Cheap prepaid Internet for short stay in Germany? [merged]

[siskiou]

I'm going to be in Germany for a week in June and again for a week in August.
In between, I'll be in Britain.
What do you think of a Simyo sim, with 1GB for 9.95 Euro?
Thanks for mentioning what surf sticks to look for!
So far, I haven't needed one in the US, but you'll never know...

[siskiou]

I picked up an unlocked usb stick (Novatel MC950D) and a couple of sim cards for the UK so far.
Have not received the modem yet, but wonder what kind of connection manager I should use, and how to go about activating the sim cards.
Do I activate via cell phone (I have an old, unlocked one I'll be taking along), or can it be done via the netbook and software.
Same with adding more credit to the cards, if needed. Can that be done via software and credit card? Do I need to register with the company the cards are from (3 and T-mobile in the UK)?
Thanks in advance for any info!

[inquisitor]

simyo uses the eplus network which has very limited HSDPA-coverage and suffers from regular congestions. Besides network quality simyo is only available online and they ship only to German adresses, which might be a problem for you.
So you might prefer Fonic, which is widely available through retailers and also offers cheap international calling rates.
As I've never had any Novatel hardware, I can't give you any advise on your stick, but I would always prefer the original dashboard from the manufacturer.

P.S.: I think the last posting is kind of misplaced in this thread.

[siskiou]

Thanks and sorry for the content not related to the thread!
I reposted in another thread, hopefully more suited to my question.

[Forkedman]

I've recently purchased a Tchibo stick (20eu at the moment with the 500mb free) and I want to upgrade to the flat rate plan.

Now, these questions might seem stupid but I can't read German and can only speak a very little, so the going is slow when it comes to finding information. I hope you'll all forgive me.

Now, as I understand it, to upgrade to the new plan I need to buy credit (either Tchibo(from the store) or O2 (from all over the place)) and apply this to my account/phone number. Is it possible for me to add the credit via the web, even if I buy it in a store?

I ask this because at the moment I don't have a phone, nor do I intend on buying one while I'm in Germany unless I must.

I've noticed that the stick software has SMS features, however when I tried to activate the free 500mb plan all my SMS bounced back or didn't send(I'm not sure which). So I'm concerned that I won't be able to activate the credit via the SMS featues on the stick and with my very poor german and lack of a mobile(handy) it's a hassle to activate anything over the phone.

So, I guess I'm asking what my options are here and how I would best go about upgrading to the flatrate.

And I'm sorry if this post is a mess, it's 4am and I'm jet lagged and really not thinking that clearly. Maybe I've missed something really obvious.

Thanks.

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by Forkedman

I've recently purchased a Tchibo stick (20eu at the moment with the 500mb free) and I want to upgrade to the flat rate plan.

I doubt you can switch to the "Internet-Flatrate XL" during the first month, in which the free "Internet-Flatrate L" is pre-activated. You could try sending an SMS with "STOP DATENFLAT2" to 7777 in order to request cancelation of the current "Internet-Flatrate L". Shortly later you should receive a message requesting your confirmation by sending "ENDE DATENFLAT2" to 7777.
After receiving the final confirmation for your cancelation, send "START DATENFLAT" to 7777 and you will again be asked by another SMS to confirm subscription of the "Internet-Flatrate XL" by sending "JA DATENFLAT" to 7777.

Now, as I understand it, to upgrade to the new plan I need to buy credit (either Tchibo(from the store) or O2 (from all over the place)) and apply this to my account/phone number. Is it possible for me to add the credit via the web, even if I buy it in a store?

At least without a German, Austrian, Swiss or Dutch credit card you can't purchase recharge vouchers online. But O2 vouchers are sold absolutely everywhere.

I ask this because at the moment I don't have a phone, nor do I intend on buying one while I'm in Germany unless I must.

You don't need a phone to manage your credit. If you're using Tchibo's version of Mobile Partner, there should be a button called "Guthaben verwalten", through which you can check your credit ("Guthabenabfrage") or redeem a voucher code ("Guthabenkarte aufladen").

I've noticed that the stick software has SMS features, however when I tried to activate the free 500mb plan all my SMS bounced back or didn't send(I'm not sure which).

Did you receive any error message?

So I'm concerned that I won't be able to activate the credit via the SMS featues on the stick and with my very poor german and lack of a mobile(handy) it's a hassle to activate anything over the phone.

So, I guess I'm asking what my options are here and how I would best go about upgrading to the flatrate.

Beyond SMS and customer care, there's also a USSD-menu (*104#), through which you can manage your tariff options. In order to send USSD-commands with your USB stick, you'll need to download MDMA, fully close Mobile Partner (otherwise MDMA won't work) and then run MDMA, which allows sending USSD commands (*104#).

[Forkedman]

Thank you for the swift response. I'll give the program you suggested a go.

As for the SMS's, it attempts to send them - the bar moves slowly across, then an error message flashes up so quickly I can't make it out (and wouldn't be able to even if it were in english) and the next message goes to the postausgang folder with a red exclamation point beside it.

[Lucy]

I went to Germany last year for a month. You (Inquisitor) advised me to get a Tchibo for my laptop and Fonic as prepaid GSM mobile phone. (The issue was good service at the cheapest possible price.) Very good advice.

