Dual SIM iPhones, any good?

[megaphone]

I currently run two iPhones, work and personal. Looking at the new SE which has dual SIM. Specifically how does it work with the two numbers? How easy is it to dial out from the 'wrong' number? Ditto messaging? Can I run two separate messaging accounts? Ditto Whatsapp? Needs to be seamless and no mistakes if I go for it.

[Mr Pointy]

I have dual SIMs on my One Plus & it's great, although there are some gotchas. If you want two instances of WhatsApp you'll need to find out if you can install a second one - on Android you use something like Parallel Spaces but I don't know what the iPhone equivalent is. Contact lists are shared as well.

If you want to try it out buy the cheapest PAYG SIM from Tescos or the like to play with.

[keith333]

I use Motorola Moto G v7 and have done since v2. Absolutely brilliant for dual sim. Its obvious which SIM the incoming call is i.e. work or personal. You can save the SIM to use whenever dialling a number, so you don't need to think about which sim you're using, only the very first time you call a number.

Battery life is brilliant too. Cost is only around £140. I think there is a v8 available. Has a fast charger too for extra cost. I buy mine from John Lewis as I regularly go swimming with them in my pocket doh! Oh yes they're not waterproof...

Another drawback is that it only has WiFi on one channnel 2.4GHz I think. Doesn't support 5GHz, but that doesn't bother me.

[Horace Van Khute]

megaphone said:

I currently run two iPhones, work and personal. Looking at the new SE which has dual SIM. Specifically how does it work with the two numbers? How easy is it to dial out from the 'wrong' number? Ditto messaging? Can I run two separate messaging accounts? Ditto Whatsapp? Needs to be seamless and no mistakes if I go for it.

To me they are great (don't forget one sim is an eSIM). But to your question on how easy it is to use a wrong number. It's not difficult to see what number you're using but if e.g. you're under pressure and/or have lot's going on it's fairly easy to get them wrong, as I found out on one of my invoices when I was overseas.

[mcm87]

On the iPhone one of the SIMs needs to be an eSIM so make sure his is supported by either of the networks.

It works really well. It’s obvious to see which number is being used.

For multiple WhatsApp numbers on an iPhone you need to install WhatsApp and “WhatsApp business” on the App Store. Ignore the name, it functions just like normal and allows the second number. This also works without a second SIM card btw.

[rdjohn]

keith333 said:

I use Motorola Moto G v7 and have done since v2. Absolutely brilliant for dual sim. Its obvious which SIM the incoming call is i.e. work or personal. You can save the SIM to use whenever dialling a number, so you don't need to think about which sim you're using, only the very first time you call a number.

Battery life is brilliant too. Cost is only around £140. I think there is a v8 available. Has a fast charger too for extra cost. I buy mine from John Lewis as I regularly go swimming with them in my pocket doh! Oh yes they're not waterproof...

Another drawback is that it only has WiFi on one channnel 2.4GHz I think. Doesn't support 5GHz, but that doesn't bother me.

I’ll second this, I have a UK Vodafone SIM and a French Orange SIM and it’s seamless in operation.

I don’t have many apps, as I have an iPad and Laptop for stuff when I am indoors, but the G7 seems to be a Swiss Army knife of phones. Unless you do not have the heavy lifting kit, I cannot see how someone could contemplate spending £1000 on a mobile phone + contract.

Today I have just driven several hundred miles across France, navigating with Waze with real-time route information, listening to Apple Music and BBC Sounds, replied to a couple of emails, taken a couple of photos, plus a few random searches and calls.I cannot recommend it enough, but perhaps you really need something far more elaborate.

[okenemem]

mcm87 said:

On the iPhone one of the SIMs needs to be an eSIM so make sure his is supported by either of the networks.

you can get iphones with two nano sims , they are for the eastern market.

theres a few floating around on ebay

[hutchst]

I've used dual sims for a while (Galaxy S5 now S9) I wouldn't be without. Aren't all the Galaxys dual now? The second sim slot is also the expansion SD card slot since the S9, so you have to choose one or the other.

You can disable one of the sims in the software without actually having to take it out and lose it. You can also choose which one is default for calls and separately for data.

