...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Sudden Lack of Signal

138 statements
26 feature instances
17 referencing feature instances

Sudden Lack of Signal	type	FeatureClass
Sudden Lack of Signal	label	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal	page	SuddenLackOfSignal
Sudden Lack of Signal	comment	You've suddenly been transported to an unfamiliar place. You don't recognize anything about the landscape, and the sky... is unlike any sky you've seen before. Troubled, you pull out a cell phone to call for help — but even though your phone is working fine and you're in an open area, there is no signal. Your GPS isn't working, either; it claims that no satellites can be detected. Yup, definitely not in Kansas anymore. In today's era, when nearly everyone carries a cell phone on a regular basis, the sudden, initially inexplicable lack of signal can serve as an early tip-off that our characters have become Trapped in Another World. Maybe they're on an alien planet, an alternate universe, or have time-travelled into the past — in any case, there are no communication towers anywhere. This can also happen with other communication devices such as radios, the Internet, GPS etc. In such a situation, obviously, Cell Phones Are Useless. Contrast The Web Always Existed and Super Cell Reception.
Sudden Lack of Signal	fetched	2023-11-22T11:44:37Z
Sudden Lack of Signal	parsed	2023-11-22T11:44:37Z
Sudden Lack of Signal	processingComment	Dropped link to OhCrap: Not an Item - FEATURE
Sudden Lack of Signal	isPartOf	DBTropes
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_12998143	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_12998143	comment	Discussed in the Terrible Writing Advice episode on the Isekai genre. If the protagonist happens to have his cell phone with him when he's whisked into another world, it won't help.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_12998143	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_12998143	featureConfidence	1.0
Terrible Writing Advice (Web Animation)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_12998143
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_19180e3c	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_19180e3c	comment	Les Visiteurs: At the end of the first movie, Jacquouille's descendant (having been sent to the Middle Ages in his ancestor's place) tries out his cell phone just before running into the horde of filthy peasants.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_19180e3c	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_19180e3c	featureConfidence	1.0
Les Visiteurs	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_19180e3c
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_1c34acd2	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_1c34acd2	comment	In Rocketship Voyager the Delaney twins are involved in an experiment in using Twin Telepathy to communicate with deep space vessels, with Jenny Delaney on Voyager and Megan Delaney on Mars. Tom Paris begins to suspect they're a very long way from home when Jenny tells him she can no longer "hear" her sister.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_1c34acd2	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_1c34acd2	featureConfidence	1.0
Rocketship Voyager (Fanfic)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_1c34acd2
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_226f6b3f	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_226f6b3f	comment	Happens a lot on Haven, whenever anything odd starts happening with the Troubles—though it rarely has anything to do with the Troubles, and more to do with the fact the show is set in Maine.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_226f6b3f	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_226f6b3f	featureConfidence	1.0
Haven	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_226f6b3f
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2a8943c0	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2a8943c0	comment	Miraculous Ladybug, "Pixelator": Phones don't work for people trapped inside Pixelator's pictures.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2a8943c0	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2a8943c0	featureConfidence	1.0
Miraculous Ladybug	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2a8943c0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2cae0547	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2cae0547	comment	Surviving Romance features a variation. Once the zombie outbreak begins in the school all signals going in or out of it are blocked. Messaging between people inside of the school are still working though.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2cae0547	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2cae0547	featureConfidence	1.0
Surviving Romance (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2cae0547
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2e719afe	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2e719afe	comment	In SD Gundam Force episode 11, the first thing Shute tries when he and the rest of the Force are transported to Lacroa is his phone. Naturally, it doesn't work. He lampshades this when he tries to contact Captain after they get separated in the following episode;
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2e719afe	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2e719afe	featureConfidence	1.0
SD Gundam Force	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_2e719afe
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_30163036	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_30163036	comment	With Galaxion technology levels, communications range does not extend to twenty one (and a half) parsecs. On the plus side, they are in the same universe.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_30163036	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_30163036	featureConfidence	1.0
Galaxion (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_30163036
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_3c6e7f9f	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_3c6e7f9f	comment	In Cross Ange, when Ange and Tusk accidentally warp to the original, After the End Earth, the first weird thing they notice (apart from the ruins) is a complete radio silence all around them.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_3c6e7f9f	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_3c6e7f9f	featureConfidence	1.0
Cross Ange	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_3c6e7f9f
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_43576f5	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_43576f5	comment	Supernatural. Dean travels back in time to the United States during WW2 and is mistaken for a spy, partly because he's carrying a strange device displaying the words NO SIGNAL.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_43576f5	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_43576f5	featureConfidence	1.0
Supernatural	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_43576f5
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_508ec184	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_508ec184	comment	City of Lost Characters: Several people experience loss of connectivity upon being brought into the titular city.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_508ec184	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_508ec184	featureConfidence	1.0
City of Lost Characters (Roleplay)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_508ec184
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_50bcf7a6	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_50bcf7a6	comment	Averted and pointed out in Homestuck, when after being transported into another world, John's house still has electricity and Internet connectivity... even as John inspects the power cables and find them severed during the teleportation.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_50bcf7a6	featureApplicability	-1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_50bcf7a6	featureConfidence	1.0
Homestuck (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_50bcf7a6
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_53dc3731	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_53dc3731	comment	At the end of Atomic Robo: The Savage Sword of Doctor Dinosaur, Robo gets teleported through time into the 19th century. He tries contacting base by radio — nothing. He tries to establish his position by GPS — nothing. Then he realizes that he can't detect any radio signals of any kind...
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_53dc3731	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_53dc3731	featureConfidence	1.0
Atomic Robo / Comicbook	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_53dc3731
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_69fa7496	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_69fa7496	comment	A Donald Duck comic story, "Outlanders", has Uncle Scrooge transported to an alternate Steampunk universe. His first reaction upon finding himself in a desolate wasteland is to get his cell phone and be confused by the lack of signal.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_69fa7496	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_69fa7496	featureConfidence	1.0
