# Split Screen or Two Phones?



## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

Are any of you utilizing either of the above mentioned to keep track of surges on both apps? I'm thinking two phones may be the best method? Thoughts please. Thank you!


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I use my phone for ride requests and my tablet to watch the Uber Driver app for surges. Of course i only do this on airport runs as my primary area never surges any more.

If I see a decent airport sure I will turn requests back on as I always turn them off when going to the airport. I found recently I can set destination while on a current trip so I will play around with that if i see a decent surge. Try to grab a surge ride back toward home would be nice.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

*Split Screen  Personalities or Two Phones Identities?*

What are you using to do Uber?


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

FLKeys said:


> I use my phone for ride requests and my tablet to watch the Uber Driver app for surges. Of course i only do this on airport runs as my primary area never surges any more.
> 
> If I see a decent airport sure I will turn requests back on as I always turn them off when going to the airport. I found recently I can set destination while on a current trip so I will play around with that if i see a decent surge. Try to grab a surge ride back toward home would be nice.


So you tether your tablet to your phone? If so, the Uber allows that without raising any flags?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> So you tether your tablet to your phone? If so, the Uber allows that without raising any flags?


Before I had a tablet with out Cellular yes I tethered them. Now I have a tablet with Cellular so I run it independent. You can only hit the go button on one device with Uber. The other device if you hit go it tells you another device is active. You can still see the surge zones, check waybills, or check earnings on the second device.

Lyft, when I last used it a year ago would automatically put both device live, it drove me nuts so I really could not do it with Lyft. I have not done Lyft in over a year so not sure if it is the same.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

FLKeys said:


> Before I had a tablet with out Cellular yes I tethered them. Now I have a tablet with Cellular so I run it independent. You can only hit the go button on one device with Uber. The other device if you hit go it tells you another device is active. You can still see the surge zones, check waybills, or check earnings on the second device.
> 
> Lyft, when I last used it a year ago would automatically put both device live, it drove me nuts so I really could not do it with Lyft. I have not done Lyft in over a year so not sure if it is the same.


I'm thinking it's worth the cost of two cell phone lines, one for each app. I believe I can take better advantage of surge pricing when active this way. Your thoughts?


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> I'm thinking it's worth the cost of two cell phone lines, one for each app. I believe I can take better advantage of surge pricing when active this way. Your thoughts?


I agree, I think two devices are the way to go.


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## Denver Dick (Nov 2, 2019)

i just quickly toggle back and forth...I never accept stacked pings on uber...and I am always on the last ride on Lyft...so after any ride ends I have time to look around


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

Denver Dick said:


> i just quickly toggle back and forth...I never accept stacked pings on uber...and I am always on the last ride on Lyft...so after any ride ends I have time to look around


That method can be effective, but too much work involved!


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## Grand Lake (Feb 27, 2018)

In my previous car, I had an aftermarket Android head unit (essentially an Android tablet combined with a car stereo) that I would run with the Uber and Lyft apps side by side in split screen. I used my phone's hotspot for internet connectivity. The head unit's UI was a little clunky, and neither of the apps were optimized for display on half of a larger, but lower resolution screen, but the setup worked reasonably well most of the time. I was still getting used to it when the car unfortunately got totalled.


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Are any of you utilizing either of the above mentioned to keep track of surges on both apps? I'm thinking two phones may be the best method? Thoughts please. Thank you!


Having two phones is always the better option. You can get a line on Tello (a T-Mobile MVNO) for about $10 per month, that should give you enough data to keep your driver app connected.

I used two phones for awhile, and found it to be very helpful when multi-apping Lyft and Uber rides. I even double-dipped on occasion, having two rides on both platforms at the same time. It really cut down on my dead miles. Of course, I also had a spike in my cancellation rate when the pick/up/delivery/pick-up alignment didn't work out.


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## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

My opinion is having two phones is better, even better is having two different carriers.


Using 1 device for Uber and Lyft was not complicated for me, however I felt like it was putting a lot of strain on the bandwidth available. I would often notice the Network Activity indicator







spinning away for long periods of time. I questioned if this could cause me not to get reduced ride requests if the mothership was having issues quickly communicating with my phone. Really no way of knowing. When I switched to two devices the Network Activity indictor on each phone barely seemed to come on any more. Again no way of knowing if it speed up possible requests.


