Titanic received six ice-warnings the day of the collision. Radio (then known as "wireless") was a brand new contraption. The signal was limited to Morse code - voice was not yet possible. Titanic had an unusually powerful Marconi wireless system, and was able to send and receive much farther than most other ships on the Atlantic. But as the messages about ice came in throughout the day, there was no standard procedure to ensure that they reached the appropriate ship's officers. The most crucial message, at 9:45 PM, told of field ice and large ice bergs directly ahead of Titanic ... but that message was never delivered to the Captain or his officers. The wireless operator was too busy sending out personal Marconigrams for the passengers.

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