Is anyone else trying to avoid carrying 3 phones?

Hey everyone, I’ve got a bit of a unique situation and could use some advice.

I’m currently carrying 3 phones—one personal, one for work, and one for the Fire Department where I volunteer. It’s starting to be too much to handle.

The FD phone has to stay separate because of public information laws. If something happens, the whole phone could be taken, so I don’t want any personal stuff on it. The work phone helps me keep work and personal life separate, but it’s annoying to carry around.

I thought about putting my work SIM in my personal phone, but my company requires strict security on work phones. That would mean a new password every 30 days, and other restrictions on my personal phone.

Anyone else dealing with something like this, or know of a solution I’m overlooking?

It’s really about deciding if you want your personal phone to be restricted by work security settings or not.

I’d stick with a separate personal phone just to avoid any chance of it getting searched or taken because of work.

Maybe look into getting smaller phones to lighten your load?

I wouldn’t put any work stuff on my personal phone. I carry multiple work phones too, so I feel you! I try to get the smallest work phones possible. Good luck!

Could you maybe leave the work phone at your office? That way you’d only need to carry two phones around.

So you have two work phones?

When I used to travel a lot for work, I also carried a work phone along with my personal one. It wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t want any work stuff on my personal phone either.

In your case, it sounds like both iPhones (for work and FD) need to stay separate. Unfortunately, you might be stuck with three.

Have you thought about getting two iPhone mini 13s?

I actually liked having two phones—one personal, one work. If you want something small, maybe a flip phone could work for you.

Not sure if this helps, but some Xiaomi phones have a feature called Second Space. It’s like having two separate phones in one, and each space can be unlocked with a different fingerprint. Around here, people joke that it’s the ‘cheater’s phone’ since no one would even know you have two spaces unless they catch you using both.

@Charlie
Yes, that’s a solid option. Samsung and Pixel phones have a dual-user feature too, but it usually requires the main user’s credentials. Xiaomi’s version is more independent—you can even make and receive calls in each space.

Might be worth considering if you’re looking for a true separation without the need for multiple devices.

@Crosby
I’m on a Xiaomi Mi 13, and yeah, it still has the Second Space feature.

With 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, plus dual SIM, it handles everything well if I ever need it.

@Crosby
Yup, most other brands’ versions are limited, while Xiaomi’s gives two fully separate spaces. It’s great if you have kids sharing a phone too—each can have their own space.

Charlie said:
@Crosby
Yup, most other brands’ versions are limited, while Xiaomi’s gives two fully separate spaces. It’s great if you have kids sharing a phone too—each can have their own space.

That’s why I got one for my nephew, so he and his brother could use it without sharing accounts.

You could try setting up a work profile on your personal phone with Microsoft Intune if your workplace has a Microsoft account. You’d get a quick toggle to turn off work apps when you’re done for the day.

My wife has two networks on her iPhone—Verizon for work and AT&T for personal.

What if you put your work SIM in the Fire Department phone? Can you remove the SIM if it ever gets taken?

Grayer said:
What if you put your work SIM in the Fire Department phone? Can you remove the SIM if it ever gets taken?

I hadn’t thought of that! Worst case, I’d lose my work phone too, but at least I’d still have my personal phone. That’s the one I care about most.

@Peyton
Exactly. Maybe get a dual SIM phone as your work phone and use it for both work and FD lines.

Maybe all you need is a bag to carry them in.

Consider an S24 Ultra with dual SIM.

Lucky for me, my job doesn’t require a work phone outside the office.