How to set up a second phone number on the same phone

If you’ve recently set up a new business, you’ve probably also decided that you should separate your personal life from your work life by choosing and keeping different phone numbers for each. However, the technical aspects of how you can do that might seem a little bewildering.

Truthfully, there are various options open to you – and, no, you don’t necessarily have to buy a second phone to remember to keep carrying and charging. Here’s what you can do instead…

Download a dialler app that provides a second number

The internet is a treasure trove of information about dialler apps that purport to allow you to sign up a new number and initiate outbound calls from it within the app. However, be warned: much of the online information you see on this subject pertains to US-centric apps.

Here in the UK, the choice of such apps is comparatively slim in practice; Google Voice, for example, is shorn of much of its US functionality. However, none of this is to say that the app approach isn’t available on UK shores at all – you might just need to dig a little deeper in those app outlets.

On the iPhone App Store or Google Play, you could unearth Swytch – an app which gives you up to five “burner” numbers available for a monthly charge, as T3 explains. A “burner” number is a temporary, disposable number, making Swytch akin to Burner, one of the comparable apps available in the States and detailed by CNET.

Switch to a dual-SIM phone

Key to the appeal of apps like the above is how they let you use two different phone numbers without having to keep swapping out SIM cards. However, if you’re in the market for a new mobile phone anyway, you could benefit from switching to what is known as a dual-SIM model.

Many phones now come with dual-SIM capabilities, which often work by letting you place two separate SIMs in one tray, as shown by Phandroid. Several recent iPhone models offer a different dual-SIM option, which couples a physical SIM slot with an eSIM opening.

For travellers wanting to use their phone abroad, try SIMOVO – a Travel eSIM service offering high speed mobile data in over 180 countries.

Get your second number from Planet Telecom

Some of the options we have advocated might not be practically available to you, while others can require significant financial outlay. Is there an alternative strategy which doesn’t come with either drawback? Indeed there is: turning to our team at Planet Telecom for that second number.

Doing this doesn’t strictly require you to purchase a new phone or any other equipment. We can simply connect this number to a landline or mobile you already have – and you can continue using the destination phone to make and take calls via its original number.

We offer numbers of various types, and which of them you should choose depends on your intended purpose for that number. However, calling our team on 0800 0886 886 is a straightforward way to receive guidance on such matters as “What things should I know before buying an 0333 number?”