Use two sim cards?

[smentzen]

Hi,

I am based in the UK and am using a ‘pay monthly’ contract with an unlocked iPhone 11.

 Pro.

I will move to Germany in a few months and would like to get a German mobile phone number but also remain reachable under my current UK mobile number.

What is the easiest way to achieve this? I read about eSim but don’t have any experience with it.

Many thanks!

Best regards

Sebastian

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @smentzen 

Vodafone UK are also cracking down on permanent roamers and adjusting charges so please do check your terms and conditions too.

If your phone is dual sim ( sorry just seen your using an iPhone ) or 1 sim and 1 esim then you can use two sims as long as your phone is unlocked to all networks so it'll accept a German sim card.

If its locked to Vodafone then think about unlocking it to all networks now.

Check it is by inserting a non Vodafone Sim card.

The nuc request form is on the side of the forum.

More from Vodafone UK here about an esim Vodafone.co.uk/help-and-information/esim 

[hrym]

This is going to be tricky and, as @BandOfBrothers says, you'll run into the problem of permanent roaming, so make sure it's turned off on the UK phone.

Voicemail may be your friend here.   If you divert your UK number to voicemail whiile you're still in the UK, calls to it should continue to be UK-based.   You can then call it periodically from your German phone and return those calls you want to.  (You'll need to change the voicemail PIN from the default to allow remote access)*

Or you could divert calls to the UK number to the German one, but that might incur costs.

* I haven't done this for a long time, so it's possible procedures have changed.

[donnyguy]

Hi Sebastian,

You've been given good advice here so what I would recommend is: 

• Make sure your phone is not simlocked (you can test this by putting in a sim from another network or if you bought it from Vodafone, submit the form mentioned above)
• Transfer your Vodafone UK account to eSim (this can be done via your My Vodafone account or, when the stores are open, do it in store) to free up your SIM card slot
• Buy a German sim when you get to Germany and you're good to go

You've been warned about the permanent roamer issue so there is a chance, any use on your UK sim will be surcharged once they've picked up on the fact you're using it permanantly in Germany. So this is a warning not to sign up for a new deal. 

You might be worth, once your contact is up is transfer to PAYT if this is about keeping your number for future use. 

If you have people who regularly call you then a lot of the networks offer decent add ons for international calls (i get EU minutes included in my Vodafone contact - for now)

[smentzen]

Thanks for all the very helpful answers, that’s much appreciated!

I have made the transfer to an eSIM as you suggested (very easy) and will, once in Germany, get a German SIM card.

Thanks again!

[donnyguy]

You're more than welcome!

Enjoy Germany!