Unfortunately, I have 3 sim cards.

[megaphone]

mcm87 said:

On the iPhone one of the SIMs needs to be an eSIM so make sure his is supported by either of the networks.

It works really well. It’s obvious to see which number is being used.

For multiple WhatsApp numbers on an iPhone you need to install WhatsApp and “WhatsApp business” on the App Store. Ignore the name, it functions just like normal and allows the second number. This also works without a second SIM card btw.

Thanks. What about Messages? Does it run two separate message apps? Can you tell which number has been messaged?

Also I use Siri a lot to dial numbers and send messages, especially when driving, how does it dial/send from a specific number?

Edited by megaphone on Sunday 28th June 10:10

[Cybertronian]

I have a dual SIM iPhone and absolutely love the ability to have 2 live numbers running concurrently. Allowed me to ditch my work phone and stick the work Vodafone SIM into my phone, whilst I run my personal EE number as an e-SIM.

megaphone said:

Thanks. What about Messages? Does it run two separate message apps? Can you tell which number has been messaged?

Also I use Siri a lot to dial numbers and send messages, especially when driving, how does it dial/send from a specific number?

With Messages, it keeps everything in the one app and this is where it can get tricky based on my experience. I switch off my work Vodafone SIM when not working for peace of mind, but if I reply to a work colleague's message, it will then default to sending from my personal EE number - I guess Apple's approach is they would rather the recipient got the message some way than not at all.

The problem is all subsequent messages to that colleague are sent using the EE number, even when the Vodafone SIM is back up and running. The only way I'm aware of to rectify this is to delete the message thread entirely and start over again, sending from the Vodafone work number.

Whereas Apple's approach allows you to tightly control the way calls are handled - always call from this number only, call from last used number etc - the same tightness of control does not exist for Messages.

If you will be leaving both numbers on all the time, this most likely won't be a problem for you.


Below is my general advice and requires some pre-admin, but it will ensure a much smoother experience going forward

When you've got both numbers up and running:

- Go through your contacts where it's critical that they only ever be called/can reach you on a particular number, i.e. work colleagues and mandate that the phone only uses that one number.

- Create new Messages threads for contacts where it's critical that you send and receive from a particular number, i.e. work colleagues. So long as the thread exists, outbound messages and inbound messages will only ever be via that specific number - so long as you don't switch this number off and accidentally send a message anyway. If you do want to switch the number off from time to time, just remember not to send any new messages until you've switched the number back on. Any new messages waiting for you will start to come through once the number is active again.

Edited by Cybertronian on Sunday 28th June 12:46

[megaphone]

Cybertronian said:

I have a dual SIM iPhone and absolutely love the ability to have 2 live numbers running concurrently. Allowed me to ditch my work phone and stick the work Vodafone SIM into my phone, whilst I run my personal EE number as an e-SIM.

megaphone said:

Thanks. What about Messages? Does it run two separate message apps? Can you tell which number has been messaged?

Also I use Siri a lot to dial numbers and send messages, especially when driving, how does it dial/send from a specific number?

With Messages, it keeps everything in the one app and this is where it can get tricky based on my experience. I switch off my work Vodafone SIM when not working for peace of mind, but if I reply to a work colleague's message, it will then default to sending from my personal EE number - I guess Apple's approach is they would rather the recipient got the message some way than not at all.

The problem is all subsequent messages to that colleague are sent using the EE number, even when the Vodafone SIM is back up and running. The only way I'm aware of to rectify this is to delete the message thread entirely and start over again, sending from the Vodafone work number.

Whereas Apple's approach allows you to tightly control the way calls are handled - always call from this number only, call from last used number etc - the same tightness of control does not exist for Messages.

If you will be leaving both numbers on all the time, this most likely won't be a problem for you.


Below is my general advice and requires some pre-admin, but it will ensure a much smoother experience going forward

When you've got both numbers up and running:

- Go through your contacts where it's critical that they only ever be called/can reach you on a particular number, i.e. work colleagues and mandate that the phone only uses that one number.

