Hi guys, In this article I will be showing you how to manage your dual sim phone so you know exactly what to expect when your phone dual-sim Android phone arrives.
The majority of dual sim phones have a WCDMA(3G) and GSM (2G) sim card slot as the primary slot and a GSM only sim card slot as the secondary. This means that only one sim can use a 3G connection, the other sim will only be able to pick up a 2G signal. So as long as you don’t plan on using the 3G internet connection on both sims you’ll be fine. The 3G sim card slot is marked with a “W”, the 2G sim card slot is marked with a “G”. There are plans for newer dual-sim Android phones which have dual 3G compatible sim slots.
When you turn on your phone you are greeted with two signal bars at the top of the phone, the first one is for the first sim slot, the second one is for the second sim slot. The majority of phones work in a dual standby mode, whereas a minority work in a dual active mode. Dual standby is when both sims can work at the same time, but say for example you use one sim card to make a call, the other sim card will not work and be on standby for the duration of the call. Dual active is where both sim cards will be active all the time, even during calls. An easy way to get around the Dual standby limitation of turning one sim off when you’re on a call is to set up call forwarding on both sims to each other. This means that if you are using Sim 1 on a call and someone calls you on Sim 2, which is on standby, the call will be forwarded to sim 1 with the active connection and will be listed as a waiting call which you can choose to answer. Simple!
You can manage both Sim cards from the settings. Just click on sim management at the top. Here you get the option to turn the Sim cards on and off at will and you can set the defaults for each sim. For example I use 3 as my data connection, where as I have O2 as my default for voice calls. You can also set the phone to always ask you which sim card to use. The picture below shows you what it looks like when you set it to “always ask”.
You can also assign contacts to certain Sim cards, this is useful when differentiating between work colleagues and personal contacts. The call/texts goes through on the sim of your choice no matter what. This can be changed from the contact itself, or from the sim management settings.
When you get a call or text, or if you send a call or text, the phone will display the Sim used. For example, you can see that one text was from my three number, another text was to my O2 number. You can also change these settings on the go. For example, when in the dialer or messaging service, drag down the notification bar and you get an option to switch to a different sim card as default.
Using a dual sim phone on Android is simple. You have all the options you need at the touch of a button.
[Author Info]
About Me- I am a fan of this website and have been for sometime now. Without this site I would have been lost when it comes to Chinese dual sim phones and buying them from China. I hope with this review I can give something back to the site that has helped me so much
–Daniel (AhmadCentral)[/Author Info]
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gracious !!!!
I live in Eu my Chinese i9300 only works with sms and mms and internet outside my wife if i have the roaming setting checked..
Strange but possible because is chinese phone
Where do you live?
Here in the Netherlands we are all roaming (providers share masts).
So you might be forced to enable roaming.
My umi x1 arrived today.
Its the best phone i ever had in my hands.
I want to thank you Andi for the couponcode.
no problem glad youre happy with it
hi there, I am planning to buy the same phone Umi x1. is it possible to find any discount coupon?
thanx
Thanks daniel! This will probably prove helpful when I receive my phone tomorrow!
No problem at all. Let me know how you get on with it.
i’m having trouble with my I9300 phones I just purchased. I set my card in and on the screen it reads “T-Mobile No Card”. What do I have to do?
I’d be interested if what happens when on a dual standby sim phone the data connection on one sim is being used and a call comes in on the other sim? Will the call still come in or not? Thanks, Michael
Nice Write-up,
I received my Umi X1 a few days ago.
In your video about the phone you said that you would do a how to on rooting it. When can we expect that?
Thanks
About the feature you are mentioning:
You can also assign contacts to certain Sim cards, this is useful when differentiating between work colleagues and personal contacts. The call/texts goes through on the sim of your choice no matter what. This can be changed from the contact itself, or from the sim management settings.
