There are many adapters available that let you put 2 SIM cardsat the same time into a mobile phone.
This guide outlines some of the pros and cons of different sorts of adapter. It is based on my experiences having bought6 such items until I found what I really wanted.
Whichever sort you buy, don't expect to be able to have both SIMs working at the same time. These adapters merely save you the hassle of opening your phone to swap SIM cards over, and do it for you electronically instead.
The first difference in types is how you tell the adapter which SIM you want to use at any particular moment. This is either done the old fashioned way of switching the phone off, so that it automatically swaps to the other when you turn it back on, or alternatively the adapter can add a new menu to your phone ( this is called anSTK system) and you choose which SIM from the new menu on your phone.
Each has advantages. The STK system lets you swap only when you want, and means that you don't have the hassle of the phone 'starting-up' on the wrong SIM. The other method( on/off ) has the advantage of not overwriting whatever menu your SIM card may add to the phone itself.
e.g. old Vodafone SIMs did not add a menu of their own to your phone, but newer ones do with useful options for calling top-up etc.
The more recent STK systems ( so-called 16th generation onwards, but strangely NOT the 20th generation I bought) have a facility to allow you to switch SIMs without a menu option, but rather by dialling a number on the keypad, which is intercepted as a "change-SIM" request. This is sometimes called "007 mode" in the case of the offerring from MagicSIM.
The 2 main drawbacks of STK system adapters are
a) the battery drain is significantly more than with an ordinary SIM or anon/off type SIM.
b) their software can (rarely) interfere with normal operation of your SIM and it may not work at all.I found this to be the case with my "3 Network" SIM in the UK which would not work with any STK adapter, but works fine in an on/off type adapter.
Finding an on/off type is getting difficult as it is old technology now, but Googling for "universal" "ghost" "sim" might bring some to light.
The next major difference is as follows.....
Dual or Twin or Ghost SIM adapters come in 2 basic types.
One where you cut your SIMs down with scissors or a cutter to a smaller size and place them in a carrier the same size as one ordinary SIM.
The other has a ribbon cable joining a SIM "plug" to 2 SIM "sockets". These let you slide your 2 SIMS into a cradle at one end of the adapter without trimming them down, and then slide the other end of the whole thing into the original socket in your phone.
You may fear damaging your SIMS if you cut them, and think this is the best solution.
Be aware however that there must be room inside your phone for the new assembly. There was no room if any of my three mobiles to use this sort of adapter, but they are made different shapes for different phones and you might find one that works for your model.
Some manufacturers offer special backs for mobile phones, that have a pocket area inside to hold such a beast.
Finally even of you buy the right thing for your needs, you may find, as I did, that when you try it out, the phone just says "Insert SIM", meaning it doesn't work. This is almost certainly a case of bad contacts. You may have trimmed the SIM in the wrong place, trimmed it too small so it moves in the holder, or just be unlucky enough to have not made good contact. Fixes that worked for me involved...
a) repositioning the adapter in the phone slightly, more up one end of the socket than the other for example.
b) cleaning the cut down SIMS to remove all grease and fingerprints
c) padding the adapter with a foam pad on top of it so the battery squeezs it down onto the contacts
d) carefully prodding the dimples in the adapter from the back with a ball-point pen to "re-dimple" acollapsed down dimple.
Keep trying - I never had one that didn't eventually work.
The different "generations" of these adapters signify improvements over time
e.g. the ability to have the phone "auto-swap" the SIMS at a time interval chosen by you. In this way you will probably be able to be informed by text of any messages waiting for you from either number.
Better generations support more complex SIMS eg USIM's and 3G - read the advert, but remember that 3 in the UK will probably never work with an STK menu type adapter - unless someone else out there has succeeeded.
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