star 69

Intermediate 💻 Tech / IT

Definition

A telephone feature activated by dialing *69 (in North America) that automatically redials the phone number of the last incoming call, whether answered or missed. It was one of the earliest callback services offered by telephone companies.

Example Usage

I missed an important call, so I pressed star 69 to find out who had tried to reach me.

Origin

Introduced by Bell Canada in 1971 and later adopted across North America; the name derives from the dialing sequence.

Fun Fact

Star 69 became less relevant after caller ID gained widespread adoption, since users could simply see who called without needing to use the feature.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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