Could you post some screenshots with the mentioned options? This is something I am really missing on dual-sim phones and I could not find any that manages what you mentioned. All reviews I read about dual-sim phones mention only basic SIM management (as in your previous paragraph) where you set the default SIM for calls or let the phone always ask, which SIM to use.
Hi, please forgive me for taking so long to get back to you. I have only just seen your comment.
If you go to settings> Sim Management (at the top)> then scroll to the bottom and click on “Contacts & Sim”> Then press the Sim card you want to set a contact for> then click add contact.
Every time you tick a contact they are automatically asigned to that sim card. So every time you make a call it will go through on that sim you choose
again sorry for delayed response. Hope this helps.
Thank you very much, will try it on a few phones to see, if it works. Is it available on any android, or from 4.0 up? Or only on specific phones?
I think it is just on Android 4.0+
2.3 has some of the features mentioned in the article.
I have a THL W3 dual core dual sim phone that doesn’t detect any sim card. The sim card management doesn’t allow me to select it. I’m running Ice cream 4.04 Android. What could be the problem and is there a solution that you can give me.
Hi Andi, I also have a similar problem like Mack. Got a new phone Feiteng i9300.. with wcdma/gsm slots… now all my sims are working fine on the GSM slot, but in the wcdma slot they are detected but network registration fails… A message of No Service displays on screen and pop up says “Unable to connect to this network at this time. Please try again later.” Could it be happening only because my sims are all 2g… ?? If this is a software bug, can there be a patch… I got Android 4.1.1 on this phone..
Yes, you need to have a 3G sim. Wow which country are you in because its very very rare people have a 2G sim these days. 3G tech has been around for more than a decade now.
Thanks for your reply, Ahmad !
I am from India, when I checked with vodafone care at relationship center, whose sim I currently use….. they said, for 3G i Just need to activate the plan and no one needs to change sims for 3G services… they say 3G is network and phone compatibility dependant and not related with type of SIM.. they say they dont know what is different in 3G sim if there is any of this kind…they dont know where to get one…I am stuck with using just one sim now…
Hmm, this is weird. (the sim bit makes sense because like i said as long as your sim is not more than 10 years old it’ll work)
Do you get any signal at all in the 3G sim tray? Or is it just the internet that doesn’t work. Can you try someone else’s sim card in the tray to rule out a phone fault.
Sorry for addressing incorrectly earlier, realized your name is Daniel…
Daniel, the latest update is that I went and brought a new sim GSM card from Reliance… Interestingly, of all the sims I tried, this time the sim recognized the network as well…..no other sims could reach so far….
How it happened today is, I inserted the sim in the WCDMA slot and switch on the phone…. then phone tries to search network… initially gives a “no service” message, but in about 40 secs .. shows Reliance and the network signal is up full….
Now this would surprise you more, after all the above, I am not able to dial a call out or receive a call. When I try to call from landline on to this sim, i get the number is switched off. When I try to dial from sim to other, the call just ends in about 10 secs with a msg “Call Ended”….
At this far, I was assured that it must be the IMEI # that is bad or duplicate or something like that, but then I just tried data connection to switch on… Viola !!! I got connected to internet thru data connection… I was so surprised… I was able to browse internet pages on EDGE network (E infront of signal bars)
Does this means there is no problem with IMEI ??
Another interesting thing is, when I am in center of city, the above was the scene… When I went home, city outskirts, the phone showed no network..Now its not that in my residence area, people dont use reliance… they do and get full network as well.. rather I have their netconnect dongle which gives me 3G speed internet on laptop…
So, are you able to derive something from this ?? I am lost totally…
Sorry missed to add that when I use this new sim in GSM slot there are no issues at all… all calls, smses and inet work as normal…
This is a very weird problem. I really have no idea what the problem could be. It could be an IMEI problem but the data and signal is working just fine so this is very weird.
In the network settings have you checked to see that WCDMA is enabled and that 2G is ticked off as it may be the reason 3G is not working.