Having separate carriers comes into play when one carrier is having net work issues. Me being in a some what rural area this often happens. Three times now in the nearly 3 years I have been doing rideshare the At&t Data network has gone down. 1 time a wildfire burnt through the fiber optic cable, 8 hours of no cell data with only At&t. 1 time a company trenching cut the fiber optic lines, 5 hours of no cellular data with only At&t. 1 time their was a piece of equipment failure at one of the towers, 9 hours o no cell data with only At&t. All 3 times Verizon was unaffected. I know of one time the Verizon cell data network was down for almost 11 hours, At&t was fine. If one carrier is down you can run both apps on the one device that is working.

Again these are my opinions and I am not a technology expert.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

rkozy said:


> Having two phones is always the better option. You can get a line on Tello (a T-Mobile MVNO) for about $10 per month, that should give you enough data to keep your driver app connected.
> 
> I used two phones for awhile, and found it to be very helpful when multi-apping Lyft and Uber rides. I even double-dipped on occasion, having two rides on both platforms at the same time. It really cut down on my dead miles. Of course, I also had a spike in my cancellation rate when the pick/up/delivery/pick-up alignment didn't work out.


Very helpful insight. Thank you!


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

FLKeys said:


> My opinion is having two phones is better, even better is having two different carriers.
> 
> 
> Using 1 device for Uber and Lyft was not complicated for me, however I felt like it was putting a lot of strain on the bandwidth available. I would often notice the Network Activity indicator
> ...


Excellent points you make. Pretty sure I'm gonna' go with two lines. Thanks!


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

FLKeys said:


> Having separate carriers comes into play when one carrier is having net work issues. Me being in a some what rural area this often happens. Three times now in the nearly 3 years I have been doing rideshare the At&t Data network has gone down.


That's actually smart having two different network carriers. It has saved me more than once.

I'm a prepaid phone aficionado. At one time, I had four different prepaid lines active, one with each network: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Since Sprint merged with TMob, I now have three active lines.

The AT&T and Verizon lines are through Tracfone, which is dirt cheap. My T-Mobile line is through Tello, which is even cheaper. Back when I had four active lines, my total monthly bill was $35. It was less than $10 per line, though none of the lines had unlimited data.

If you know how to play the prepaid game, you can easily carry two lines for under $30 per month total.


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Pretty sure I'm gonna' go with two lines. Thanks!


That's the best way to multi-app. Trying to switch between two screens on the same phone can be a real hassle, even at a stop light. Sometimes you miss the green, and people are honking at your ass.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

rkozy said:


> That's the best way to multi-app. Trying to switch between two screens on the same phone can be a real hassle, even at a stop light. Sometimes you miss the green, and people are honking at your ass.


It's done. Second phone & line activated yesterday. All I can say so far is, I should've done this ages ago. Makes life on both apps soooooooo much easier, and profitable. Definitely worth the extra $35 per month!


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Definitely worth the extra $35 per month!


If you're just using the extra phone for one platform (Uber or Lyft) you could probably save yourself $20-$25 per month by activating your second line on Tello. They are a T-Mobile MVNO, and you can get plans with 2 GB of data per month for a mere $11.

Of course, you'd a need a GSM unlocked phone to join. If you don't have one of those, they start at around $100 and can be much more expensive when you get into the Samsung S20/Apple iPhone realm.

But, if you do have an unlocked GSM phone laying around, you could wind up saving $200-$250 every year. Just a thought. I'm using Tello for my rideshare line, and it never costs me more than $11 per month. Helluva deal!


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Are any of you utilizing either of the above mentioned to keep track of surges on both apps? I'm thinking two phones may be the best method? Thoughts please. Thank you!


