As a small business owner we face many dilemmas, one being do we use our personal cell phone for work or do we just buy another cell phone?? If you are anything like me the idea of carrying and having to keep track of two phones is just overwhelming.
How can I do this?
I was recently talking with a friend of mine who is a small business owner, and she was having some issues with her carrier for her business line and was going to make the move to a new cell phone provider. She was going to buy a new phone, I knew she had the newer iPhone 13 for her personal cell phone. I mentioned to her that the newer phones allowed for dual sims, so that you could have two lines on one phone. I also knew that she already had a sim card in her phone so I told her how she could just do an esim. I explained that she would just get a QR Code emailed to her, then she would just use her cell phone camera to scan the QR code to begin the esim activation. From start to finish the activation process takes less than five minutes to do. I also sent her this link from Apple about dual sims and iPhones so she could make an informed decision.
What about keeping my contacts seperate?
My friend chose to go with a second line on her phone. She asked me if there was a way to separate her contacts, so I got online and did 30 seconds of googling research to see what Apple users had to say about this. You can create a group for contacts by logging into your iCloud account, and creating a new group called “Business”. Then you just move the contacts into that group that you always want your phone to associate with your business line.
Can I have a different ring tone for my Business line?
My friend then asked me about having a different ring tone for each line so she would be able to differentiate between her business calls and her personal calls. Unfortunately, this is where Apple still lags compared to Android. You can’t add a ring tone to a group in your contacts, you must assign the ring tone to each individual contact, this is a complaint amongst Apple users so hopefully Apple will listen and address this problem in a future iOS release.
Dual Sims is a Game Changer!
Having a separate business line has always been a pain point for me because I have never wanted to carry two phones around. I have a hard time keeping track of one phone. As an IT constant I work from home, or I could be working at a customer's office, sometimes working outside at a horse farm installing WIFI, or at a winery getting both indoor and outdoor WIFI to work so my phone goes all over the place with me, Having dual sims is a game changer for a small business owner, it allows us the ease of having a Business line without the hassle of having to carry two phones.
Check with your cell phone carrier.
You will want to check with your current cell phone carrier to make sure they support dual sims and esim. I use Mint mobile, which I love, and they support both.
What iPhone do I have to have?
If you are an iPhone user like myself, you will need an iPhone XS or newer and your iOS will need to be 12.1 or later. If you want to use 5G with Dual SIM you will need the iPhone 12 or newer and make sure that you have iOS 14.5 or later. I always recommend keeping your phone up to date when it comes to the latest iOS, that way you are getting all of the bug fixes and vulnerability patches.
What about my Apple ID?
Now, you might be wondering, "Am I going to have to use two apple ID's to have iMessages and FaceTime work with both my numbers?" The answer is NO, and its really easy to assign your Business line to use your AppleID so that you can FaceTime with your clients and send iMessages. Below are the steps to get this setup.
Step 1. go to Settings ( Gear icon)
Step 2. Select your name at the top where under it says (Apple ID, iCloud,Media & Purchases)
Step 3. Click on "Name,Phone numbers,Email"
Step 4. Click "Edit"
Step 5. Click the "Add Email or Phone Number"
Step 6. Click "Add a Phone Number"
Step 7. Enter in your Business number if it doesn't auto populate it for you and click "Next"
It will text you a code that should automatically apply, otherwise you will have to "enter in the code". That's it! Now your Business line is setup to use FaceTime and iMessage.
Android Dual Sim Phones
If you are an android user there are a number of cell phones to choose from when it comes to dual sims. The Google Pixel 6, Samsung Galaxy S22, One Plus 10 Pro, just to name a few. Android Authority offers some good information on dual sim phones. Android phones also allow for you to easily create group ring tones for both your lines. Here are the steps for an android phone.
Step 1. Go to "Settings"
Step 2. Go to "Sounds and Vibration"
Step 3.Tap the on off slider for set ringtone for each sim ( you will only see this if the phone has dual sims setup).
Step 4. A box will appear allowing you to select your ring tone for each line.
That's its you are all set, you now have separate ring tones setup!
FREE GUIDE
Wondering if it's time you should outsource you IT needs? Download my free outsource guide to see when is a good time to outsource.