You could try changing the IMEI number to see if it changes anything.
i think this is a problem with 3G radio or 3G settings?
On futher research, have realized that WCDMA frequency supported by phone is 850/2100 while in India we have frequencies 900/1800/2100… I am assuming, 900 is for calls, sms and others and 1800/2100 frequencies are 2G/3G data use…. If this is true, it would explain why I am able to connect to internet through data connections option and getting EDGE (2G), while I am not able to dial a call or send a sms…
My advise to all, before buying a dual sim phone, check the frequencies… I am left with using single sim only now.. ;(.. I could have bought Micromax Canvas 2 with both GSM sim slots… but my bad luck.. Hope my research would save someone from this situation…
Bonjour Daniel!
Je suis de Montréal et j’ai la compagnie Telus comme opérateur. J’ai essayé pendant plusieurs jours de loger des appels et ça ne fonctionne pas! J’ai parlé au rep de la clientèle de TELUS et après une heure d’essaie infructueux elle m’a dit que je ne semblais pas capter le 3 g. Auparavant j’avais tout essayé comme changer le IMEI mais sans résultat de connexion. D’après vous ou se situe le problème?
Merci!
( Mon anglais est si mauvais! Soyez indulgent! )
I bought 1.2 GHz quad core phone from Vietnam. In Vietnam both simcards worked fine however in India none of the slots work. Intrestingly when I inserted the Vietnamese sim (gsm) after coming back to india, it connects to vodafone. This simcard is recognized in both the sim slots but as the simcard has no credit balance so cannot make or receive calls. On the internet it seems that the frequencies in India and vietnam are the same. I have no clue what to do. Please help.
Hi, thanks for the article!
I have few questions that maybe you can help me with
Can you recommend some dialer and and messenger for dual SIM car phones?
I can’t find anything and the stock ones aren’t the best))
Also I guess either my phone or my firmware doesn’t support contact-SIM card relation- I can’t find it in my menu, so if there is a dialer and messenger that supports that that would be great!!!!
Thanks!
I don’t know about any dialers that support dual sim. Maybe android market will have some? sorry.
..go to settings> Sim Management (at the top)> then scroll to the bottom and click on “Contacts & Sim”> Then press the Sim card you want to set a contact for> then click add contact.
Every time you tick a contact they are automatically asigned to that sim card. So every time you make a call it will go through on that sim you choose
=============================================================
did all the above. but, even after assigning, the dialer still asks which sim to dial with. of course, the assigned sim is suggested. the point is, there is a prompt even after assigning numbers to sim. any workaround? thanks.
hi, i live in South Africa , in Port Elizabeth. can u give me tips to setup internet n MMS in my Dual Sim Phone?
If you contact your Service provider they will send APN details to you.
hi my phone will not work on my AT&T network please help its not leting me conect to the network its giving me a pop up msg saying Mobile network not available please help (chinese I9300 dual sim)
and i live in the USA please help
This phone will not work on US 3G networks. Only 2G networks. It only supports 2100Mhz which is 3G frequency for Europe/Asia. USA use something else.
In Android there is a secret testing menu accessible by dialing *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#INFO#*#*
Go to Phone Information
Click the mobile menu button (bottom left soft key)
You’ll get several options… one would be Select Radio Band…Then the below is your cue :
“unspecified” (selected by baseband automatically)
“EURO band” (GSM-900 / DCS-1800 / WCDMA-IMT-2000)
“US band” (GSM-850 / PCS-1900 / WCDMA-850 / WCDMA-PCS-1900)
“JPN band” (WCDMA-800 / WCDMA-IMT-2000)
“AUS band” (GSM-900 / DCS-1800 / WCDMA-850 / WCDMA-IMT-2000)
“AUS band 2″ (GSM-900 / DCS-1800 / WCDMA-850)
im ordering the New Dual SIM 5.5″ 3G MTK6577 QHD 960*540 1GHz Android 4.1 8MP WIFI Smart Phone off ebay and i wanna know what kind of sim card do i have to get. and can i use one dual slot instead of both of them. Thanks
Will i need the micro sim or the standard sim?