I got two phones, one for the plug, and one for the load. #KevinGates


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

rkozy said:


> If you're just using the extra phone for one platform (Uber or Lyft) you could probably save yourself $20-$25 per month by activating your second line on Tello. They are a T-Mobile MVNO, and you can get plans with 2 GB of data per month for a mere $11.
> 
> Of course, you'd a need a GSM unlocked phone to join. If you don't have one of those, they start at around $100 and can be much more expensive when you get into the Samsung S20/Apple iPhone realm.
> 
> But, if you do have an unlocked GSM phone laying around, you could wind up saving $200-$250 every year. Just a thought. I'm using Tello for my rideshare line, and it never costs me more than $11 per month. Helluva deal!


2G's are enough? Went with a 5G plan to aboid being throttled to 2G.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> 2G's are enough? Went with a 5G plan to aboid being throttled to 2G.


Even when I had a 3G plan previously, only lasted about 3 weeks before being throttled to 2G which really slowed down the apps.


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> 2G's are enough? Went with a 5G plan to aboid being throttled to 2G.


You are confusing speed (5G) with a data cap (2 GB) for monthly usage. The technology known as 2G was the data standard for early phones pre-2005. Many carriers will throttle your speed to 2G once you exceed your data cap.

You need 4G LTE speeds to run the Uber/Lyft apps, but you only need 2 GB of data per month to keep the app running...unless you're driving 12 hours every single day.

On Tello, you'll get 4G LTE speed and 2 GB of data for $11 per month. That's enough to run Uber/Lyft and save yourself over $20 per month...provided you already have an unlocked GSM smartphone.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

rkozy said:


> You are confusing speed (5G) with a data cap (2 GB) for monthly usage. The technology known as 2G was the data standard for early phones pre-2005. Many carriers will throttle your speed to 2G once you exceed your data cap.
> 
> You need 4G LTE speeds to run the Uber/Lyft apps, but you only need 2 GB of data per month to keep the app running...unless you're driving 12 hours every single day.
> 
> On Tello, you'll get 4G LTE speed and 2 GB of data for $11 per month. That's enough to run Uber/Lyft and save yourself over $20 per month...provided you already have an unlocked GSM smartphone.


Right. Yrs, I drive 12 hrs per day. Need the extra data. Worth the extra $20. No sense in being penny wise and pound foolish. I'm out there to max my earnings with all the tech available to me!


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Right. Yrs, I drive 12 hrs per day. Need the extra data. Worth the extra $20. No sense in being penny wise and pound foolish. I'm out there to max my earnings with all the tech available to me!


Also, could you operate one app on a spare phone via tethering it to an active phone?


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## Diamondraider (Mar 13, 2017)

FLKeys said:


> I use my phone for ride requests and my tablet to watch the Uber Driver app for surges. Of course i only do this on airport runs as my primary area never surges any more.
> 
> If I see a decent airport sure I will turn requests back on as I always turn them off when going to the airport. I found recently I can set destination while on a current trip so I will play around with that if i see a decent surge. Try to grab a surge ride back toward home would be nice.


It’s funny. I do the opposite. All my requests and GPS are on the iPad, and my phone is to watch Lyft. 

I can no longer watch Uber “offline” on my 2nd device. Somehow Uber has them synced now.


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## Ted Fink (Mar 19, 2018)

Diamondraider said:


> I can no longer watch Uber “offline” on my 2nd device. Somehow Uber has them synced now.


This happened in my market too... so what I do is confirm pax in car, stop new requests, then start trip. That way I can get a look at the map before accepting new requests. Too many times I took a $2 surge trip not knowing there was a $20 in the area (as confirmed through other drivers I know). Downside is you don't get stacked pings. It could result in you missing a desirable trip. Still dicking with it it to see what's best.

I have noticed a lot of other drivers in my market do this and drive to the highest surge before logging back on. Which overall decreases driver availability a little bit, and therefore, might even increase the surge? 

I've only tried it a few times. It seemed to be beneficial, but you don't know what pings you missed by being off line. Needs more investigation.

Anyone else here try this strategy and what are your thoughts?


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Right. Yrs, I drive 12 hrs per day. Need the extra data. Worth the extra $20.


I guess if you are on that heavy of a driving schedule, you probably need (and likely can afford) all that extra data. I'm driving less than 500 miles per month right now. My data requirements are far less, which is why I go with a stingier data plan on my second line.