Disney Ducks Comic Universe (Comic Book)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_69fa7496
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_6bc0f10a	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_6bc0f10a	comment	In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Arthur tries and fails to get a signal on board the Vogon ship. He then drops his phone into outer space and we get a nice shot of his NOKIA phone filling up the whole screen.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_6bc0f10a	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_6bc0f10a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_6bc0f10a
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_7f49dfdb	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_7f49dfdb	comment	In Devil Survivor, one of the first signs that something has gone horribly wrong is that every person's cellphone begins showing no signal. In this case, the government is trying to hide the existence of demons from everyone not trapped in Tokyo.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_7f49dfdb	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_7f49dfdb	featureConfidence	1.0
Devil Survivor (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_7f49dfdb
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_87e00d8e	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_87e00d8e	comment	In an episode of Teen Titans (2003), Cyborg, Beast Boy and Robin are pulled into an alternate dimension for a "tournament of heroes". Cyborg is suspicious and tries to call Starfire and Raven. When he can't get through, he uses this as evidence to Robin that they are in a trap. Robin sarcastically points out that Cyborg's phone plan probably doesn't include alternate dimensions.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_87e00d8e	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_87e00d8e	featureConfidence	1.0
Teen Titans (2003)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_87e00d8e
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_8c3c1f7a	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_8c3c1f7a	comment	In Deverish Also, when Finn accidentally goes through Rekkoran's portal, it begins to sink in that he's in another world when his cell phone and GPS both get no signal. Later on, when a friendly mage demonstrates a portal spell, he knows it's the same thing because he gets a cell phone signal through it.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_8c3c1f7a	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_8c3c1f7a	featureConfidence	1.0
Deverish Also (Webcomic)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_8c3c1f7a
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_9b602c3f	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_9b602c3f	comment	In Toby Fox's Deltarune, Kris will have a cell phone in their inventory from the beginning of the game. It works in the normal world, but after being transported into the Dark World, attempting to use the phone will only result in a creepy distorted sound effect being played. This sound effect is heavily associated with the enigmatic character of W.D.Gaster from Fox's previous game, Undertale, and is far from the only reference to him in Deltarune chapter 1, leading to fan speculation of his greater involvement in the new game's story
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_9b602c3f	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_9b602c3f	featureConfidence	1.0
Deltarune (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_9b602c3f
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_bfef9cdb	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_bfef9cdb	comment	Averted in Welcome to Night Vale: in the desert otherworld, cell phones have signal and even permanently full batteries.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_bfef9cdb	featureApplicability	-1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_bfef9cdb	featureConfidence	1.0
Welcome to Night Vale (Podcast)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_bfef9cdb
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_c43df4d8	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_c43df4d8	comment	Doctor Who: In "The End of the World", Rose's cell phone initially does not work after travelling billions of years into the future. The Doctor mods her phone so she can still call her mother, who's still in the present day. "Rise of the Cybermen": Mickey and Rose are on an alternate Earth and their cell phones don't work on the network there. Good thing too, since everyone who has a phone (i.e, everyone) gets turned into a Cyberman.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_c43df4d8	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_c43df4d8	featureConfidence	1.0
Doctor Who	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_c43df4d8
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_cfd04587	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_cfd04587	comment	In Super Lesbian Animal RPG, all electronic communications such as phones and the internet become unusable due to electromagnetic interference as soon as Javis sets his sinister plans in motion and the Reality Scrambler machines come online.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_cfd04587	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_cfd04587	featureConfidence	1.0
Super Lesbian Animal RPG (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_cfd04587
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_dac21ad9	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_dac21ad9	comment	The Archonate: When Hapthorn travels into the future, one of the first things he and his familiar check is whether they can access the Connectivity. They can't.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_dac21ad9	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_dac21ad9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Archonate	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_dac21ad9
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_e333c908	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_e333c908	comment	The Massive Multi-Fandom RPG season 3.5: Batman's first act upon his sudden arrival into the extradimensional city is trying to contact the Batcave. Upon finding that it is out of reach (which is stated to be "impossible"), he immediately realizes the situation isn't normal.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_e333c908	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_e333c908	featureConfidence	1.0
The Massive Multi-Fandom RPG (Roleplay)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_e333c908
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f5c28dbb	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f5c28dbb	comment	1632: The radio and the phones in Grantville stop working when the town gets transported to the Thirty Years' War era.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f5c28dbb	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f5c28dbb	featureConfidence	1.0
1632	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f5c28dbb
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f919529e	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f919529e	comment	The Dead Mines: The player's radio connection to the surface cuts off almost mid-conversation as the player progresses deeper into the mines.
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f919529e	featureApplicability	1.0
Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f919529e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Dead Mines (Video Game)	hasFeature	Sudden Lack of Signal / int_f919529e

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Sudden Lack of Signal	processingCategory2	Otherworld Tropes
Sudden Lack of Signal	processingCategory2	Phone Tropes
Cross Ange / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
The Watcher in the Rain (Audio Play) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Fisherman's Friends / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
1632 / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
City of Lost Characters (Roleplay) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
The Massive Multi-Fandom RPG (Roleplay) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
9-1-1: Lone Star / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Devil Survivor (Video Game) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Goodbye Volcano High (Video Game) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Kinder (Video Game) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Obsidian (Video Game) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
The Secret World (Video Game) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Slumber Town (Webcomic) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Surviving Romance (Webcomic) / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal
Atomic Robo / Comicbook / int_772057ec	type	Sudden Lack of Signal

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.