Netzclub
 

https://www.netzclub.net/

Anybody any experience with this?

It looks like a convenient way for free 200MB of data on the German O₂ network.


My main problem is that I cannot order it to be able to test it. For that you need a German address. :(

Also I don't know how responding to the advertisements works when in roaming. (In Germany it's free).

yes, i have one combo card and one internet flat SIM. (200 MB is 3G speed, afterwards GPRS speed, but no traffic limit)...

Works flawlessly - and dont worry about the advertisement, there was no ad for months already but they activate the packs every month anyway...


Chris

Any ideas of how one can get hold of a Netzclub card without any German address and without staying in a hotel in Germany?

Dunno if it's possible - and I doubt it, since they are interested in advertising to people living in Germany, and getting the SIM requires filling out a profile to help target the ads.

I've got it and it works fine (tethering is officially not allowed, though it works - supposedly they check for it). But it really is limited to 200 MB/month, after which it slows down, officially to GPRS speeds (although it seems faster than this to me). I don't think Netzclub has much of a future, though, because I have only received one or two ads the whole time.

You cannot get a Netzclub account beeing no German residental.

(How) Do they actually check residency? :confused:

the terms of service say they have the right to request a copy of your ID card (but thats the same with all german providers as registering the cards is obligatory)...

BUT: the terms of service dont say that you need to be a german resident to get the card. Only that you are not allowed to block the advertisement if you want to use the free volume/minutes


Chris

Hi guys, which number should I call to know how many free minutes or MB remain?
Thank's a lot for your answer!

as far as i know you can only check the balance of payed vouchers, not the remaining free traffic.

Chris

Note that according to article 9.4 of Netzclub's terms and conditions they only accept three customers per address. If a fourth person living at the same address orders a SIM all SIMs are likely to be denounced without prior notice, even if these people don't have any relation except for sharing the same address.
There is at least one report on a German forum of a customer living in an appartment building, who naturally shares his address with dozens of neighbours of which at least three others obviously were Netzclub customers, which led to all SIMs being denounced.
Allthough Netzclub could just not accept a fourth SIM being ordered for the same address, they apparently take orders and disable all SIMs afterwards when they realize the number of customers per address to exceed three. That's indeed a very strange and unlogical method of abuse prevention.

As you know Netzclub send ad messages, that contain weblinks which you are required to open in order to keep your goodies. However as I learned today these links don't contain any individual ID but Netzclub obviously somehow track page visits through their network infrastructure - so you have to open the ad link from your handset using the Netzclub SIM, which is relatively expensive from abroad, where data costs at least € 0,50/100KB (EU).

Deep Packet Scanning on Netzclub Network
 

No, inquistor, the links do/did contain individual IDs. You can copy the link from your SMS-ad and type it into a normal web browser on a desktop/laptop. Then afterwards, if you look at your account "history" on the netzclub.de website, you can check whether netzclub has recorded that you clicked your personalized link.

By the way, Netzclub/Telefonica now does deep packet scanning on their free internet allowance. Last year it was possible to tether extra devices, via wifi, to a netzclub mobile phone/portable hotspot. But not any more. If you now try to tether an extra device, netzclub immediately send you a warning email saying that they will disconnect your sim card and terminate your contract if you try to tether once again.

And because Netzclub has sent some of their members only one SMS-ad since last Xmas, I would not be surprised if the sponsored service is ended in the near future.

Babble, you have a Mexican flag in your profile. How did you get a Netzclub card, if I may ask?

Also, how can they find out if you are tethering via packet data scanning? Do they check the Browser's ID or something? I am not planning tethering but I am interested in how they do it.

Dear netzclubber, thank you for your understanding!
 

I travel backwards and forwards between Mexico and Europe. Netzclub sent the card to my german address.

I do not know how netzclub are checking for tethering, but they are definitely checking for it. I used to use my netzclub for voip calls, until I received this email:


Lieber netzclubber,

leider mussten wir feststellen, dass du deine Handy-Internet-Flat nicht in einem Mobiltelefon nutzt. Wir möchten dir hiermit mitteilen, dass in unseren Allgemeinen Geschäftsbedingungen (§ 6.1d sowie 6.3d) die Nutzung der SIM-Karte in einem Netbook, Surfstick, USB-Modem oder Ähnlichem* untersagt ist.

Deine netzclub SIM-Karte kannst du zukünftig in einem Handy betreiben und von den günstigen netzclub Tarifen profitieren. Solltest du jedoch die kostenlose Tarifoption weiterhin auf AGB-widrige Art nutzen, werden wir von unserem Recht der fristlosen Kündigung Gebrauch machen.

Besten Dank für dein Verständnis & Viele Grüße
Dein netzclub Team

* Das Datenvolumen darf ausschließlich mit einem Mobiltelefon, nicht jedoch mit einem ans Mobiltelefon oder sonst angeschlossenen oder drahtlos verbundenen Computer genutzt werden

My translation:

Dear netzclubber,

Unfortunately, we have detected that you are not using your Mobile-Flat-Tariff in a mobile telephone. Herewith we advise you that according to our contract terms and conditions (§ 6.1d and 6.3d) the use of the sim card in a Netbook, Surfstick, USB-Modem or similar device is prohibited.

You can continue to use your netzclub SIM card in a mobile phone and profit from the cheap netzclub tariff. However, should you once again use the free tariff option in a form contrary to our terms and conditions, we will shall be within our rights to terminate your contract immediately.

