Second number app, or one number that rings several people?

Four things that sound alike

Look for a second phone number and you will find several different ideas mixed together. They solve different problems, so it helps to pull them apart.

• A second-number app adds another number to the phone you already have.
• Dual SIM or eSIM lets one phone hold two mobile plans, each with its own number.
• Call divert, also called call forwarding, sends your calls on to one other number.
• A number that rings several people rings a group of phones at the same time, and the first person to answer takes the call.

The first three are about you and your own phone. The last one is about sharing a call between people.

What a second-number app does

A second-number app gives you an extra phone number that you use through an app on your existing phone. One UK example is Devyce. Its App Store listing says it "offers a second UK mobile number directly on your current phone". You can take a new 07 number or move an existing one across, and the second number can have its own Do Not Disturb hours.

The listing suggests it for small businesses that want a dedicated number for clients while keeping a private number separate, for freelancers and traders who want to switch the work number off after hours, and for people selling online who want to protect their privacy.

Apps like this are good at what they do. If the aim is to keep one part of your life apart from another, they are a tidy answer. But the extra number still rings your phone. If you are in a meeting, driving or asleep, a second number on the same phone does not give the call anyone else to go to.

Dual SIM and eSIM: two numbers on one phone

Apple's guide, Using Dual SIM with an eSIM, says an eSIM is a digital SIM that lets you use a mobile plan from your network without a physical SIM card. With Dual SIM, an iPhone can have two numbers, and both can make and receive calls. Apple's examples include one number for business and another for personal calls, or a local data plan when travelling. iPhone 13 and later can use two eSIMs.

Google's Pixel help says Pixel 3a and later phones can use one physical SIM and one eSIM, and you choose which SIM to use for calls and messages. Pixel 7 and later can use two eSIMs if your network allows it.

The feature is built into the phone, but each number comes with its own mobile plan. Apple says that to use plans from two different networks, your network has to unlock your iPhone. Otherwise both plans must come from the same network.

There is one catch worth knowing. Apple says that when you are on a call, a call to your other number goes to voicemail, if you have set voicemail up with your network, and you won't get a missed-call notification from the second number. Google says the same for Pixel 8 and earlier. On Pixel 8a and later, you can take a call on the second SIM while the first call is on hold, as long as mobile data, automatic data switching and Wi-Fi calling are all in place. To avoid missing an important call, Apple suggests forwarding calls from one number to the other.

As with an app, both numbers ring the same phone. Dual SIM is useful for running two plans. It does not bring anyone else in.

Call divert: passing calls to one other number

Call divert, or call forwarding, is part of your phone and your network. Vodafone's help says you can automatically forward incoming calls to another UK landline or mobile. It lists diverts for all calls, for missed or unanswered calls, for when you are busy and for when your phone is switched off. You can also change how long your phone rings before an unanswered call moves on.

EE's help explains the two kinds simply. A conditional divert only works in certain situations, such as when your phone is busy or you don't answer. An unconditional divert sends every call on without your phone ringing at all. On an iPhone, Apple's guide puts call forwarding in Settings, under Apps, then Phone. Apple says to ask your network about forwarding only when the line is busy or not in service.

A few things to know before you rely on it:

• It goes to one number. Each divert asks for the number you want your calls sent to. With a no-answer divert, your phone rings first and then the call moves on, so the phones ring one after another, not together.
• It can use minutes. EE's help for its small business customers says a call diverted to another UK number is charged at the call rate on your price plan, and comes out of your allowance if that kind of number is included. Normal charges apply once you go over your allowance, and roaming charges apply if you use a divert while abroad.
• It passes on every call that meets the condition, whoever is calling, not only the important ones.
• Not every plan allows it. Vodafone says that on Pay as you go you can only divert incoming calls to voicemail.
• Be wary of links. Apple says iPhone warns you about, and blocks, links in messages, emails, web pages or apps that ask you to turn on call forwarding, because scammers may use them. If you want to forward calls, set it up yourself in Settings.