Hi,
I’m from India..
recently I bought an andriod ICS phone from Micromax. Almost the screenshots that are put on the tutorial is same of that I think.
I’m facing a problem in Dual Sim Access.
If I’m on one SIM with Data or Voice, I’m not getting call on the other SIM.
It is throwing NOT REACHABLE error to the callers.
When I approached the Manufacturer I have been suggested to ask the Network Operator… If so What kind of services to be asked for getting a busy tone and call waiting feature for one SIM when I’m on the Other.
Thanks in Advance..
Supposed u have 2 sims, Sim A and Sim B….. On Sim A, activate call waiting, and call forward “when not reachable” to Sim B number…. On Sim B, activate call waiting, and call forward “when not reachable” to Sim A number…call forwarding and call waiting are free VAS at least in India..
my network operators are not supporting call forwarding option to other numbers.
is there any thing to do with Android RIL layer to solve the issue….????
Hi Daniel,
Came across this article as I am researching which dual sim card phone to use. One confusing aspect is what happens if I was to have a 3g data connection running (to 3UK, as you do) and a 2G Virgin Media SIM in the other slot. Would the data connection be suspended for the duration of an incoming call automatically or would the caller get an unobtainable signal?
Thanks you very much Daniel! you are Godsend!!
Hallo, I have a question, about the Amoi N821 with 4.1, is it posible to assing defferent ringtones to sim 1 and 2 so I can here wath sim is calling?
this might be a dumb quesiton, but s possible to use one standard sim card for a dual sim phone?
I would say yes.
Also because I’m doing it right now.
But you might be confronted with the situation that you will have to put that one sim card in the right slot. This might be labeled as slot 1 or A.
If that does not work, you could try to choose the other slot.
Hey bro. i just bought a Android dual sim Note2 which is supposed to be the same as the Galaxy note 2. i am finding it unable to switch on my mobile data. Even though it is switched on the data does not seem to be active and keeps telling me to switch on the packet data. Can u help me with this??
How can I use one SIM card with the dual sim phone without it saying no sim for the second sim slot. And also, can I use 2 separate carriers with the dual sim phone?
can someone help me? I have just got an android dual sim phone. Everyrthing seems fine, except I cannot connect to the internet onn the vodafone UK sim, although I am allowed to have data connection on that sim. The vodafone uk sim is the primary. Do you know what I should do? Thank you!
I purchased a samsung Grand dual SIM mobile y’day. I already have a corporate SIM provided by my orgnization , which i use for calls (incoming/outgoing). Now I have purcahsed a new Vodafone SIM , Particularly to be used for internet browsing
I purchased a samsung grand Dual SIM mobile y’day. I already have a Airtel corpporate SIM provided from my organization , which i would use for voice calls. Now I have gone for a 2nd SIM from Vodafone , which i would use for internet browsing , and personal calls.
Is there any protocol on which SIM to be inserted into which slot( meaning , should the airtel SIM be SIM 1 , or the new Vodafone.
I am a bit confused on this…could some one help please.
I bought a Android 4.0 dualsim MODEL:M2 from china and its not letting me set a usa band can you please help unlock this phone so it will work here in the usa?
I also bought an “i9300 Android 4.0 dual sim, MediaTek latest Generation dual core MT 6575 + Cortex A9 IGHz” on Ebay. It will NOT connect to any cell phone network even though it is an “unlocked 2G Network: Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE & 2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz” phone.
When I click moble networks in settings, the network operators selection keeps searching and finally comes back with a message that says error while searching for networks. I can’t make calls or text and the message is “no mobile service.” Other phones do work in this area so I don’t know what’s up.
I have consumer cellular and they say their sim cards work for both 2g or 3g so I don’t know if that is the problem or not.