Greetings and thank you for your understanding,
Your netzclub Team

I was referring to the last text advertisment, which came from Sportage and didn't contain any personal reference or ID (see: NetzClub: Marken zahlen deine Flat - Telefon-Treff). This might have been an error anyway. However according to article 5.1a of their T&Cs Netzclub requires customers to use SMS-, MMS- and WAP-capable phones - perhaps they will start analysing the ad visits one day and then ignore visits from desktop browsers.

Netzclub sms-ad test
 

Okay, if you wish, you can test another Netzclub link. Netzclub will send out an sms-ad for zaOza. The format of the ad-link is:

https://m.netzclub.net/X_X_X_XXX.html?src=ABCDEFGHIJ

This is definitely a personlized link. If you deliberately slightly mistype YOUR OWN PERSONALIZED LINK (not the false link above) in a desktop web browser, you will receive the message:

Dein Klick konnte nicht getrackt werden. Der Code ist fehlerhaft oder die Kampagne ist bereits abgelaufen.

If you type the link correctly, you can afterwards check that it is "geklickt" in your online netzclub account history.

:)

Questions about netzclub sponsored cards
 

Hello,

I'm french and I going to germany this summer, for three month.
Thanks to this forum I have already learnt à lot of things about the netzclub sponsored cards but I have a few more questions. I don't speak german so it is quite difficult for me to find the answers.

I know that, with a netzclub prepaid card, if I want to call France, from Germany, it will cost me 11 cents (or 29 cents if I call a mobile phone).
But is it free for the person I call?
And what if I'am called from abroad? Would it cost me something?

I also would like to know if It is possible to have 2 sponsored offers at the same time, for example the sponsored phone and the sponsored surf.

Thank you.

Yes, it's free for the person you call.

No, it's free for you to pick up any call within Germany.

No, you can't.

Ok, thank you very much.

Netzclub new prices
 

Netzclub has updated its prices, and now they're the same as those for Fonic (9 cents/min, including to Europe and North America). The "sponsored surf" option has been reduced to 100 free megabytes per month, with a "pro" option of up to 300 MB for a 5 euro fee (in addition to clicking on an ad).

https://www.netzclub.net/sponsored_surf_basic.html

Still interesting offer, and still frustrated I can't get it from abroad :P

additional information:

- All existing customers can keep their old tariffs.

- Users with the surf-flat tariff have to topup their card before the end of the month with at least 5 euro to keep the 200 MB included traffic.

- all existing customers also call and SMS for 9 ct now instead of 11ct

- the 100 minutes tariff can add the 300 MB data flat for 5 euro, which makes this a very interesting tariff combo: 100 min + 300 MB = 5 Euro :-) (now i bite myself that i didnt order the 100 minute card last week as i actually planned but forgot it...grrr).

Chris

Do you know if you need to top up with at least 5 EUR NOW or it's enough if you did it already some time ago and you have a balance of over 5 EUR now (and in fact had for most of the time)?

You have to recharge between June 15th and July 30th in order to keep your unthrottled data allowance of 200MB. Earlier top ups are not considered.

netzclub top ups
 

You can make a netzclub top up with any amount that you wish to retain the old 200MB tariff. Read the answer to the question: "Wie lade ich per Überweisung Guthaben auf?" in the netzclub FAQ list for more details about how to make bank payments.

https://www.netzclub.net/faq.5.html

Approximately one week after a bank payment (Überweisung) has been made, Netclub will automatically send a top up confirmation SMS with the new credit balance.

How long would the SIM stay alive for low use, visiting maybe 3 or 4 times a year? Would it help to switch it on abroad from time to time and read the adverts via a wi-fi connection?

Maintaining a netzclub account
 

Credit remains available for an unlimited period, according to the FAQ answer to the question: "Wie lange ist das aufgeladene Guthaben für die Nutzung verfügbar?" - How long does the top up credit last?

https://www.netzclub.net/faq.5.html

To keep your free data allowance active, you need to check and react to the netzclub SMS adverts. You will receive these free, wherever you are in the world. You can also check for the SMS adverts online by looking at your netzclub account history (here you can see a complete list of sent adverts and have the last one resent to your mobile phone).

While you can generally recharge any amount by bank transfer, you have to top up at least € 5 to keep the old tariff. That's at least what they've repeatedly stated on their Facebook page (see attached screenshot).

As some of you may consider recharging their netzclub SIM by international bank transfer here are their bank details:

recipient: Netzclub
IBAN: DE52700202700654754055
bank: HypoVereinsbank München
reference: [just your netzclub phone number, e.g. 017612345678]

Successful top ups
 

How many of their customers are going to read their facebook page? In the end, I guess they will honour the text of their original upgrade offer:

Einmaliges Angebot für dich: Sichere dir weiterhin deine kostenfreie Handy-Internet-Flat1 (200 MB)

Wie geht das? Lade bis zum 31.07.2011 einmalig Guthaben auf und du kannst weiterhin Monat für Monat kostenfrei deine Handy-Internet-Flat nutzen. Das Guthaben kannst du selbstverständlich wie gewohnt z. B. zum Telefonieren und Simsen nutzen.

Deine Vorteile im Überblick:

* 9 Cent Min/SMS telefonieren
* Kostenfreie 200 MB Handy-Internet-Flat
* Bei Guthabenaufladung bis 31.07.2011

Minimum top-up required to retain old data tariff
 

Inquisitor was correct: Netzclub are sending their customers an SMS message confirming that a top-up of at least 5 Euro is required to retain the old data tariff.