In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Clank remarked:
Roland Perry Wrote in message:
That's where the albeit fairly rare dual-SIM phone has a role.

Only, for some reason, rare in the UK.

The reason is obvious: so many phones are either SIM-locked to one
provider, or are fitted with SIMs on non-rollover tariffs, that the
opportunities for fitting a second true-Pay-as-you-go SIM are quite
limited.

But if what you want to do is service two SIMs that you'd have anyway,
on one bit of hardware, then the opportunities open up a bit. Even on
locked phone because (for example) GiffGaff and Tesco both use O2, and
Virgin/Orange/T-Mobile all share EE.

Yes, some of those brands are a bit long in the tooth, but I've managed
to acquire non-contract SIMs for all of them (although the Orange one
expired recently, probably because I'd not used it enough).

To the extent that in the past at least the same model phone has been
dual SIM as standard on worldwide sale but single-SIM on the UK SKU.

Same headline model, but a different part number.

I just checked on orange.ro, and in their current catalogue they
have 122 dual SIM phones, and only 71 single SIM - to add some
hard facts to my anecdata. (It must be around a decade since I
owned a single-SIM phone, but when I was in the UK it was a
feature I had to search for, now it's more or less standard.
Except for Apple of course, but then that's why I switched away
from iPhone in the first place... I think they can finally do
dual-SIM now provided your carrier supports e-SIM for one of
them, though.)

It's easier to switch SIMs on an iPhone than many others, so it's
possibility for those occasions when one finds a holiday let that
doesn't have coverage. But obviously no good for being able to operate
to on-the-fly.

One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

In other news, Crossrail will have wifi and 4G when it opens in December
2018. [when ?? - ed]
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

In message , at 08:21:37 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

I think you need the Virgin "wifi-buddy" app running on the phone, but
it's a long time since I tried connecting.

Hoho, it's now called "Virgin Media Connect", and is one of those
Marmite apps with a predominance of 5* and 1* ratings. It's entirely
possible the 1* ratings are because of some fundamental incompatibility
issues, rather than fat-fingered users.

Needs Android 5, apparently, which is why it's not on my phone any more.

Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 08:21:37 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

I think you need the Virgin "wifi-buddy" app running on the phone, but
it's a long time since I tried connecting.

Hoho, it's now called "Virgin Media Connect", and is one of those
Marmite apps with a predominance of 5* and 1* ratings. It's entirely
possible the 1* ratings are because of some fundamental incompatibility
issues, rather than fat-fingered users.

I do have the app, but it still doesn't work properly. I might not be using
it correctly, of course, but I'm sure it (or the predecessor app) did work.
I don't really have much need for it, as I'm not usually waiting long
enough in deep Tube stations to be able to use it. And I don't know of a
way of sending and receiving texts via station WiFi.


Needs Android 5, apparently, which is why it's not on my phone any more.

I'm on Android 9.


Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.

My Android 9 phone is dual sim.

In message , at 09:55:16 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 08:21:37 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

I think you need the Virgin "wifi-buddy" app running on the phone, but
it's a long time since I tried connecting.

Hoho, it's now called "Virgin Media Connect", and is one of those
Marmite apps with a predominance of 5* and 1* ratings. It's entirely
possible the 1* ratings are because of some fundamental incompatibility
issues, rather than fat-fingered users.

I do have the app, but it still doesn't work properly. I might not be using
it correctly, of course, but I'm sure it (or the predecessor app) did work.
I don't really have much need for it, as I'm not usually waiting long
enough in deep Tube stations to be able to use it. And I don't know of a
way of sending and receiving texts via station WiFi.

You'd need a phone and account which had "wifi calling", which might not
exist in a combination useful to you.

Needs Android 5, apparently, which is why it's not on my phone any more.

I'm on Android 9.

Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.

My Android 9 phone is dual sim.

Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.

If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB, I
probably wouldn't need an SD card).
--
Roland Perry

On Sun, 14 Jul 2019 12:01:55 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 09:55:16 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:

Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.

My Android 9 phone is dual sim.

Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.

If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB, I
probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Moto dual-sim phones are active dual-sim, and have replaceable
batteries. I have this one, and it has all of the features you mention
except 32GB built in (but it has an SD card slot which provides me
with that): https://amzn.to/2jQA12b

Looking at more recent models, I think this one would tick all the
boxes: https://amzn.to/30vN60j (It has a notched display, though,
which really irritates me, and has moved the fingerprint sensor to the
back, which I'm also not keen on, so I suspect I won't be upgrading to
this when I need to replace my current phone).

Mark

On 14/07/2019 12:01, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 09:55:16 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 08:21:37 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-

underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it
generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

I think you need the Virgin "wifi-buddy" app running on the phone, but
it's a long time since I tried connecting.

Hoho, it's now called "Virgin Media Connect", and is one of those
Marmite apps with a predominance of 5* and 1* ratings. It's entirely
possible the 1* ratings are because of some fundamental incompatibility
issues, rather than fat-fingered users.

I do have the app, but it still doesn't work properly. I might not be
using
it correctly, of course, but I'm sure it (or the predecessor app) did
work.
I don't really have much need for it, as I'm not usually waiting long
enough in deep Tube stations to be able to use it. And I don't know of a
way of sending and receiving texts via station WiFi.

You'd need a phone and account which had "wifi calling", which might not
exist in a combination useful to you.

Needs Android 5, apparently, which is why it's not on my phone any more.

I'm on Android 9.

Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.

My Android 9 phone is dual sim.

Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.

If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB, I
probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years. Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS, 1both can do
2G-4G. You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently used
for data. No replaceable battery though.

On Sun, 14 Jul 2019 08:21:37 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

Maybe due to the 'phone rather than the hot spot ? Of two 'phones
which I use, one needs to log on to LU/Virgin and The Cloud at
stations the first time it is used there each day while the other
seems to do so automatically. IIRC there is a setting in the murkier
depths of the WiFi setup which only exists on one of them.

Charles Ellson wrote:
On Sun, 14 Jul 2019 08:21:37 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

Maybe due to the 'phone rather than the hot spot ? Of two 'phones
which I use, one needs to log on to LU/Virgin and The Cloud at
stations the first time it is used there each day while the other
seems to do so automatically. IIRC there is a setting in the murkier
depths of the WiFi setup which only exists on one of them.


I've probably not investigated enough. I just don't spend long enough
waiting in deep Tube stations to have much use or need for the capability.
Above ground, I just use 4G data.

Recliner wrote:
Charles Ellson wrote:
On Sun, 14 Jul 2019 08:21:37 -0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-
underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

Maybe due to the 'phone rather than the hot spot ? Of two 'phones
which I use, one needs to log on to LU/Virgin and The Cloud at
stations the first time it is used there each day while the other
seems to do so automatically. IIRC there is a setting in the murkier
depths of the WiFi setup which only exists on one of them.


I've probably not investigated enough. I just don't spend long enough
waiting in deep Tube stations to have much use or need for the capability.
Above ground, I just use 4G data.



Just for anecdata, my iPhone on Vodafone connects without user intervention
to the Underground WiFi. You don’t need to be a VM customer to use it.