What causes the phone message 'please hold the line'?

Question

When I'm talking to people on the line phone, and they drop the phone, a message comes over the line 'please hold the line...please hold the line.' what causes this message to come on, surely they cannot know someone has dropped the phone?

Answer 1

One of two things:
The person has 'select services' (from BT). This is like putting people on hold, possibly while dialling another number then adding them to form a conference call. Pressing R and a combination of * and number for different services. The voice usually says"Please hold the line" or Please hold the line, the person you are calling, knows you are waiting" (Called call waiting).

The line is disconnected when the handset is replaced, it effectively opens the circuit, This is a simple switch across the line. but when this happens very quickly, it acts like a pulse. (Old telephone systems used to work on pulses not tones, but most still accept pulse dialling). The exchange control equipment detects an irregular pulse count/pattern and usually says "please hold the line, you will be reconnected..." Thus this switch could open/ close with each little knock.

Answer 2

It is usually this:

When someone drops the phone, chances are that something will shudder, and maybe a small connection would break.

So that the connection is not altered, that message comes up.

Although this has never happened to me, and I have never heard of such occurrence before, one when I dropped that phone, it can unplugged from the phone socket. I tend to use cordless phones now!

Answer 3

they probably sence a vibration or something in the phone that causes that message to occur

Answer 4

Please Hold The Line