The melody comes from Gran Vals, a 1904 guitar piece by Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega, adapted by Nokia as a selectable ringtone for the 2110 released in 1994, where it was listed simply as Type 7. As Nokia phones spread worldwide in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that short phrase became the default sound of mobile calls for millions of people. It later turned into online shorthand for old technology, with creators reusing the original monophonic version specifically to distinguish the first era of ringtones from later polyphonic remakes.
Over dit geluid
The original Nokia Tune from the 1994 2110 phone, heard as the Type 7 ringtone. People use it for 90s nostalgia, retro phone jokes and throwback edits.
This is the short monophonic melody first heard on the Nokia 2110 in 1994, the earliest phone version of the Nokia Tune. Played in bright, beeping electronic tones, it loops a simple, instantly recognisable phrase that rises and resolves in a few seconds. Hearing it immediately signals an incoming call from another era, which is why it feels both cheerful and deeply nostalgic. In videos it works as an instant time stamp for the mid 1990s, cutting through modern sound design with its thin, tinny ring and evoking brick phones, Snake, and pockets buzzing in classrooms.