Help anyone!
i got a ninetology stealth 2 which is dual sim phone as well
i dunno what had i press or what,
all my contact is gone
still got phone contact list inside the “contact”
problem is : in my call list is remain number, even so the contact have saved the number with name
yet still display number only
what happened?
haw i can make the network mode on for 3G . I cant make active it though it has an option for wcdma it is haier hw-n80w model dual sim smart phone from china
Hello Daniel, how lucky I stumbled upon your article. I’m struggling with Jiayu G3. Don’t think my problem relates to the actual dual SIM functionality but in many cases I am not able to make a phone call. The screen shows the dialer but no rings – nothing. I noticed that the little signal strength icons sometimes also display letters ‘G’ or ‘H’, or sometimes nothing at all. When the letter ‘H’ is displayed I can’t make calls. Why do you think that is? What are these letters supposed to represent? And how can this be sorted? Thank you very much. Kate ( I am in the UK on O2)
I have a question is this phone able to be a dual sim Unlocked iPhone 4S Quadband Dual sim with Android 4.0 3G Smart Phone – AT&T, T-mobile, H20, Simple mobile and other GSM networks?? I want to buy it but not sure if its Dual sim or even if you insert sim cards in it? Thank you
Adrian, who is your question directed to? Is it about the Jiayu G3? If yes, here is the link with the full spec: http://www.pandawill.com/jyg3-smart-phone-45-inch-ips-retina-screen-android-40-mtk6577-3g-gps-wifi-p66077.html
Question for Daniel
HELP!
I am really getting confused. I have a dual SIM phone from China and I am very pleased with it.
However, the dual SIM bit is confusing me. My first SIM always works fine. My second (2G) SIM often says it is Roaming (R) even though it is a UK SIM and I am in the UK!
For data I only use wireless so that I can use my sim cards for pay as you go. So Data is switched off for both sims. The second sim card is a reserve if the first has no signal or the money has run out by mistake.
How can I stop the second card from roaming?
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
Vern
hi i purchased a u-ta hd2 mobile on visit to taiwan but after returning from taiwan the mobile showing no service and default sim pls help me to activate the mobile
Hi,
I have recently purchased a Durrocomm XWT5 dual sim phone. It is of Chinese origin. The first SIM slot says UIM, the second says SIM, the two sim cards i have, one T-Mobile and the Other Truphone (Voda Phone) both display 3G when connected. Does this mean that it is capable of 3G on both sims. I cant seem to find a manual for it. It says it is running ANdroid 4.0.4
Cheers
Kev
Can you explain can I use regular data on the phone mine not working I can only use wifi do I have to do some special sett
i have android dual SIM but i put SIM card inside the signal is not showing. and it will come No service Emergency calls only
All the information that you have given is very good i appreciate it but i am facing similar problem i.e. when i use gprs of 1 sim the other sim wont work what is the reason behind that and is there any solution for this.
i need help with my GT-N7100 which i purchase from china. The phone detects the sim but i get no network signal（no service）. i live in the us, can anyone help me please.
Hello guys
,
I would like to buy this phone or something similar.
I did not understand one thing from the article.
This model has one W sim slot and one G sim slot. Can I use a 2G sim on a 3G sim slot? Can I use two 2G sims?
Thank you!
Hi there,
I am from India.I need help on the following issue: I bought a dual SIM Tab of Korean/ Chinese make modei:F7HD,running Android version 4.0.4 and Baseband version:MAUI.11AMD.W12.22.SP.V9.2013/01/2109.04. I am unnable to use the mobile network and mobile data because both the SIM slots could not connect to the network through any sim card inserted. I tried with Idea, Airtel,BSNL and Vodafone SIms (all having 32K and 64K sims) but the tab detects the sim cards put in the slots only but could not connect with the mobile network displaying as “NO SERVICE“ after showing “SEARCHING FOR NEW NETWORK“.The tab however working good with wi-fi and bluetooth data transfer.
