Using two SIM cards with one mobile phone number

My car has a system for inserting a 2nd SIM in the glovebox, and then it all works handsfree.

So I upgraded my Vodafone contract, and they just sent me a Vodafone-TwinCard. I have both cards working beautifully either in my mobile phone, or in the car. All easy.

But...

If I activate and use the SIM in the car, but then turn off the car and walk away - my mobile phone does not ring - it just goes to the ansafone.

So in effect the SIM card in the car seems to have become the "primary or controller" SIM, and when the car is switched off it just goes to ansafone. Only way to get me working is to then SWITCH the SIM cards again. Doh! You can still dial out on the mobile phone.

So is there some kinda setting somewhere - so that both SIM cards are live for incoming calls - or the call just goes to whichever is switched on or something. The current setup is of course hopeless.

p.s. I think the BMW Bluetooth system sounds much more sensible, but I don't have one of them!

I found this discussion thread in German:

http://www.telefon-treff.de/archiv/topic/45878-1.html

Sounds like both "maps" for the two cards are 100% identical - it just goes with whichever card was last switched on? But if I go for a 10 minute trip in the car, that seems to ACTIVATE the car chip, and in effect DEACTIVATE my normal mobile phone. Which will drive me bonkers in practise. I think if I then switch my handy on and off it might work, no no way can I mess about like that.

Hi there!

I don't know about Vodaphone, but I have a similar configuration with e-plus. My primary card is in my mobile and the secondary in the car. The priority can be switched, but an SMS can only be received by the primary card and if I configure the car as primary and switch off the ignition, I lose my ability to received SMS's. On the other hand, if I leave my mobile as primary and don't switch it off when I'm in the car, it rings (I think 7 rings in total) before the car-phone does, so most people have hung up before I can answer! It's simply not possible to have two SIM cards with equal priority.

I can only suggest you give your local Vodaphone shop a visit and explain what you need - and let them then explain why you can't have it ...

I have a vodaphone 2 sim card solution. Here is what I do and generally I have no issues.

1) Turn off my primary phone
2) Turn on phone in car solution

car solution should work normally. When you want to switch back to your handy.

3) Turn off car solution
4) Turn on handy.

The trick is to never have both you in-car solution and your handy working at the same time.

I wouldn't claim to having any issues either. The only thing is that e-plus forces me to choose which phone is to receive an SMS. If I'm on the Autobahn for 4 hours, I don't want to lose this way of being contacted, but if I configure my car phone to receive them, I lose it on my mobile when I get out


With e-plus, this isn't really a trick. Both phones work at the same time without problems, but the car phone, being set as the secondary unit, only rings after my mobile has rang 7 times and has not been answered. And I still can't receive an SMS in the car, even if my mobile is switched off, without first having set the car phone as primary. This is simply not worth the bother and I usually leave my mobile on, even in the car

Although different networks vary, the usual principle of a twin-card is that the last phone to be active becomes the current phone for incoming calls. So, as you leave your car simply switch your other phone off and on, make or receive a call with it, or send or receive an SMS. This signals to the network that you are activating the second card for reception of calls. Not common sense, maybe, but that's the way it works.

Yep, YorkshireLand6 is absolutely right.
BTW It should say so in the destructions for use for twin cards.
At least it does in the T-Mobile destructions.
Austria is different according to a twin card forum I checked before I got my twin card.

Getting the car dealer to take a quick look at the moment - they think they "might" be able to change something in the car settings so that it turns off the phone in the car so the network knows - but sounds to me like I am stuffed.

Basically what we are all saying is that when getting in the car I need to "turn off" my handy, and when I get out the car turn it on again. I make lots of 5 minute trips so that is not gonna work for me, and I will forget, and then the calls will route to my answerphone all the time (as car will remain the primary).

Only other answer is that I only turn the phone in the car when I want to use it. But actually that also defeats the object for me, as I NEVER want to make an outgoing call when driving - so the idea was just that I catch the odd incoming call when in the car.

But none of it really matters as no-one ever calls me anyway.

Sad . . . ;-)

If you are only concerned about calls, then programme your car phone as primary (and it will be recoginised as such by the network when you log in). Your mobile can then be left on, as incoming calls go first to the car phone and then to the mobile if not picked up. The mailbox then kicks in when someone is desperate enough to want to talk to you (which doesn't really seem to be the case) if you also ignore your mobile for the amount of rings you've set it at.

I get a lot of SMSs and if I set my car phone as primary and leave the car, I can't receive them at all (annoyingly . . . ) as an SMS (at least with e-plus) is only sent to the primary SIM card.

But if it's just calls you're worried about, then either switch the SIM cards or input the sequence necessary for the network to recognise which card is the primary one. I had to go to e-plus for this, as the information was nowhere to be found (and even then I didn't really understand what I had to do - now that is also sad!!)