Dual SIM phones are the solution for all those who have the need to use two different phone numbers every day and where call forwarding is not a feasible solution. In recent years, the number of phones offering this functionality has increased dramatically among the major manufacturers.
If you are looking for a dual SIM phone for day to day or you need know if you have dual SIM in your current terminalIn this article we are going to explain what dual SIM is, what it is for, knowing if our phone is dual SIM, as well as other issues related to this functionality.
What is dual SIM or dual SIM
How well it describes its name, a smartphone or phone with dual SIM allows us use two SIM cards togetherIn other words, it allows us to receive and make calls from two different phone numbers, a functionality with which we can carry two phone lines on a single smartphone.
This functionality is ideal for all those people who They use a mobile during their working hours and another in their free timeBut you don't want to give up your personal phone while you're working. Another advantage that dual SIM phones offer us is that we can deactivate one of the lines when we want to disconnect without deactivating the other.
Dual SIM is also ideal for all those who take advantage of the best of an operatorSuch as cheap data rates without giving up the excellent coverage that your regular phone number can offer.
How dual SIM phones work
Dual SIM phones, allow us to use two phone lines at the same time, without having to select which line we want to have as the main line, since both are active. We can also deactivate one of the two SIM cards without affecting the other.
However, these phones, at least on most of them, we cannot use data rates together just like texting. While we can use two different phone lines together, when we configure a phone with two SIM cards, we must select which of the two data rates we are going to use.
Once we have consumed one of the two rates, we can change to the other through the device's configuration options. The same happens when sending text messages, they can only be sent from one line, unless let's change it previously in the configuration options.
How to know if I have dual SIM
The traditional method to find out if our phone has a dual SIM is to access the tray where the SIM card was inserted. If the tray has two slots, it is not always synonymous with the fact that it is compatible with dual SIM, since the manufacturer may have used the slot to also insert an SD card with which we can expand the storage space.
The best way to know if our smartphone is dual SIM is by accessing the configuration options of our smartphone. Depending on the manufacturer, to be able to identify if our smartphone is compatible with dual SIM we must access the menu within Settings with the title SIM card manager or SIM phone.
If this menu does not appear, we can access the phone menu. Within this menu will show the number of lines you can handle our smartphone together. If there is no indication in the menus that tells us if our smartphone is dual SIM, we must consider that it may be, but with an eSIM.
ESIMs can only be managed when installed on the phone, an installation that in most cases, It is done through a QR code or through the application of the corresponding operator.
A method that never fails and is the fastest we have at our disposal to quickly know if our smartphone is dual SIM is by entering the USSD code * # 06 *. This type of codes allows us to access, activate and deactivate functions, as well as access information from our telephone line or terminal.
If when entering this code, on the screen two IMEI numbers are displayed It means that our smartphone is compatible with dual SIM, either with a physical dual SIM or a physical SIM and an electronic SIM type eSIM.
What is an eSIM
The eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to use other phone lines on the same smartphone without having a physical SIM card. The problem is that not all operators offer this functionality and those that do offer do not seem to know how it works. This type of eSIM is the same that is used in the Apple Watch with a data connection and is also available in the smartwatches of the Korean manufacturer Samsung and Huawei.
ESIM Compatible Smartphones
Since the launch of the iPhone XS, Apple has offered dual SIM support across the entire iPhone range. But, unlike most Android smartphones, in the SIM card slot we can only use a nano SIM, there is no space for another physical SIM. However, if we can use another SIM, specifically an eSIM.
Besides Apple, in Android we can also find some manufacturers that offer us support for this electronic SIM.
- Google, through the Pixel range, it is compatible with eSIM from the Pixel 3.
- Samsung, offers this functionality from the Galaxy S20, Note 20 and the entire Galaxy Z Fold range
- Huawei it also offers compatibility with this type of SIM from the P40 in all three versions.
How to set up a dual SIM phone
To configure our dual SIM smartphone, the first thing we must do is configure how we want to use the two lines, that is, which one we want to be the main line and which one the secondary line.
We must also establish what line we want to use data (We cannot use both together but we can exchange between one and the other).
Finally, we must select which of the two lines we want set as primary for texting.
