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

[Motel75]

Fonic seems to be adding other retailers. They have prominent ads and SIM sales in the Spiele Max toy stores (although not yet in Smyk stores, even though they own Spiele Max).

[siskiou]

So, I'm heading over to Germany again this summer and will also spend about two months in Britain.

What are the current best deals for prepaid internet flat rates and are there any companies that let you use the same sim in both countries for a reasonable rate?

I'm currently looking at unlocked surf sticks on ebay, but haven't bought one yet.

[inquisitor]

If you'll be using data for more than 8 days per month, Tchibo's monthly flatrate costing € 20 for 30 days is still the most competitive offer. Otherwise Fonic's daily flatrate (€ 2.50/day) with a price cap of € 25 per month is also an interesting option, especially since Fonic have very cheap international rates.
Details on both are available at Germany - Prepaid Wireless Internet Access

Since data roaming is still exorbitantly expensive, you'll need to pick a separate SIM for the UK.

Regarding 3G modems, you should go for one from Huawei, as from my experience they are the best and easiest to handle, especially when it comes to unlocking or debranding. What you should consider is, that only few sticks support the major European 3G band (2100 MHz) and AT&Ts 3G bands (850 & 1900 MHz). So if you want to use the device back in the Staates, your choice is limited to the Huawei E160 (available at some Tchibo stores, while others have already been restocked with the newer E1550, which unfortunately doesn't support American 3G bands like the E160G) or the E1762 sold in Germany as "Bild Mobil Speedstick" for € 50 (available only online), where the latter is much faster (7,2 MBit/s downstream vs. 3,6 MBit/s and 5,76 MBit/s upstream vs. 0,4 MBit/ts).

[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.