Two phones at once

[Jax44]

Long time iPhone user here. I have an iPhone 8 on Verizon and am thinking of also getting an X. So, all you guys with multiple phones: How do you do it?. Just switch the sim card?. If so, doesn't the phone without the sim in lag behind on iMessage, email, etc?.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[SigEp265]

Just switch sim cards and restart the phone. As long as the 2nd phone is connected to Wifi it wont lag behind messages. Unless you leave it off I guess.

 

[Jax44]

Just switch sim cards and restart the phone. As long as the 2nd phone is connected to Wifi it wont lag behind messages. Unless you leave it off I guess.

Thats what I was hoping.

 

[protoxx]

Only whichever phone has the sim card in will receive SMS messages.

 

[SigEp265]

Only whichever phone has the sim card in will receive SMS messages.

Oh yeah, forgot about SMS.

 

[44267547]

Long time iPhone user here. I have an iPhone 8 on Verizon and am thinking of also getting an X. So, all you guys with multiple phones: How do you do it?. Just switch the sim card?. If so, doesn't the phone without the sim in lag behind on iMessage, email, etc?.

Any advice is appreciated!

Just switch sim cards and restart the phone. As long as the 2nd phone is connected to Wifi it wont lag behind messages. Unless you leave it off I guess.

When you switch The Sim card between devices, make sure you turn off Wi-Fi first, then powerdown the iPhones. Then switch the Sim card to the other device that you want, power back on the iPhone, and do not enable Wi-Fi immediately. After approximately a minute, then you can enable Wi-FI and the phone as normal.

 

[rui no onna]

Only whichever phone has the sim card in will receive SMS messages.

Not if you have SMS forwarding enabled. I get both blue and green bubble messages on all my iOS devices.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

I have an S8 and an Ip7. I use the S8 as my primary but have Phone forwarding and SMS forwarding on it so when I decide to use my Ip7 I can get all my messages and know when someone has called my S8. Easier than switching sim cards.

 

[Jax44]

When you switch The Sim card between devices, make sure you turn off Wi-Fi first, then powerdown the iPhones. Then switch the Sim card to the other device that you want, power back on the iPhone, and do not enable Wi-Fi immediately. After approximately a minute, then you can enable Wi-FI and the phone as normal.

Ok.
Sounds like a bit of work, but doable.

 

[44267547]

Ok.
Sounds like a bit of work, but doable.

Using the methods I listed above will prevent from the Sim card having communication issues with the iPhone from switching back-and-forth. There's been threads where if you switch the Sim card when iPhone is powered on and Wi-Fi is enabled, it can create problems.

 

[Vermifuge]

Long time iPhone user here. I have an iPhone 8 on Verizon and am thinking of also getting an X. So, all you guys with multiple phones: How do you do it?. Just switch the sim card?. If so, doesn't the phone without the sim in lag behind on iMessage, email, etc?.

Any advice is appreciated!

Uh no that's not how it works on Verizon.

In order to swap devices the phone must already be on your plan. Otherwise you need to add it to a new line or pay an upgrade fee to an existing line.

 

[44267547]

Uh no that's not how it works on Verizon. each swap is considered an upgrade and they charge like a $40 fee for it. Sim card swapping alone will not get the phone online.

Are you entirely sure about this? Because I have switched the same Sim card between phones before in the past many times and I never had an upgrade fee. I also use Verizon.

 

[Vermifuge]

Are you entirely sure about this? Because I have switched the same Sim card between phones before in the past many times and I never had an upgrade fee. I also use Verizon.

I edited before you quoted. The phones must already exist on the plan. You can swap between two phones that are already on your plan but not between a new device without paying a fee.

Also i believe if you depreciate a phone off your plan you need to pay a fee to bring in on your plan. ..

So lets say you have 3 lines with phones 1, 2, and 3. You want to test out a new phone 4 so you drop phone 1 and upgrade it (with a fee.) You can swap between 2, 3, and 4 but you need to pay to bring 1 back in the fold.

https://arstechnica.com/information...-cover-increased-cost-but-its-costs-declined/

 

[puma1552]

I edited before you quoted. The phones must already exist on the plan. You can swap between two phones that are already on your plan but not between a new device without paying a fee.

Also i believe if you depreciate a phone off your plan you need to pay a fee to bring in on your plan. ..

