Congstar - cheapest data prepaid in Germany?
 

I think I have found a very interesting prepaid solution for mobile data in Germany.

Congstar now has a Tagesflat package for €0,99 with 200MB limit. Seems to be the very cheapest in the market now, also using the T-Mobile network (better than E-Plus that MedionMobile & co offer) and they don't throttle the speed.


Their site mentions a long list of distributors which should sell the starter packages:

- Amazon.de - Onlinehandel
- combi-Märkte
- dm Drogeriemärkte
- real-Märkte
- Rossmann Drogeriemärkte
- Müller Drogeriemärkte
- extra/REWE-Märkte
- Kaufhof-Warenhäuser
- Kloppenburg Drogeriemärkte
- Edeka Minden/NP-Märkte
- Metro Cash & Carry
- Kaufland-Warenhäuser
- Ringfoto- Händler
- Woolworth-Warenhäuser
- Praktiker Baumärkten
- an vielen Kiosken,
 erkennbar am congstar Aufkleber

But I wouldn't just assume all of them actually sell it. For example, in REWE I have only seen their own brand (Ja! Mobil) and no sign of Congstar...

It is not bad, but also it's a strange offer

You can use it for 99ct/day, but only up to a MONTHLY volume of 200MB !!!!
After having reached these 200MB the speed will be throttled to max 64kBit/s download and 16kBit/s upload. Happy browsing!

congstar Prepaid Surf Tagesflat
Tagesflat für mobiles Surfen.

Günstige Surf Tagesflat für 99 Cent/Nutzungstag
HSDPA-Speed mit max. 7,2 Mbit/s bis 200 MB/Monat
Surf Tagesflat nur zahlen, wenn man online ist
Täglich flexibel zu- und abbuchen
Beste D-Netz-Qualität
congstar Prepaid Surf Tagesflat + 0,99 €/Nutzungstag

Besides this volume-based throttling to 64 KBit/s there is a general throttling to 1.8 MBit/s down and 192 KBit/s up for all those prepaid discounters on the T-Mobile network (Congstar, Penny mobil, Ja! mobil etc.) and they block VoIP, which according to some forum postings also affects Skype.

Little update: I have bought myself a Congstar and tested it on my 4-day trip to Berlin a few weeks ago. I really have nothing to complain about, the billing is correct: €0,99/day. They have a good working online self-service. I didn't really meter my usage whether or not I went over the 200MB, but I didn't notice any speed decrease or anything.

hello, everyone

can someone describe all required steps to-do to get this card running, please?

1) which start package to buy? What exactly is it called in the shop?

2) how to choose the right option (i.e. 3 Gb / months, etc)

3) how exactly to register and activate?

4) how to top up for 1st month and later (2nd, 3rd)


Note - i'm in Germany for 3 months only. No bank account, no EC card, can pay cash only, do not speak German, etc

thank you in advance
Dm

buy a starter package in any shop listed on their website. They have packs with SIM only, together with a cheap phone or a cheap USB data stick.

register the card on www.congstar.de/freischalten
a help video is here
congstar Prepaid

log on to the customer service page and follow the instructions to book a package:
[HOW TO] Postpaid Optionen (z.B. Surf Flat Option 500, SMS Flat Option) hinzubuchen - Postpaid - congstar Support Forum

unfortunately all pages and info is in german, but maybe someone local can help you.

Without german bank account you can top up by buying the scratch cards in any shop that sells Congstar cards (Or use original T-Mobile Xtra cash-cards that are sold nearly everywhere). There is a store locator online:
Aufladefinder.congstar.de

thank you very much for detail explanation.

one thing confuses me

> buy a starter package ... They have packs with ... a cheap USB data stick.

did you mean a usb modem?
Not sure why do i need a usb datastick from them ... :-)

please clarify

thanks

Yes, he means a USB modem. If you don't need it, buy a sim only.

OK, got it, thanks.

Last question [ i promise :-) ]

does starter pack what includes USB modem come with some per-paid amount, or balance is 0.0 ?

In other words
if i buy this usb modem starter pack and would like to go for 3 gig option (surf flat 19.90 / month) - then do i have to buy scratch cards for 20.00 or for 10.00 or 15.00 ?

thnaks

The regular starter packs have 10 Euro credit when you buy them. Also the one with USB-Modem.

ok, in this case i need a top up voucher for another 10.00 and that's it.

