Phone setups and mount configurations for multi-apping

The reality of running multiple screens in the car

Running two or three delivery apps at once means you are constantly checking maps, incoming orders and pickup timers. If your phone is sliding around on the passenger seat or buried in the centre console, you are going to take your eyes off the road. That is dangerous and it risks a fine from the police. A proper physical setup is not about looking professional. It is about keeping your hands free and your view clear.

Most drivers start by trying to squeeze two apps onto a single phone screen using split screen modes. While that saves money on hardware, it often leads to freezing apps, tiny maps and missed ping alerts. Running two separate devices is usually the cleaner way to go once you are serious about multi-apping. One phone runs your primary courier platform, and the second phone handles backup pings or navigation.

Choosing your mounting hardware

Do not buy cheap plastic vents clips from a pound shop. They will snap under the weight of a modern smartphone, especially when you hit a pothole on a dark residential street. Look for heavy duty mounts that bolt to your dash, screw into your air vent slats securely, or use a solid suction cup on the lower corner of your windscreen.

• Dashboard weighted bean bag mounts stay put without sticky pads, but they take up space on the dash.
• CD slot mounts keep the phone high up, but they block your stereo controls and hazard light buttons.
• Custom vehicle specific mounts clip into the seams of your dashboard trim and do not leave marks when removed.

If you are running two phones, stability matters even more. You need both screens in your peripheral vision without either one blocking your view of pedestrians or traffic lights. Placing one phone near the centre console and one near the driver side pillar is a common layout, but make sure neither blocks your airbags.

Power management and cable clutter

Running GPS, mobile data and screen brightness on maximum for ten hours a day will drain a battery very quickly. When you run two phones, your car charging setup takes a beating. A standard single USB socket plugged into the cigarette lighter will not keep up with the power draw.

You need a multi-port USB charger that plugs into your 12V socket and supports fast charging protocols. Run your charging cables neatly behind the dashboard trim or use adhesive cable clips so they do not dangle across your gearstick. Tangled wires are a nuisance when you need to jump out of the car quickly to grab an order from a restaurant.

Managing data and network blackspots

If you use two separate phones, you need data connectivity on both. Many drivers use their main contract phone for their primary app, and a cheap pay-as-you-go second sim or a secondary data-only eSIM for the backup phone. Where an answer genuinely depends on somebody's own situation, mobile network coverage varies wildly between urban centres and rural drop-offs, so test your signal before committing to a second network provider.

If your backup phone loses connection, you will miss orders without realising it. Keep an eye on your signal bars just as much as your battery percentage. Some drivers prefer to put both phones on the same network if that network has strong local coverage, while others use two different networks so that if one goes down in a basement or a concrete car park, the other still pulls in pings.