- Create new Messages threads for contacts where it's critical that you send and receive from a particular number, i.e. work colleagues. So long as the thread exists, outbound messages and inbound messages will only ever be via that specific number - so long as you don't switch this number off and accidentally send a message anyway. If you do want to switch the number off from time to time, just remember not to send any new messages until you've switched the number back on. Any new messages waiting for you will start to come through once the number is active again.

Edited by Cybertronian on Sunday 28th June 12:46

That was my fear, sounds like messaging will not work for me, too easy to send from the wrong number.

Do you use Siri to dial numbers? How does it work with dual sims?

[Cybertronian]

Siri, as useless as it can be, works fine for me when calling. As long as you've set contacts up correctly and mandated that they're only called from a specific number, Siri obeys that.

[megaphone]

Cybertronian said:

Siri, as useless as it can be, works fine for me when calling. As long as you've set contacts up correctly and mandated that they're only called from a specific number, Siri obeys that.

Ok thanks, makes sense. It should be workable for me, just need to get the settings right and get used to using it.

Main issue will be messaging. I also have the same issue on my Macs and can only run one instance of messaging, Apple really need to fix this as I send and receive quite a few messages via the Mac

[chml]

This might be something I need to look at as work have provided me with an Android handset without WiFi calling and it’s pretty crucial where I live as it’s a signal black spot. My work phone is on Vodafone and my personal iPhone is with EE. I’m due an upgrade next month with EE so would an e-sim from them work as does the e-sim need to be the secondary line? Thanks

[megaphone]

mcm87 said:

On the iPhone one of the SIMs needs to be an eSIM so make sure his is supported by either of the networks.

It works really well. It’s obvious to see which number is being used.

For multiple WhatsApp numbers on an iPhone you need to install WhatsApp and “WhatsApp business” on the App Store. Ignore the name, it functions just like normal and allows the second number. This also works without a second SIM card btw.

Top advice re Whatsapp business. Just done this on my main iPhone, I've now got both my numbers working on the same device in two separate, clear instances.

[anonymous-user]

We looked at this but the downside is if the company decides to remotely wipe the phone it's not just the work stuff that gets wiped.

Not to mention any security issues with company info on a private phone or vice-versa.

Depending upon your company policy they may well need to manage the phone, control which apps are installed, etc.

Easier to keep separate phones.

[megaphone]

gottans said:

We looked at this but the downside is if the company decides to remotely wipe the phone it's not just the work stuff that gets wiped.

Not to mention any security issues with company info on a private phone or vice-versa.

Depending upon your company policy they may well need to manage the phone, control which apps are installed, etc.

Easier to keep separate phones.

Thanks, in my case they're both my phones so not an issue.

[Cybertronian]

chml said:

This might be something I need to look at as work have provided me with an Android handset without WiFi calling and it’s pretty crucial where I live as it’s a signal black spot. My work phone is on Vodafone and my personal iPhone is with EE. I’m due an upgrade next month with EE so would an e-sim from them work as does the e-sim need to be the secondary line? Thanks

The e-SIM can be for whichever line you wish. It behaves just like a normal SIM card and you can have multiple e-SIMs stored on the phone, but only up to 2x active at the same time. Seeing as you're on EE, it makes sense to make that your e-SIM and leaves you unrestricted as to which network SIM card you use for the other line, whether Vodafone or otherwise.

You will need to get EE to unlock the phone for dual SIM on two different networks to work.

Edited by Cybertronian on Monday 29th June 13:30

[chml]

Cybertronian said:

The e-SIM can be for whichever line you wish. It behaves just like a normal SIM card and you can have multiple e-SIMs stored on the phone, but only up to 2x active at the same time. Seeing as you're on EE, it makes sense to make that your e-SIM and leaves you unrestricted as to which network SIM card you use for the other line, whether Vodafone or otherwise.

You will need to get EE to unlock the phone for dual SIM on two different networks to work.

Edited by Cybertronian on Monday 29th June 13:30

Perfect thank you. Just ordered an esim from EE as the Voda sim works in my iPhone XR already so should be good to go in a couple of days. This will be a massive help so glad this thread was posted

[megaphone]

Just revisiting this. I plan to buy an iPhone SE from Apple or John Lewis, this will be unlocked. Can I then have an EE eSim and say a Vodafone or O2 sim? I can have any sim from any networks etc ?