Thanks


by the way - how can i spend remaining 0.10 / month? :-D

by making a 1 minute phone call or sending one text message ;)

hi, guys

never realised that finding the correct starter pack (with the usb modem) from Congstar would be such a pain. I have visited about 11 or 12 shops from the list (can do it during my lunch time and 1-1.5 hours after work only) and none of them had it in stock. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr .....

Started thinking about alternative solutions. Options I have:
O2 coverage is not perfect, but it's OK in the apartment i rent. By the way i have 1 year old O2 usb modem (boutght in Germany as a starter pack. Used it for 1 month. Subscription expired 5 or 6 months ago.

Can i just buy O2 prepaid mini sim card, register it and use it with the old modem? Simply are o2 usb modems locked to O2 provider or to it's particular O2 sim card (one lad in a shop told me this, could be rubbish, do not know).

Please advise
Thanks

hm, i saw the internet stick in 2 shops here on the weekend (Rossman, DM), must be bad luck :-(

I dont know if these usb modems have SIM-Lock or not. Maybe you can ask at the shop if they can give you any o2 card to try if the card will be accepted (when you take your laptop with you)...

@Dm
Why the hell do you want to buy a new stick when you have one? Assuming that your O2 stick is Huawei-made, please read this post: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/mobi...odems-web.html

Also Congstar is quite expensive. Funnily Congstar offer the 3GB pack for only € 15/month under the brand of "ja! mobil" (sold a Rewe supermarkets) and "Penny mobil" (sold in Penny supermarkets). Just pop into a nearby Rewe or Penny supermarket, buy the ordinary "ja" or "Penny" SIM card and choose the "data tariff" while activating it online. After the SIM has been activated and you have topped up your credit, you can activate the 3GB pack as described for Congstar earlier in this thread (i.e. online in their customer portal).
For recharging Congstar, ja and Penny SIMs you may also use regular T-Mobile "Xtra" top up vouchers that are easier to get than the branded ones.

wow,
i'll try to unlock my modem tonight :-)

thanks!

btw, one more newbie question, please

when you say "buy ordinary Ja!" SIM card - did you mean that it comes in a usual old fashion size (classics GSM) and i'll have to cut some plastic to get it fit to the unlocked (hopefully!) ex-O2-usb-modem?

thanks again

[ added ]

just checked my old records - my modem is ZTE (MF190) :-(
no unlocking ... :weep:

No, those credit card-sized SIM cards ceased some 15 years ago. By "ordinary" I mean that there's no special SIM card for data usage - you just need to buy the regular "ja!" SIM and during activation you need to select the "data" tariff among the three variants ("partner", "easy", "data", ja! mobil).

hi again,

activation of Ja! was OK
Now confused about the way to top up ... I have 15 euros voucher (long code) from Rewe shop - but can't on Ja!Congstar web-site (when i log in) where to enter the bloody code :-)

Note: with blau i can do it online

Q: do i have to top up via phone only (*100*code#), or i'm missing something about top up option online

thanks

more updates:

Ja! activaton (to default mobile data plan) - done (24 hours)

top up (via phone only!) - done (approx 5+ hours before you see credit online)

now trying to activate mobile data flat rate plan (15 / month for 3 Gb) online.
Note says that condition to switch is that you have enough credit on your account/card (20 euros now, 5 part of the package, 15 top up). When press OK button - nothing happens.

Initial opinion about Ja! - saying politely ... could be better ...
Not politely <CENSORED>

just to avoid confusion - Ja! activation and online access uses Congstar web-site, BUT in it's own area. Congstar prepaid user login/activation and Ja! are different

You can submit those USSD codes from your computer if you run an appropriate dashboard like mwconn or MDMA or if you use a modified version of Mobile Partner with USSD activated (Mobile Partner supports USSD codes but the plugin is hidden by default).

The customer portal does not display your balance in realtime. Check credit by *100# for realtime information.

Try another browser.

wow. It's all working ;-)

details - good advise about changing browser (didn't work correctly with Chrome)

APN should be set to same value as for any t-mobile internet device internet.t-mobile
login and password fields to be left empty

modem unlocking works for tchibo modem

thank you very much!

by the way - it looks like T-Mobile(congsar/Ja!) is blocking Skype.

Skype login is OK, chats are OK, but every time i start a conversation ... in 20-30 seconds half of frames are missing and we can not hear each other ...
Tried to take laptop far away from the building, tried some other places, parks, etc - same result. Even skype test doesn't work (same issues).

