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I don't remember where I heard it, but I do remember hearing that one of the signs you're in a dream is that your phone doesn't work properly. Which leads me into this dream I had recently:
I was asleep, when my phone wakes me up. I don't remember it actually ringing, just thinking "someone is trying to call me," so I answer it and do my best to pretend I wasn't just sleeping. We don't have an actual conversation, like no words are exchanged, but through the inscrutable logic of dreams I ascertain that the caller is an old acquaintance setting me up for a job interview. We hang up and I go back to sleep.
Next thing I know I'm at the mall wondering if this was where my interview was supposed to be. I try to think back on the conversation but I don't remember anything other than being really sleepy. For a moment I suspect that I must have imagined the conversation, maybe it was all just a dream. I don't remember who I'm supposed to meet, where I'm supposed to meet them, or what job I'm supposed to be interviewing for. Then I reason that I wouldn't have come to the mall unless I was supposed to, so I decide to fake it til I make it.
Sure enough, I find my old acquaintance who introduces me to someone I've never met about the job. We start chatting for a bit, and then the job interview turns into a scavenger hunt and I'm sent off into the mall with my prospective employer's shopping list. I wake up before I find out if I got the job.
That fucker never works! Sometimes I conclude it's malware but usually I just try and try and try. UI is messed up. Fingers don't do what I want. Screen is broken. Drives me mad!
I do remember hearing that one of the signs you’re in a dream is that your phone doesn’t work properly
It's one of the "reality tests" of lucid dreamers. You make a mental note of how you know your phone to behave and if you discover that not to be the case then that acts as an "alarm" that you're sleeping.
There are other tests as well. Light switches never turn on the lights. Text changes when you look away and then read it again. You can try pushing your hand thru the wall. If you jump you'll jump really high or may even start flying.
The point of these tests is to do them daily even when you "know" you're awake so that the habit carries over to the dream world. However when this eventually happens either of two things is the most likely to happen: you freak out and wake up or you rationalize it to youself somehow. For example: "Holy shit I'm flying, this is a dream! Oh never mind it was just a crane that's lifting me" Speaking from experience.
Also a word of caution. It's not recommended to look into mirrors when you're lucid dreaming. You'll see something other than yourself and this can be really uncomfortable. Also if you realize you're dreaming and start to freak out but don't wake up there's a good chance it turns into a nightmare. The way out of it is to not be afraid, for example go hug the monster instead of running away but this is easier said than done.