So lets say you have 3 lines with phones 1, 2, and 3. You want to test out a new phone 4 so you drop phone 1 and upgrade it (with a fee.) You can swap between 2, 3, and 4 but you need to pay to bring 1 back in the fold.

https://arstechnica.com/information...-cover-increased-cost-but-its-costs-declined/

Are you sure about that? I just upgraded my paid-off Verizon SE with an iPhone 8 but kept the SE. I've swapped SIMs a few times and never got flagged to activate the SE again.

From the article:

The $30 upgrade fee must be paid each time a customer gets a new phone to replace one on an existing line of service and is separate from the activation fee that is charged when a customer establishes a new line of service.

In my case, I will pay the $30 upgrade for the new iPhone 8, but then I am not establishing a new line of service nor doing any kind of upgrade when I switch the SIM back into the SE so I don't think I should see any further charges.

 

[Jax44]

I edited before you quoted. The phones must already exist on the plan. You can swap between two phones that are already on your plan but not between a new device without paying a fee.

Also i believe if you depreciate a phone off your plan you need to pay a fee to bring in on your plan. ..

So lets say you have 3 lines with phones 1, 2, and 3. You want to test out a new phone 4 so you drop phone 1 and upgrade it (with a fee.) You can swap between 2, 3, and 4 but you need to pay to bring 1 back in the fold.

https://arstechnica.com/information...-cover-increased-cost-but-its-costs-declined/

We have four phones on our plan, four different people and numbers. The iPhone X would be an extra for my phone, I would pay cash.
I really don’t want to pay another 40.00 per month for it.

 

[sdwaltz]

Only whichever phone has the sim card in will receive SMS messages.

You can actually set up SMS forwarding between the two phones so that the phone without the SIM card receives SMS via the phone with the SIM card (my current setup), but depending on how often you switch that might make things more complicated.

 

[Vermifuge]

We have four phones on our plan, four different people and numbers. The iPhone X would be an extra for my phone, I would pay cash.
I really don’t want to pay another 40.00 per month for it.

Are you sure about that? I just upgraded my paid-off Verizon SE with an iPhone 8 but kept the SE. I've swapped SIMs a few times and never got flagged to activate the SE again.

From the article:

In my case, I will pay the $30 upgrade for the new iPhone 8, but then I am not establishing a new line of service nor doing any kind of upgrade when I switch the SIM back into the SE so I don't think I should see any further charges.

The upgrade fee is a one time $30 fee for each new device. It's been suggested you can buy used phones on eBay that have already been on the Verizon network or buying a sim free version. But because of CDMA as far as i understand you have to pay a fee to get it on your account.

Also note there won't be a SIM free of the X at launch and it's unlikely you will find a used previously activated phone off eBay or crags list that isn't already reported lost, damaged or asking an insanely marked up price for the first few months if not longer.

https://arstechnica.com/information...-cover-increased-cost-but-its-costs-declined/

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dodging-verizons-new-30-upgrade-fee-1336512493383

 

[puma1552]

The upgrade fee is a one time $30 fee for each new device. It's been suggested you can buy used phones on eBay that have already been on the Verizon network or buying a sim free version. But because of CDMA as far as i understand you have to pay a fee to get it on your account.

Right, I understand about the upgrade fee. But what you were saying above is I'm going to have to pay something else just to put the SIM back in my owned outright SE, which I don't see what fee that would be. It's not an upgrade, nor a new line. Pretty sure I can switch the SIM out freely without any penalty.

 

[Vermifuge]

Right, I understand about the upgrade fee. But what you were saying above is I'm going to have to pay something else just to put the SIM back in my owned outright SE, which I don't see what fee that would be. It's not an upgrade, nor a new line. Pretty sure I can switch the SIM out freely without any penalty.

That may be incorrect. (I edited that post before it was quoted)

I have heard it has to be active on the account. Others have said it just needs to have been previously activated on the Verizon network. They way I read it is once you take it off your plan you need to pay an "upgrade" fee to bring it back. best case scenario you only have to add it one time. But i don't think theres any way to escape paying Verizon money.

Someone mentioned starting a new line and porting numbers and swapping back but even porting a number to google voice is $10. seems like a lot of work to avoid paying an extra $20.

 

[puma1552]

I have heard it has to be active on the account. Others have said it just needs to have been previously activated on the Verizon network. They way I read it is once you take it off your plan you need to pay an "upgrade" fee to bring it back. best case scenario you only have to add it one time. But i don't think theres any way to escape paying Verizon money.

When I stick my SIM in my SE, it does actually show up as my device on Verizon's website immediately when I log in (instead of my 8), so I think it's still considered to be part of their system.

I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks when I get my first bill, hopefully I only have the upgrade fee for the 8.