Playing with incomming port number (80/443) doesn't help...

Ehhhhhhh ....

In T-Mobile network VoIP usage is prohibited (if you dont buy a special VoIP package). I dont know if they scan the data and actively disturb the connection.

Quote: "VoIP, BlackBerry-Nutzung, Peer-to-Peer, Instant Messaging sind nicht Gegenstand des Vertrages." - Voip, ...., are not part of the contract

T-Mobile and Vodafone both block Skype and other VoIP services by actively dropping or delaying packets. E-Plus and O2 both allow Skype and VoIP, however given E-Plus' frequent network congestions O2 (including Lidl and Fonic) is the only reliable option for mobile Skype and VoIP in Germany.

Regarding inquisitors post - you can sign up for a free account at sipgate.de, they deliver a free VPN tunnel app together with their service which will enable you to use VoIP also on T-Mobile/Vodafone. (sipgate team - Hilfe)

sounds interesting ...
I'll post over here a result of trying it via VPN channel
Just need to go through sipgate.de terms, not sure why do they do it absolutely for free ... ??? what's the trick? :-)

thanks, guys, your assistance is much appreciated!

just found an article with a similar advise
What to Do if Skype is Blocked Where You Travel (and Why We Should Care) | almost fearlessalmost fearless

yes, its absolutely free as long as you dont use outgoing calls. I use that for about 10 years already and is the most reliable VoIP service we have. They also have a UK branch www.sipgate.co.uk but on the UK website i didnt found the VPN stuff.

Chris

there is no VPN mentioning on the British site :-)

My assumption is that they preconfigure by default VPN link from customer PC to their server and their VOIP s/w uses this link only, correct?

If correct then i have a newbie question (sorry, never tried it before!) - how would i tell skype app to use VPN link rather than 3G link what is still active.
Thanks

just got an answer. Nope, my assumption is wrong

************************************************** ****************************
NOTE: Please do not alter the subject of this email when answering
otherwise we cannot assure proper handling of your request / issue.
************************************************** ****************************

Hello,

Thanks for your mail.

We do not use VPNs and the service is unfoturnately blocked occasionally by some
mobile networks.

If there is anything else we can help you with, do not hesitate to get in touch
with our support again. Thank you!

Best regards,

James


PS: We value your feedback! Please take a moment to share your experience with us:
blah blah
************************************************** ****************************
Help-Centre (basic): http://www.sipgate.co.uk/faq
Help-Centre (team): Help
Twitter: sipgate UK (sipgateUK) on Twitter
************************************************** ****************************

16/10/2012 15:01 - somenewbieuser@gmx.net:

>
>
> Dear Sir/Madam
>
> I'm thninking about becoming your customer.
>
> Could you advise - do you use some kind of VPN from my PC to your server, and the
> VOIP link will be going via this VPN link?
>
> Simply ocassionally i travel and use 3G providers who block variety of VOIP
> traffic. If you just stream VOIP via the link (3G) then it's not gong to work ...
>
> please advise
>
> Thanks

you need to setup the VPN for all internet traffic on your phone or windows PC. you can google for instructions on how to do that (i dont know which OS you are using)... Chris

forgive my newbie-ness, but VPN from my PC to ... whom?
the sipgate does NOT (at least UK branch) provide VPN service for voip customers ...


i'll check free VPN providers mentioned in the article, or it might be much simplier to switch to alternative 3G provider whos coverage is not as good as t-mobile, however there are no voip restrictions ..

i was referring to the VPN from sipgate.de
i dont think there will be a problem signing up from them.

Otherwise you can use any free VPN service like Simply the Best Free VPN | JustFreeVPN.com


For VoIP you can use o2 or eplus (but eplus has so low data rates that you will have about the same result)...

sipgate UK and DE both run on the same servers located in Germany and seem even to share the same software platform as you cannot register to the British service using a username that has already been taken on their German service. That's why I believe should even work with a British account, despite the VPN service is undocumented for UK customers.

end of the story (2 weeks left in Germany):
kind of advise for any shot-term visitor

go to Saturn shop
get O2 modem pack comes with O2 sim card for i-net
ask them to do registration for you
buy vouchers at their cashier
top up via modem or by your phone (easier option)
plug modem
enjoy

Everything else .... will cost you some time to sort out. Do not waste your time ... pay a bit extra for the service ...

Bye all, it was my pleasure :-)