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> Also, could you operate one app on a spare phone via tethering it to an active phone?


The app might need to check for cellular voice connectivity since passengers do have the ability to call you. If you are tethering data, but the device using the tethered data has no active voice connection, you might not be able to log on.

I've never tested this. It's possible the driver apps don't check for an active voice connection. However, most apps have specific permissions that need to be enabled for the app to function properly. If the Uber (or Lyft) driver app discovers you don't have the abilities to take or make calls, it might lock you out.

It would be a fairly easy thing to test, however.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

rkozy said:


> I guess if you are on that heavy of a driving schedule, you probably need (and likely can afford) all that extra data. I'm driving less than 500 miles per month right now. My data requirements are far less, which is why I go with a stingier data plan on my second line.


I also wanted my second line to be with a different network, just in case one network had an interruption.


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Guido-TheKillerPimp said:


> I also wanted my second line to be with a different network, just in case one network had an interruption.


That's a really good idea. I have different networks on my phones for much the same reason.


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## W00dbutcher (Jan 14, 2019)

2 devices 2 lines
Phone is $60
Tablet $15

Tablet in Landscape Mode and mounted in place. Uber pings only.

Phone is used to glance at when stacked ping happens. Most times it reviled Uber is offering less on surge pricing then listed in pick up area. So either it reads the local ping and gives you that instead of the other ping at the end of the ride. Or, which is what I believe this is Uber is just not giving you a higher price because you can't see it when you have only one device!

Now landscape mode with Uber is the way to go. There's a hell of a lot more information on the screen than just one little screen versus a phone.

This is the online look.









Now below is what you see when you are actually on the pickup.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

Could you guys give a short summary of WHY you want to use a second device in your car?

I'm a bit lost as to what the advantage is from doing that.

Thanks!


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## rkozy (Apr 5, 2019)

Christinebitg said:


> Could you guys give a short summary of WHY you want to use a second device in your car?


I'm not speaking for them, but as a person who has used two different phones for running rideshare apps, I can share my insight on the practice.

1) One app per phone makes it easier to "multi-task" on rides. I've had Lyft pick-ups that were five or six miles away. That's a little further than I'd like to travel, so I'll throw on Uber as I'm travelling to my Lyft pickup to see if anything is closer. Numerous times, I've had Uber pax that I picked up and dropped off before reaching my Lyft pax, because the Uber pax's route worked out perfectly. I call it double-dipping. It's a tricky maneuver, and it doesn't always pan out...but when it does, you are essentially making double the money. With two phones (one running each driver app) the ability to coordinate such a thing becomes easier.

2) Two different phones on two different networks is a great back-up in case one network goes down. I've had this happen a few times. The T-Mobile line (which I use for Lyft) suddenly has a data issue. That means if the Uber app was on that same phone, I couldn't log into either app. Since my Uber app is on an AT&T-networked device, I can still log into Uber for rides until the T-Mobile data issue resolves itself.

It's not for everyone, but I've found it has some advantages over using just one phone all the time. As far as cost goes, I can maintain adequate service on both phones for less than $35/month total. That's pretty cheap for two lines. You just have to find the MVNOs with the best deal on mobile data. I could give you a list if you are interested.


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## Guido-TheKillerPimp (Jan 4, 2021)

Christinebitg said:


> Could you guys give a short summary of WHY you want to use a second device in your car?
> 
> I'm a bit lost as to what the advantage is from doing that.
> 
> Thanks!


Simple, one device for the apps, the other for porn. 😎


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## W00dbutcher (Jan 14, 2019)

Here ya go. Maybe a visual of what's going on.

Main is Uber.... Unadulterated

Phone is for whatever. Dual aps, riders account, dual accounts.....and yes porn.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

rkozy said:


> The T-Mobile line (which I use for Lyft) suddenly has a data issue.


That's because it's T Mobile.

I volunteer at a music festival in the Texas Hill Country. The crew keeps in touch with each other using cell phones. When we get a volunteer on the crew who has a T Mobile phone, we don't even try to use it, we just give him a loaner phone, seriously.


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