Dual SIM phones allow us to use two mobile plans with a single phone. Both iPhones and Android phones are now available with dual SIM slots.
When you make a call or send a text message on your dual SIM phone, you can easily select the SIM card.
You can also connect to the internet using mobile data on your dual SIM phone. But can both SIMs of your dual SIM phone use mobile data at the same time?
Can Both SIM Cards Of Your Dual SIM Phone Connect To The Internet Simultaneously?
Both SIM cards of your dual SIM phone cannot connect to the internet simultaneously; only one SIM card can use mobile data at a time.
Most dual SIM phones, including iPhones and Android phones, use dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) technology. They only have a single cellular transceiver, and both SIM cards share the transceiver using time multiplexing.
Therefore, dual SIM phones can’t handle two active mobile data connections; there can only be one active data SIM.
Do Both SIM Slots Of Your Dual SIM Phone Provide The Same Internet Speeds?
Both SIM slots of dual SIM iPhones and recent dual SIM Android phones provide the same mobile data speeds. They have symmetrical SIM slots: both slots support 4G or both slots support 5G.
On the other hand, older dual SIM Android phones had asymmetrical SIM slots. SIM1 supported 4G, and SIM2 only supported 3G and 2G. In such Android phones, the two SIM slots have different internet speeds.
Can A Dual SIM Phone Automatically Switch The Data SIM According To Cell Signal?
Some dual SIM phones can automatically switch the data SIM according to the cell signal. It is called the smart data switch, and you have to enable it in your phone’s settings.
However, some phones don’t support automatic SIM switching, and you have to manually switch the data SIM in such phone models. Refer to your phone’s user manual to see if it supports automatic SIM switching.
Can A Dual SIM Phone Keep The Internet Connection Alive During A Call?
Most recent dual SIM phones, including iPhones and Android phones, can keep your internet connection alive during a call.
This is possible thanks to VoLTE which allows your voice calls to use the LTE data networks instead of regular voice networks.
With VoLTE enabled, when you receive a call on your data SIM, your ongoing internet connection and your incoming call can both share the same data network. So your internet connection won’t disconnect when you receive a call on your data SIM.
Similarly, when you receive a call on your non-data SIM, your dual SIM phone will automatically switch the ongoing data connection to your non-data SIM during the call. Then your internet connection will use mobile data on your non-data SIM, and both internet and the voice call will share the same data network for the duration of the call. As a result, your internet connection won’t disconnect even when you receive a call on your non-data SIM.
However, some dual SIM phones do not support this automatic data switching. In such phones, you will lose your ongoing data connection when you receive a call on the non-data SIM.
Conclusion
Most dual SIM phones can’t use two internet connections simultaneously. They only have a single cellular transceiver and operate in dual SIM dual standby mode. So you have to select either SIM1 or SIM2 as your data SIM.
However, recent dual SIM phones can automatically switch the data SIM according to the cell signal. They can also switch the data connection to the non-data SIM and keep the internet connection alive when you receive a call on the non-data SIM.
