Fusion Wireless: Your Wireless Experts

There are some strange cell phone myths floating around out in the internet world. Some of them are simply outrageous, but some of have a hint of feasability. Can you tell the difference?

Cell Phone Myth #1: Cell Phone = Key for Your Car
Most cars these days come with remote keyless entry; a button on your keychain that can unlock your phone from afar. Luckily, this comes in handy when you lock your keys in your car and have a spare at home, no matter how far away from home you are. You can call a family member’s cell phone with your own and have them use your spare key to hit the “unlock” button. Viola! Your car will be unlocked and you can avoid calling AAA.

True or False? Absolutely false. Many people believe this myth because when they try it out, they’re still usually within the range of the spare key’s frequency (usually from the back of the house to the driveway, or only a short distance down the street). Unfortunately, your cell phone does not transfer radio waves across its network that will unlock your car.

Cell Phone Myth #2: Chatting at the Gas Station
Have you ever noticed the strict, bold signs at gas stations that say NO CELL PHONES while you’re at the pump? Static electricity from your cell phone can transfer to the pump and could potentially cause the fuel to ignite.

True or False? Mostly false. While static electricity can ignite fuel and cell phones do produce static electricity, they don’t produce nearly enough to light your gas on fire. However, Ercument Arvas, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, cautions that on a hot day after a gas spill could send fumes into the air. If you’re at the right place at the right time with a horrible, sparky cell phone, and it’s 10:46 on a Tuesday, there’s a chance that the fuel may ignite.

Cell Phone Myth #3: Popping Popcorn with Cell Phones
You’ll need at least 3 cell phones to accomplish this. Get a group of friends, their cell phones, and a small handful of popcorn kernels. Place the cell phones in a circle with the tops facing toward each other, and then place the kernels in the middle of the circle. Call each other, and the radiation will cook the popcorn! Don’t believe me? Check out these videos of cell phone popcorn poppage. And this is what cell phones are doing to your BRAIN!

True or False? False. Who would eat radiation-cooked popcorn, anyway? If food could be cooked using cell phones, then we would be burning or cooking ourselves severely each time we made a call. So how were the videos made? If you look at the linked example, the first video looks like the kids just threw popcorn into the circle and turned the camera to look at the shocked faces, concealing the untouched kernels. The second clip could have easily been done with a little bit of post-production, where they could have erased the kernels on the table in a video editing program.

Cell Phone Myth #4: Cell Phone Charging
Constantly charging your cell phone will reduce the battery life over time faster than if you only charge it when needed.

True or False? True. Cell batteries contain “memory” and are designed to fully charge when they are plugged in. For example, frequently charging the battery at half power conditions it to only hold a partial charge and stop charging fully if it’s drained all the way. The average cell phone battery charge lasts three days, so with consistent use you should try not to charge your phone more than once every other day. For our complete guide on battery care, see our article on how to preserve the battery life of your cell phone.

Cell Phone Myth #5: Secret Backup Battery Power Code
Has your phone ever been two seconds from dying and you just needed to make one more phone call? Next time, to activate hidden battery power, press the keys *3370#. Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. The next time you charge your phone, your reserve power will be charged, too.

True or False? False. This is confused by the fact that some cell phone brands (Nokia for example) use the option of “Half Rate Codec”. What that does is provide about 30% more talk time a on each battery charge in exchange for lower sound quality. If you happen to have one of the models that are equipped with those options, it doesn’t do anything for you if your battery is already dead. And for the record, that is enabled by pressing *#4720#. The *3370# sequence actually enables the Enhanced Full Rate codec, which provides better sound quality at the expense of shorter battery life.

Do you have a favorite cell phone myth that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!