Free settings that help your own phone ring

Sometimes the worry is simpler: your phone was on silent when the call came. Phones have free settings for that.

• iPhone: Emergency Bypass. Apple says you can open a contact, tap Edit, then Ringtone, and turn on Emergency Bypass. Sounds and vibrations from that contact then come through even when your iPhone or notifications are silenced. A Focus, such as Do Not Disturb, can also let repeated calls through: two or more calls from the same person within 3 minutes.
• Android: Do Not Disturb. Google's Android help says you can block or allow calls from people while Do Not Disturb is on, and that turning on Allow repeat callers lets a call through if the same person calls twice in 15 minutes. Settings can vary by phone.

These are worth setting up for the numbers that matter to you, such as a school saved in your contacts. They help when you have your phone with you and can answer. They can't help when you can't.

A number that rings several people at once

The options above are about your own phone, or about passing a call to one other number. Ringing several people's phones together is a different kind of service.

Businesses do this with a hunt group, sometimes called a ring group. BT's help for its Digital Voice for Business service describes a hunt group as a way to manage how incoming calls are shared between a set of users, with each call answered by the first available person. In its simultaneous setting, a call rings all the free members of the group at the same time and connects to the first person to answer. Other settings go down a list in order, or try whoever has been free longest. BT says hunt groups come with its Enhanced and Extra packages, and each group needs its own phone number, separate from the users' numbers.

That works well for an office or a team. It is a business phone system, set up through a business portal and built around staff sharing calls.

For a household, the same idea needs to work with ordinary mobiles and landlines on any network, with no business portal and nothing for the other people to install. That is what MyCirCall is built for (below).

Which one is right for you?

• You want to keep work, selling or private calls apart from your main number. A second-number app, or a second plan on dual SIM or eSIM.
• You want two mobile plans on one phone, for example a work plan and a personal one, or a local plan when travelling. Dual SIM or eSIM.
• You want calls to go to one other person when you are busy or don't answer. A conditional divert, set up on your phone. Check what diverted calls cost on your plan.
• You keep missing calls because your phone is on silent. Emergency Bypass on iPhone, or the Do Not Disturb settings on Android. Both are free.
• You run a business and staff share calls. A business phone system with hunt groups or ring groups.
• You want one number for the callers who matter most, that rings you and a few trusted people at once. A service like MyCirCall.

These aren't either-or choices. You might turn on Emergency Bypass for your own phone and still want someone else to be able to pick up when you can't.

Where MyCirCall fits

MyCirCall gives you one UK mobile number, starting 07, for the people and places whose calls matter, such as a school, a care home or a GP surgery. When it's called, your own mobile and the phones of up to five people you trust ring at the same time, and the first to answer and press 5 takes the call. The people in your circle need no app, account or payment, and a landline can join too. It isn't a second number for everyday use and can't make outgoing calls, and it can't make anyone answer: it means an important call isn't relying on one phone alone.

MyCirCall is not an emergency service. In an emergency, always call 999 or 112.

Sources

• Apple Support (UK), Using Dual SIM with an eSIM (published 18 September 2026)
• Google, Pixel Phone Help: How to use dual SIMs on your Google Pixel phone
• Apple Support (UK), iPhone User Guide: Set up call forwarding on iPhone
• Vodafone UK, Manage Call Diverts & Call Forwarding
• EE Business, How to manage call diverts
• Apple Support (UK), iPhone User Guide: Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone
• Apple Support (UK), If you don't receive Messages notifications on your iPhone or iPad (published 17 September 2026)
• Google, Android Help: Limit interruptions with modes and Do Not Disturb on Android
• Devyce Ltd, Devyce - 2nd Number App (App Store UK listing)
• BT Business, Using Hunt Groups for Digital Voice for Business

Sources checked on 17 October 2026. Phone settings and network terms change, so check your own phone and your network's current terms.