Transition from dual SIM to having 2 iPhones

I have been trying to find some info on this, but it seems my specific situation hasn't been asked before.


I have been using an iPhone 13 Pro Max with dual SIM; eSIM for Personal and physical SIM for Work. I also use my AirPods for hours per day, to take calls and listen to music/podcasts.

I had been having some issues with the dual SIM set up, so have just been provided a new iPhone 11 from work to be used as my Work only phone, and I'll keep the other phone for personal use.


Ideally, I would like to:

  1. Have all personal text messages, iMessages and calls come through only to the Personal phone and all Work related stuff go to the Work phone.
  2. Be able to use my AirPods with both devices, ie, listening to music on my personal phone, and have it switch seamlessly to the work phone if a call comes through. (The same way it does with my Mac and iPhone which are on the same Apple ID).
  3. Transfer all work related texts and iMessages from the personal phone over to the Work phone so I can continue message threads uninterrupted.


As far as I've been able to think through this, the issues are:

  1. If I use the same Apple ID on both phones; AirPods will work perfectly, my Work messages will transfer through, but it will also transfer through personal messages, and probably the worse part, is that new iMessages will come through to both devices.
  2. If I use a separate Apple ID; I'm unsure on how well the AirPods transition will work between devices, I may not be able to move messages from one device to the other (I don't know if this is doable with different Apple IDs), but the advantage is that I will be able to keep things quite well separated between work and personal stuff.


My questions are:

  1. Are there any flaws in my logic?
  2. How have those of you in similar situations set things up on your end?
  3. Is there a third party tool that I could use over and above Apple's Ecosystem that would help me with either achieving my goals or at least getting closer to it?


It's worth mentioning that the main reason for getting a separate phone wasn't necessarily to be able to 'switch off' from work (although that'll be a plus), but rather it was due to having work calls not connect through if I'm on a personal call. I need to be able to at least see that a call is coming through for work, so that I'm able to either hang up the personal call to pick up the work call, or call them back as soon as I'm off the phone.



Thanks for your help in advance.

iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 17

Posted on Jun 17, 2024 5:22 PM

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2 replies

Jun 17, 2024 10:03 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thanks for your reply Lawrence. I understand your point regarding ownership of content, but there may be some differences around that in my jurisdiction. My employer freely allows employees to use their personal devices for work purposes, but can provide a device upon request (which staff can use for a work and personal use if desired).


Regarding pairing AirPods to both phones under different Apple IDs, it does work, but upon my testing using my AirPods on mine and my wife's iPhones, I don't get the automatic switching which is available when it's the same Apple ID. I'd have to do a manual switch each time I'd like to go from one device to the other.


I'd love to get some insights on people's experience with living with 2 iPhones and how they deal with this type of thing.

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Transition from dual SIM to having 2 iPhones

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