"Please Turn Off Morning Phone Vibrations" Phone Vibration Noise Leading to Neighbor Conflicts

Online Apartment Residents' Cafe Flooded with Complaints about 'Morning Call Phone Vibration'
Residents Frustrated: "Upstairs Wake-Up Time Matches My Own"

A post urging to disable phone vibrations during sleep, uploaded on an online community. Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "I am really dying every morning because of the vibration sound of cell phones."

Recently, apartment residents have been expressing complaints asking others not to use cell phone vibration as a wake-up alarm.

They have been posting cases of disturbance on online communities and residents' online cafes, venting their frustration. However, since it is early morning, noise control is not easy, and there are no clear damage standards for cell phone vibration noise, residents' complaints continue to grow.

According to posts by residents on online cafes, generally, the upstairs resident sets their cell phone alarm to vibration or both sound and vibration while sleeping, causing the alarm vibration to be transmitted through the bed frame or floor to the downstairs unit, disturbing their sleep.

An apartment resident, Mr. A, said, "The vibration goes off three times at 5:50 a.m. and then stops, but when I wake up because of that sound, I can't go back to sleep," adding, "I feel dazed and tired all day long, and I really suffer because of someone else's vibration noise."

In response to Mr. A's complaint, other apartment residents commented, "The sound alarm and vibration alarm might be set together, so both sound and vibration go off when the alarm rings. You could ask the management office to post a notice in the elevator," and "Since they might not realize it themselves, try telling the upstairs and downstairs neighbors as well."

Requests to "ban waking up by phone vibration" are being posted mainly on apartment online cafes. Photo by Apartment Cafe and other community captures

There is still no clear damage standard for 'cell phone vibration noise' under the living noise criteria. Usually, living noise vibration refers to construction vibrations near residential areas, which differ from cell phone vibrations.

According to environmental damage relief standards for human harm (the degree of direct harm to the human body), the inter-floor noise standards are △light impact noise 58 decibels, △heavy impact noise 50 decibels, △airborne noise 45 decibels, and △40 decibels at night. Also, △construction site noise 70 decibels, △road and railway noise 65 decibels, △continuous vibration 73 decibels, and △impact vibration 86 decibels are standards.

Also, according to the Apartment Housing Management Act, inter-floor noise refers to noise caused by the activities of residents or users of apartment housing or noise generated from using audio devices, which causes harm to other residents or users. Noise caused by water supply and drainage in bathrooms, toilets, and utility rooms is excluded.

In summary, there are no clear regulations or damage standards for cell phone vibration noise.

Because of this situation, residents continue to express complaints. Mr. B, a mid-30s office worker who said he is stressed by the upstairs cell phone alarm vibration, said, "The vibration seems louder because it is a quiet time in the morning," adding, "It really bothers me a lot." He added, "The upstairs neighbor's wake-up time has basically become my wake-up time."

Also, Ms. C, a late-20s office worker, said, "You have to experience cell phone vibration noise to understand it," adding, "Especially if you suffer this during wake-up time, you lose sleep and feel tired all day."

However, controlling cell phone alarm vibration is realistically difficult. A security guard working at an apartment in Seoul said, "The cell phone alarm goes off around 5 to 6 a.m., but it is difficult to call or visit the noise source house from the security office at that time," adding, "Adjusting the wake-up alarm method through apartment notices seems to be the way to reduce conflicts among neighbors."