We are going in July for another month. Now, after a bit of checking on this site, I think I should get a second Tchibo (my travel partner and I were switching the device between our 2 computers and decided this year to splurge). So we need to buy a month's connect time for the old Tchibo and will get a month's time with the new one. Do you agree that the new device should be a Tchibo?

On the cell phone, the only problem with Fonic was finding a place to get a more-minutes card. Nobody had them. I think we didn't understand it didn't have to be called "Fonic" but could be the company that runs the network it uses. Is that right?

When we arrive in Germany, our numbers will have been used last 11 months before. Are they still good? Do we just buy minutes? (Where?) or do you now advise us to get a vendor other than Fonic? It doesn't matter if we change phone numbers.

We will be traveling in Croatia and Italy and would like to be able to do roaming with the mobile phones.

Thanks for your very wise help!

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by Lucy

We are going in July for another month. Now, after a bit of checking on this site, I think I should get a second Tchibo (my travel partner and I were switching the device between our 2 computers and decided this year to splurge). So we need to buy a month's connect time for the old Tchibo and will get a month's time with the new one. Do you agree that the new device should be a Tchibo?

Generally you could also buy a 3G/WiFi-router, in which you would plug in your Tchibo stick and then share it's internet connection through WiFi with all your computers. But since these routers run at € 50 (e.g. Edimax 3G-6200n), while Tchibo currently sell their "Internet Stick" for just € 19.95 including one month of free internet access, a second stick from Tchibo would be cheaper and more flexible. Unforunately this promotional offer includes just the "Internet Flatrate L" (€ 9.95/month), which is being throttled after exceeding 500MB of data transfered, instead of the "Internet Flatrate XL" (€ 19.95/month) with an allowance of 5000MB before throttling. And I'm not sure if you can somehow switch to the "Internet Flatrate XL" during the first month, in which the "Internet Flatrate L" will already be activated automatically.

Tchibo SIMs remain active for 12 months after your last recharge (not "use"!), so the SIM of your old stick is probably approaching it's deadline. If it has already been deactivated you will notice this by the modem not registering to the network. In this case you would need to buy a new Tchibo SIM, which currently costs € 1.
In order to (re-)subscribe to the data flatrate you need to buy a top up voucher (for Tchibo you can also buy vouchers from O2, which are widely available), redeem that voucher so you have enough credit (at least € 20) and order the "Internet Flatrate XL" as described at Germany - Tchibo - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

On the cell phone, the only problem with Fonic was finding a place to get a more-minutes card. Nobody had them. I think we didn't understand it didn't have to be called "Fonic" but could be the company that runs the network it uses. Is that right?

While Tchibo can be topped up with vouchers from the underlying network (O2), Fonic accept only their own vouchers, which are a bit more difficult to get. You can search for a dealer at http://www.fonic.de/html/filialfinder.html
But see the "where to buy" section at http://prepaid-wireless-internet-acc...ermany+-+Fonic as some dealers carry only new SIM cards but no topup vouchers.

When we arrive in Germany, our numbers will have been used last 11 months before. Are they still good?

As mentioned above your Tchibo SIM is close to expiry, but your Fonic SIMs should be fine, except for the remaining credit which has been blocked 6 months after your last recharge, but which can be released by adding credit. That also implies that as your credit with Fonic is temporarily frozen you can't place outgoing calls as long as you don't recharge your SIMs.

Do we just buy minutes?

You don't buy minutes, but credit in €, from which the charges for all your usage will be deducted. You can check your remaining credit by entering *101# [pick up] into your phone, after which it should display the corresponding amount. That should actually work even from the US if the Fonic SIM is put into a tri- or quadband phone supporting US frequencies, so it can find an American network for roaming.

(Where?)

Germany - Fonic - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

or do you now advise us to get a vendor other than Fonic? It doesn't matter if we change phone numbers.

No, Fonic is still great value. Their tariffs for oversea calls have not been undercut by other operators yet.

We will be traveling in Croatia and Italy and would like to be able to do roaming with the mobile phones.

Roaming with Fonic will work in whole Europe by default. But be aware, that Croatia is not part of the EU and so the EU cap for roaming fees does not apply when roaming there.

In Italy you will be charged:
€ 0,46/min for calls within the EU,
€ 1,29/min for calls to the US,
€ 0,17/min for incoming calls,
€ 0,13 for text messages within the EU and
€ 0,39 for text messages to the rest of the world.

In Croatia tarrifs are
€ 1,29/min for calls to the EU,
€ 1,49/min for calls to the US,
€ 0,69/min for incoming calls and
€ 0,39 for all text messages

And don't even think about using data abroad - a single Megabyte would cost € 5 in Italy and € 14 in Croatia, no matter if you use Tchibo or Fonic.

So if you guys call each other in Italy the total price per minute would be € 0,46 + € 0,17 = € 0,63/min and in Croatia € 1,29 + 0,69 = € 1,98/min. If you plan to talk longer than 5 mnutes to each other in Croatia, better look for local SIMs!

[Lucy]

In Italy you will be charged:
€ 0,46/min for calls within the EU,

IS THIS the same to landlines and mobile?

In Croatia tariffs are
€ 1,29/min for calls to the EU,

WHAT about internally within Croatia? Same as the EU? Same to landlines and mobiles?

Does Fonic have these tariffs posted? (Didn't see it on Fonic's page).