Can anybody help me fix this problem.Thanks a lot in anticipation.
Regards.
J L Pandey
India
Hello, I hope that you may be able to help me? I have a n7100 dual sim phone from china, I love it ,But! I am on 3 networks in my main no1 slot and wanted to use my second sim si I have a Giff Gaff sim card and this works fine in my No one slot but when I try to use it in my second sim slot it does not pick up , I know the sim card is ok but I am not sure if the secondary slot is active is , is there any way that I can check.Thank you in advance. Yvonne
Hello! So, recently my dad has bought me a U Ta Hd-2 Android Phone from Taiwan. I really loved it, but when I tried to put a sim card on it, it always says “Sim Card Not Inserted”. My mother and I was really devastated about it. Can you please help me? And PS, I lived in the Philippines. Thank you very much in advance!
)
Hello Hanna, If you mean you second sim card slot, I am having the same problem, It is driving me mad as I love my 5 inch phone and would love to use the dual sim function too. I hope someone in here might help BUT I have had no luck as yet. Good luck. Yvonne in the UK.
I have just had the Hero 750 + dual sim, brilliant phone. How can i tell which sim is connecting to the internet.
Hi All,
I’m a noob when it comes to Dual Sim phones and wanted to ask a noob question:
I have a work phone, I use this for making calls (obviously) but there is no data included. (Sim1)
I want to get a Data ONLY Sim to allow me to surf, etc. (Sim2)
I’ll add these two Sims to my Dual Sim phone (not yet purchased), but I’m not sure how they can work together….
For example, if I’m using the internet (Sim2) does this mean I can’t receive calls via Sim1?
I think this is a Dual Standby Vs Dual Active question…I just need someone more knowledgeable than me to answer.
Thanks
Bill
Hello,
I bought a phone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but its the Note3. It has Jelly Bean. Its from China. When I insert the Tmobile Sim card, the phone detects all the settings and the Tmobile network but it wont get the 3g, voice, or sms to work.
Wifi works fine, but the important stuff doesn’t work. I went to TMobile, and called Tmo support and they are all thinking that the phone is not unlocked properly. I have unlocked phones before but I have never unlocked an unbranded device with no affiliation to any carrier. How can I unlock this device?
I got the device from http://www.ahappydeal.com/product-127177.html
hey i got a new new phone it is copy of note 2 from china. it was working fine in china n nw in india.. it is not supporting any sim card. it supports the reliance gsm but only for data connection… the incoming and outgoings are nt working in relaince…. and it is supporting the dolphin sim also but only for calling n not fr data connection… will u please suggest some help???
Nice article, except that it generalizes dual sim android phones. But a Galaxy S duos – for example – lacks most of the features you’re writing about (eg. assigning default sim for a contact or phone number)
hi! I recently purchased a Tronsmart TS4 Dual Sim card from Geekbuying. I live in Sweden, and have the provider Telia. For some reason it’s always in roaming mode, and if I switch it off, I lose data connection. I won’t be charged but I can’t get it to work without enabling roaming. Please advise wha ti can check more?
Forgot to activate email replies
Hello:
I bought a Star B92M in January. I live in Argentina. The phone works quite well, but it doesn´t get connected to the 3g network here. Phone companies work with WCDMA 850 mhz and 1900 mhz here and the phone specifications say the phone works in WCDMA 2100 mhz. I don’t know if this issue is correctly explained, as I don’t know much technical stuff related to networks, but I hope I can make myself understood. I guess my problem is without solution, though. Thank you
tell me how to assign ringtone and photo to each individuals in micromax canvas2 mobile?
Hi, i just have a small question about Dual Standby type phones (Samsung S duos and such..),
When one sim (say sim2) is used to send a message (sms or mms) does the other sim (sim1) gets disconnected and goes to call forwarding mode, even for that small amount of time where actual data transmission happens??
Thanks.