling 112 anywhere in Europe and 911 anywhere in America, instead of another emergency number has major benefits. Networks give special priority to these emergency numbers and immediately initiate a special emergency set-up to force the phone to make the call on any network, so even if your phone shows ‘No Service’ or ‘No Signal’ it will still transmit if another network is available."

 

[stu1979uk]

A text is more likely to get through than a call if the signal is poor. I read somewhere that it takes less bandwidth and only requires a single packet and usually will keep trying until sent or a fail msg appears

 

[stu1979uk]

Hi greensurfingbear,
Did you find the course useful?
I was thinking about doing it also

 

[xylaria]

I await to be corrected, I doubt the accuracy of the initial post information, if there is no signal whatsoever then I do not see how a message or call can be made.

However, dialing 999 actions service providers (other than your own) to pick up and transmit the call, i.e. any network is compelled to action an emergency call.

That is how I understand it.

I will be glad to have clarification on this, I for one would not want to be under the illusion that an emergency call can be made from anywhere on the planet.

rorymax

999 calls only is what you get when you are out of network range but another company has some slight coverage. Then there are dead zones or no signal what so ever. Dovedale in the peaks has no mobile at all at the bottom of the gorge. However a frequent occurance is that you are in diccy signal land. Step two steps and the call breaks. Modern phones will drain battery to get an emergency call through. A text message can get more information, in a clearer manner with less battery juice. There are different qualities of no service, top of the brecons no service would probably get through but at the bottom of a gorge is pushing it.

 

[greensurfingbear]

Hi greensurfingbear,
Did you find the course useful?
I was thinking about doing it also

Wasn't a course just an evening lecture put on by mountaineering council of Scotland. If you're nervous about winter hill walking I would recommend doing a winter hill skills course. I was lucky i got some of my training for free when I signed to volunteer for local search and rescue team. Gutted I never finished the training as I ended up moving to the other end of the country chasing work


Orric

 

[greensurfingbear]

I await to be corrected, I doubt the accuracy of the initial post information, if there is no signal whatsoever then I do not see how a message or call can be made.

However, dialing 999 actions service providers (other than your own) to pick up and transmit the call, i.e. any network is compelled to action an emergency call.

That is how I understand it.

I will be glad to have clarification on this, I for one would not want to be under the illusion that an emergency call can be made from anywhere on the planet.

rorymax

If you have no signal at all you can't send anything. You'll need a personal locator beacon. However the emergency SMS while initially designed for hearing impaired is being promoted for use by MCofS and BMC. As a text can send at lower signal strength it can be used when you struggle to keep a decent conversation going.

It's recommended that you only send a text after calling has failed.

You are right though calling 999 or 112 from a mobile will 'jump' and use the strongest signal. I often get an onscreen msg on my phone sayings emergency calls only as I have no network coverage from my provider but the phone is picking up signal from another network.

I don't know if the emergency SMS is only a UK thing put to use it you have to register your mobile. Text word register to 999 and follow the instructions in the reply you get.

I've sent an email around to all my colleagues today to get them to register as the coverage for mobiles isn't great when we are out and about.

Orric

 

[BigMonster]

Do you mind if I throw in another tip for you guys?

The most power hungry function on your mobile is the radio. Especially WiFi and mobile connectivity. If the signal is bad your mobile will pump a lot of juice through the antena to amplify the signal and if there's none, constant searching will eat your battery in hours (especially on a smartphone).
Here comes FLIGHT MODE. If you know you won't get any signall then turn this ON which will disable the radio but let you use all the other functions like your camera, music etc. For example during the BUSHMOOT my phone was loosing less than 1% of the battery per day unless used for pictures.
Also this is much better option than switching your mobile completely off as the start sequence where your device is running 100% for a minute or so will use a lot of power. Not to mention the wait if you have to use your phone in emergency...
And you don't have to go in to the wild to use FLIGHT MODE, if your battery is low this will allow you to save power and just toggle it OFF and ON to check for messages.

Try it over night, you will be amazed
Hope that helps.

 

[Wayland]

Some really useful information here.

Any chance of making this thread a sticky?

 

[Insel Affen]

Well I think I will chance my arm and get all my family to do this.

I know it's not hard fact but, on QI they did say that the bars on a mobile is actually just more of a guide and not the definitive signal strength, which is why you can sometimes get through on no bars and don't get through with some. The research elves on QI are usually pretty reliable as they have to source their findings, not just say something they heard down the elf pub.

Stu1979uk is bang on though, bandwidth is king and it takes way less to get a text through than a call.