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A dual SIM cell phone is not a stupid thing. There are many reasons for this: Surf cheaply abroad, stay reachable on the old number, use a cheap data SIM for surfing. We test dual SIM in Android on the Moto G (2014) with Android Marshmallow and on the Huawei Mate 8 and show you how Android behaves with dual SIM.
- The best dual SIM smartphones
- Two numbers on one cell phone: This is also possible without a dual SIM
Dual SIM: useful for vacation and work
In Germany there aren’t that many top smartphones with two slots for SIM cards. This is a shame because the feature is quite practical. On vacation you can use a local SIM to save roaming fees. In your home country, you can separate work and private life more easily with separate SIM cards in one device.
You will receive a notification after inserting the second SIM card. It leads you to the settings for the SIM cards. In them you can tell the Android smartphone which SIM is assigned which tasks. These are telephone, SMS and data.
You can assign names and colors to your SIM cards. This will help you differentiate later. These colors are often taken into account in the phone and SMS app. So you can tell when the bell rings whether it is a business or private call.
In the beginning, working with the dual SIM device is complex. Before each call and SMS, the device asks you which SIM card to use to send and receive calls. Check the box Save selection and it was the last time for this contact that Android asks you.
Dual SIM calls better solved at Huawei
With Huawei’s Skin EMUI, the implementation is a little smarter than with the pure Android of the Motos. Here you have two receiver buttons that you can use to call with the specific SIM card. This saves you the above step via the selection pop-up.
Tip: You can also set SIM cards as a flat-rate call or SMS SIM instead of separating work and private life. Because if you have a phone flat on one SIM card and an SMS flat on the other, you can save money by assigning it as a phone or SMS SIM.
You are less flexible with mobile data. You have to set one of the two SIM cards as the data SIM. In many dual SIM smartphones, only one of the two physical SIM card slots is LTE-capable, while the other is only connected to the GSM antenna. In the example of both the Moto G and the Mate 8, you can change the selection of the data SIM during operation.
Tip: Sign an inexpensive data contract. You cannot make calls with it because it is designed for tablets. Therefore, it is often considerably cheaper. At Telekom there is even the first three months free of charge, after which you can end the test without any follow-up costs.
Dual SIM in Android: conclusion
Dual SIM is convenient and can save costs. Because its uses are so versatile; be it vacation, work or simple cost savings; the purchase of a dual SIM smartphone is worth it for almost everyone.