Lidl

[inquisitor]

Interestingly allthough my Lidl SIM has been activated only on September 4th, I have already received six bonuses from the referal program during the past two weeks. I wonder if that limitation of five bonuses per month is actually being enforced.

[Standroid43]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

Interestingly allthough my Lidl SIM has been activated only on September 4th, I have already received six bonuses from the referal program during the past two weeks. I wonder if that limitation of five bonuses per month is actually being enforced.

I wonder too? Can you confirm that my referal is among those credited to your account? The last four digits of my new Lidl-mobile number is ...5494. I ask because the 5 Euro bonus has not been credited to my account. Perhaps they did cut you off!

That extra 5 Euro Guthaben would have been useful on the first day of my planned trip. I will be arriving with bike cases and luggage and do not look forward to finding a Lidl on my first day.

On the other hand, if someone would be so kind as to purchase a 20 Euro Aufladebon at their local Lidl and email me the Aufladebonnummer, I could reimburse them via PayPal and would be happy to add a little for their trouble - HINT, HINT!

Stan

[Motel75]

Somewhat relatedly, I've been trying to port a number from a rarely-used Mobilcom Vodafone card to one of my new Lidl ones. In contrast to "real" Vodafone, which released the number almost immediately, Mobilcom-Debitel (as it now is) has ignored the Verzichtserklärung (notification form), which I faxed to them four times (each 3-4 days apart), and has also ignored contact via their online customer service contact form. Calling them didn't help either - all they did was to send me a new Verzichtserklärung in the post. It's like they don't want to let me go, even though I'm giving them 30 euro for essentially nothing.

[wco81]

Looking for a 1-week stay in Munich.

Is this the best option for prepaid data? Looks like the 8.99 Euro Handy Internet Flatrate which throttles after 500 MB?

Or maybe the 24h-Flatrate if you anticipate heavy use (not just on mobile phones but in place of hotel Wifi, for instance)?

Are Lidl stores common in Munich? Do they just sell the SIMs or will they activate it for you at the stores? Can they activate the special data tariff plans too

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by wco81

Is this the best option for prepaid data? Looks like the 8.99 Euro Handy Internet Flatrate which throttles after 500 MB?

Blau.de and simyo.de sell 1GB valid for a month for € 9.90, but they are both on the eplus network, which is generally throttled to 1 MBit/s and suffers from regular congestions resulting in modem-like througput. A network review by German computer magazine chip.de from September 2011 confirmed once more, that eplus has the worst network when it comes to data:

© CHIP Xonio Online GmbH 2011

If you want a more reliable network with better 3G coverange and much higher average throughput (usually 2-3 MBit/s download), Lidl (based on the O2 network) is the cheapest alternative. Since O2 is based in Munich local coverage is exceptionally well with most downtown basestations already supporting HSPA+ (with up to 28.8 MBit/s).

Or maybe the 24h-Flatrate if you anticipate heavy use (not just on mobile phones but in place of hotel Wifi, for instance)?

500MB are not much for a week if you tether your laptop. For my purposes I usually reckon with 200MB/day when I use my laptop. Notice that once you have subscribed to one of Lidl's monthly flatrates you cannot switch to any other data tariff during the 30-day billing period. So if you consume those 500MB you will be trapped with throttled bandwidth (64 KBit/s) for the rest of your stay.

Are Lidl stores common in Munich?

There are about 40: Lidl near Munich, Germany - Google Maps

Do they just sell the SIMs or will they activate it for you at the stores?

They just sell the SIM on the checkout counter and acutally don't have the slightest idea what it's for. You can only activate your SIM online, by phone or by sending the included registration form by fax or snail mail.

Can they activate the special data tariff plans too

No, you can only do that online, by phone or by SMS.

As I've done to half a dozen other PPGSM users before, I would also offer you to send you a Lidl SIM at cost (€ 9.95 for the SIM + € 2.80 for insured shipping + € 1 PayPal fees = € 13.75).
Your advantage would be that I could tell you your Lidl phone number and the activation code already tomorrow. Then you could not only give people your German number before leaving, but you could activate your SIM immediately and you will perhaps receive your bonus credit from the customer referal program (€ 5) before arrival in Germany (it may take up to three weeks for the bonus to be accredited) and you could also activate your desired data option before leaving the US (activation or change of data options may take up to 24 hours).
However despite Deutsche Post's promise to deliver letters to North America in less than five days, it recently took almost three weeks for two letters sent to Canada to arrive. So we should have enough slack time for delivery. Alternatively I could send the SIM to the German address you'll be staying at in advance, which would be € 0.20 cheaper for shipping.

[wco81]

Thanks for the rundown.

This would be for early February but I don't know for sure that I'll be going. Or I might go elsewhere.

[inquisitor]

February is rather traveling time for the Southern hemisphere. I'm sure they have a country with cheap prepaid internet rates there, too.

[wco81]

That's true, but airfares to Latin America or Australia are rather dear compared to airfares to Europe.

I've visited Spain around this time of the year and that may be where I end up going. But I've also been to Austria and Switzerland this time of the year too.

I can deal with the cold weather as long as it's not raining. Moderate snow is easier to deal with than rain too. Went to Berlin in July a few years ago. It got cold and windy during my stay.

[RobF]

The prepaid SIMs from Lidl do look good, including for mobile surfing with a laptop (e.g. their Internet flatrate offering 5 GB/month for €15) but there may be an even better deal available for that from Tchibo who use the O2 net as well.

Last week I bought a Tchibo mobil Internet-Stick at a Tchibo shop for €19,90. Included in the package was a Huawei E173u-1 USB 3G-modem with locked SIM card plus one month of free Internet surfing. I activated the SIM online, and on the form there, under "Zusatz-Optionen", I had the option of either checking their L or their XL plan, with the first month of use being free for either option. The XL option offers unlimited surfing with a cap of 5 GB/month for high-speed access, for €20/mo (L provides 500 MB for . I checked the XL option and indeed wound up with an available data volume of 5120 MB for the first month. Since that's a €20 value, I essentially got the surf stick for free.

Since there doesn't seem to be any problem with unlocking the Tchibo SIM card, I may want to do that, and from the second month on use a Lidl card for their 5GB surfing plan for €15, or else stay with Tchibo, if that's more convenient and they offer better terms for the €5/mo extra.

The Tchibo stick supports VoIP and video telephony with Skype. Does the Lidl plan support that as well?

I have to say though, there was some kind of glitch with this stick/SIM, when I tried to use it in Windows XP as well as in Linux - I lost Internet access, and I got out of this hole only by exchanging the stick in the store. l'll post that story here in the Germany forum, under the title "Huawei E175 modem from Tchibo/O2 - install in Win & Linux; lost Internet." Perhaps one of you can shed some light on what might have happened there.

[inquisitor]

Tchibo is interesting if you need a UMTS-stick. Otherwise Lidl is cheaper (5GB cost € 15 instead of € 20 while giving absolutely the same service including VoIP- and Skype-allowance) and more flexible due to the more data options. Further Lidl has way better calling rates and so is also attractive for voice calling, especially for foreign visitors who might want to call home.