Would two SIM cars work seamlessly on a phone?

[sahands]

My phone supports two SIMs, I wanted to know if I put in two SIM cards from two different network providers (one SIM that would only have data, the other SIM would only have calling and texting), then would I be able to make calls and use data without having to go through any extra steps? Or would I have to tell the phone every time which SIM it needs to use for calling/data?

thanks

[wimenp · Accepted solution]

@sahands, yes. Most of smart phone can do that. I had a Xiaomi MiMax before, with 2 SIMs. One SIM for data which I use for WhatsApp and browsing, the other for talking. Both SIMs standby. Whenever somebody calls me using either number, I have no problem answering. When I am dialling a number, it asks which SIM I would use. Hope this will help. 

[darlicious]

@will13am  I lost three referrals the last time the mods had to fix my account. Im working on identifying new sources.

[sahands]

Thanks for the advise, I have a Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro on Android 9.

For the record, I'd use on SIM with PM for data, and the other for voice/text with another provider.

[will13am]

@darlicious , time to go forth and make 6 new friends from a 2m distance of course.  ｡◕‿◕｡

[darlicious]

@will13am 

            When I first activated I had planned on keeping sim A as my main line but there were no promos to be had (just like now) so by the time i switched sim B to public mobile i was able to take advantage of a promo so i swapped out sim cards from my smartphone and my flip phone (they are both in the A3 now unless I need two phones.) Then pm announced the elimination of the $10 50/50 plan on the date of my next renewal so sim A became destined to be the cheap back up plan.

           Fast forward to now....i have way too much plan data and considered dropping to the $25 but with various pm giveaways and a couple of purchases to spend some building credit once I downgrade my two accounts will look like this:

Sim B

• $15 plan unlimited text and incoming calls, 100 min outgoing calling, 250mb plan data
•  Free holiday 400 international calling minutes add on
• 5gb promotional data add on, 1gb free holiday data add on
• Plan cost $15 - $9 rewards = $6

Sim A

• $10 plan 50 texts/50 calling minutes
• $5/500 min add on, free holiday 400 international calling minutes add on
• 2 × 1gb promo data add on,  1gb free holiday data add on
• 2 × 1gb data add on  (all data on this plan is full speed 4G)
• Plan cost $10 - $20 rewards ($5 + variable) = ( - )$10++

Even with the couple of speed tests I did this month to show a new member the difference between throttled 4G LTE and unthrottled 3G data speeds I've only used 101mb/5gb of plan data. Im sure you can understand my reasoning  for my 2 plans/accounts.

[will13am]

---

@darlicious wrote:

@sahands  I have both my pm Sims in my galaxy A5. I just select which sim I want to use as the main sim for calls, text and data ( sim card manager). Calling and texting work simultaneously for both numbears but I would have to choose one sim over the other for data. That is easily changed by swiping down from the top and tapping to change the sim for data.

@will13am  Currently the sim with my $10 50/50 plan is just holding that phone number for me. When I downgrade my main phone line to the $15 plan I'll be using one line to supplement the others outgoing calling and I can also then choose between full speed 4G data on the $10 plan and the 3G/4GLTE on the other.

---

Let me get my bearings straight here.  So, you are looking at having a $15 plan on one SIM and a $10 plan on the other SIM.  A single $25 plan is better than the two plans combined.  With auto pay considered, it costs $2 more but you get unlimited calling and more data.  It would make sense if the second SIM was a data centric plan that is cheap.  My SIM 2 is used to provide supplemental data.  There is no need to supplement unlimited talk and text.  These days, the supplemental data is pretty much unneeded for me.  It is only $5, so no biggie.  

[YVR]

Depending on your phone and android version.  Under Sim and Network settings, you should be able to specify the default SIM for voice, messaging and data.  

[darlicious]

@sahands  I have both my pm Sims in my galaxy A5. I just select which sim I want to use as the main sim for calls, text and data ( sim card manager). Calling and texting work simultaneously for both numbears but I would have to choose one sim over the other for data. That is easily changed by swiping down from the top and tapping to change the sim for data.

@will13am  Currently the sim with my $10 50/50 plan is just holding that phone number for me. When I downgrade my main phone line to the $15 plan I'll be using one line to supplement the others outgoing calling and I can also then choose between full speed 4G data on the $10 plan and the 3G/4GLTE on the other.

[popping]

@geopublic is correct.  Newer dual SIM phones from last couple years with both SIMs always active.  Configure which SIM is for calls/text and which SIM is for data.  After that, it works like a single SIM phone.  Dual SIM phone is great to test a new provider service before and during porting an old number to the new provider.

[will13am]

---

@NDesai wrote:

@sahands No, 2 Public Mobile sims will not work. Public Mobile only runs on LTE/HSPA (4g/3g) network. Majority of dual sim phones use LTE on one and 2G on another slot. So only one Public Mobile sim will work, but you can put another sim from another provide that supports 2G like Rogers.. If you have a phone with eSIM feature, Public Mobile do not support that.

---

Not true anymore.  Dual SIM phones made in the past 3 or so years are all 4G/LTE on both SIMs.  I am not sure why anyone would want to run the same service on both SIMs, but it can be done.

[geopublic]

@sahands  It all depends on your phone and the version of OS you are running. Most newer models support 2 SIMS in an active/active configuration. Just set the preferred sim card for calls and that's it. What phone are you using?

[oglat]

@sahands

It really depends on the phone and os

I'm using umidigi. A5 pro and I can preset the preferences

I believe once two sim are inserted I can ban data/text/calls from being used from either of sim card to prevent the overage or per minute charges

Which phone are you thinking of?

At this point I'm not given the choices but once 2 sims are in there are even more choices when sim is clicked

 

[dude65]

Yes it should work, you just have to swtich between the sims. Im not sure why you would want to do that. With PM the cheapest plan is $15/month that gives you 250mb with auto pay, before any rewards. For $40 you get 4.5gb or 5gb data with auto pay or $50 gets 8gb or 8.5gb data with auto pay. This data is 3G.

[DOA]

I was running two sims for a while in my Android 9 phone.

Android allowed me to choose the preferred network for calling or data.

To answer your question, it all works very seamlessly.

[gblackma]

@sahands some carriers have problems working properly with others in dual sim phones. For example AT&T.  It should work, Put the voice into slot 1 and the data into 2. 

[Triguy]

I use a dual sim phone with two different providers. Under settings then wi-fi  and internet then sim& network set the default for calls and data.  When you make a call you have to select which sim to use.

[Naepalm]

---

@sahands wrote:

My phone supports two SIMs, I wanted to know if I put in two SIM cards from two different network providers (one SIM that would only have data, the other SIM would only have calling and texting), then would I be able to make calls and use data without having to go through any extra steps? Or would I have to tell the phone every time which SIM it needs to use for calling/data?

thanks

---

WHAAAAA!!!! what phone do you have that has this capability? 

Yes from a quick google search you could do exactly that and actually have two different numbers, you could even have two public mobile accounts with the same phone.

[NDesai]

@sahands No, 2 Public Mobile sims will not work. Public Mobile only runs on LTE/HSPA (4g/3g) network. Majority of dual sim phones use LTE on one and 2G on another slot. So only one Public Mobile sim will work, but you can put another sim from another provide that supports 2G like Rogers.. If you have a phone with eSIM feature, Public Mobile do not support that.

[iliketotalk]

@sahands  yes they would all you have to do is switch between sims when you want to switch Between carriers So I guess yes there would be an extra step