To think she's in the UK

[Courtney555]

Anyone who has a bit of tech knowledge greatly appreciated here....

My friend is abroad. Been there since Weds due back tomorrow morning. I've called her mobile a couple of times, got the international dial tone, as per normal.

Today, called at lunch. International tone still. She's told me again she's flying back in the morning. I called her just now to double check flight time and it's ringing with a standard UK ringtone like the phone is in the UK?

Does this mean she's in the UK now? She's a really good long term friend with no reason at all to fib. There's literally no reason why she'd tell me she was back tomorrow morning instead of tonight (it's like 14hrs difference) so can this happen by accident? Google is not helping.

I know she's on EE. Could the phone have picked up a UK network out there (Cyprus) and that's why the dial tone has changed this evening.

I hope this is a common occurrence with phones, I'm just a bit "hmmmmm" because since it's rung like it's in the UK she hasn't read my WhatsApps or returned the call.

Please tell me you've had experience of this to put my mind at ease. I know it's really none of my business at the end of the day, but I'd like to know if she could still be legitimately out there and it's just the phone playing silly buggers.

Thank you in advance...

Or maybe she just isn't back yet and you are being ridiculous. If I was this friend I'd be so angry if I saw this post suggesting I was lying because of a dialling tone!

This is where I'm coming from. It's just I thought it was physically impossible to get a UK ringtone if you were not in the UK... especially when it's been ringing international only hours before. Which then only leaves the outcome (however unlikely) that she's got to be in the UK already.

If there's any chance it is a glitch, then it 99% will be. But if there's no chance it's a glitch, then hey ho, she'll have to try and get a train or bus home tomorrow.

There's a woman on holiday somewhere, who has no idea that hundreds of strangers are discussing her dial tone on an Internet forum.

at best!

Don't trains run from London to your area OP?

Nope, we live in the rural back of beyond. Nearest station is miles away and there's about 3 trains a day.

Glad you're not my friend. Fucking hell.

Could her flight back have been to a different airport? It’s often £100’s cheaper for us to land in Manchester etc and get a cheap transfer back.. once it was £23 vs £241 each did mean we had to get a b&b for a night but again still no where near that cost.

Suspect it’s not a “friend” but a boy/girlfriend, hence the sudden interest in nights out/dates.

What the chuffety-fuck does an international ringtone sound like??? Ju suis a la ring ring? Soy ring ring? Ich bein ring ring?

I think when a phone is switched off it comes up with the uk ring?

But... i'm so nosy I want to kñow what ops seen at her house 😂

Also a 5 hour round trip from the airport where do you live?!

Whether she's in the UK is really not the issue, it's really disturbing that you are this anxious and preoccupied, it sounds stalkerish, perhaps she had an emergency and returned early, perhaps she had something to do and changed to an earlier flight than planned but for simplicity and privacy didn't feel the need to share. Perhaps she built in 14 extra hours of alone time because she knows you're incredibly intense as a "friend" and it's the only way to get some peace?! You can get either ring tone when you're on WiFi calling somewhere so who actually knows. You have no right to know and if you ask her she'll think you're bonkers, quite rightly! Your poor friend.

Is this your friend?

"Why did you leave me stranded at the airport without warning? You said you would pick me up?"

Because your phone had THE WRONG RINGING TONE.

derbee gps

You are coming across as a stalker.....

This has all gone predictably 'New Mumsnet'. 14 years ago, this was a different space. I know this enrages newer users, but- back then, OPs like this would have been far more likely to have been answered in good faith. Not with sneery goadery.

No one can answer a straight question with a straight answer any more, can they?

I know. Sad state of affairs isn't it. You still get the odd useful response though.

Despite me saying I've googled already, I've been directed to Google.

However, it looks like it is possible to randomly interchange between a UK and international tone from a couple of PPs experiences. And if that's a possibility, that's exactly what will be the case.

Seriously. You would ring someone ON HOLIDAY?! What the fuck for??! Christ I don't even ring my mum when she's away on holiday..

because you know

SHE'S ON FUCKING HOLIDAY!

Jesus. You sound like a stalker!

Would you have refused to have picked her up if she had went on a night out straight after a holiday?

Most people: Huh, weird. It's doing a ring-ring this time.
OP: She's a sneaky liar.

She's a sneaky liar.

Who has gone on a date in London. With all her cases.

Yes, this happened to me a few times when I lived in Spain. My mum would call most days and several times told me she’d had a Uk ring tone.

I’m pretty sure your friends just enjoying her holiday and hasn’t planned to come home a day earlier to dance and date in London. And won’t be sneaking back to the airport tomorrow to be picked up pretending she’s just back.

(And I had a Spanish mobile number!)

Absolutely common and normal to get either dialling tone at different times.

You she’s created a random elaborate tale about her purposefully ignoring you for hours then going on a date/night out in a London to them go back to the airport in the morning to wait for you to pick her up?

OP you are over invested and this relationship sounds weird. Anyhow if picking her up is such a big convenience that you need to arrange childcare for it then I don’t really think you should have offered in the first place.

Can’t she take a couch/taxi or of taxi is too expensive then train/coach to nearest stop and then a taxi.

It seems very strange that you are watching her house, that is not normal behaviour at all and if I found out my friend did that to me I would be disturbed.

@CoastalWave read the the whole fucking thread and calm the fuck down. OP's friend has been ringing her just as much , it sounds completely normal for their friendship

Jesus , Saturday night always brings out the idiots on Mumsnet who all of a sudden think they are comedians

Yes this can happen in Cyprus, it's happened to me. In Cyprus.

Most people: Huh, weird. It's doing a ring-ring this time.
OP: She's a sneaky liar.

Why is it flying over so many people's heads that my point is I was on the understanding that "it's doing a ring-ring" was impossible. Not "weird huh", not "well fancy that" but impossible.

And if impossible, then yes, she's lying. Not "sneaky" or underhand or all the other crap. But yes, lying.

But it's apparently not impossible. As others have experienced similar. So yes, she'll still be there.

I do love the way you have to spell it out on MN these days.