German FKK Clubs - Lounge and chat area

[Banana Boi]

What happened to Pussyliccker? Is he still around?

[Polyamorist]

+1. Yes, many thanks Bfsie. It's a very useful info to be now possible to activate a SIM card at Deutsche Post offices. Last time I had to go thru a really painful online video call process.

Ya lahwy, being interviewed by the State just to get a sim was waaay OTT. For a while Germany was even on the dreaded SIM greylist with the likes of Iran and North Korea. Inshallah they will stay out of that hole to nowhere in the future.

[Gino02]

Bfsie. Invaluable info that can register a sim at Deutsche Post. I came unstuck last year just after the new law and couldn't register a sim online or in-store as I was not German resident. It is good to hear that they have sorted out this glitch.

+1. Yes, many thanks Bfsie. It's a very useful info to be now possible to activate a SIM card at Deutsche Post offices. Last time I had to go thru a really painful online video call process.

[Optimist]

Bfsie. Invaluable info that can register a sim at Deutsche Post. I came unstuck last year just after the new law and couldn't register a sim online or in-store as I was not German resident. It is good to hear that they have sorted out this glitch.

[Gino02]

KK,

I think that T-mobile is the best choice for you ...

Yeah I agree, more so given that he has to break his current Sprint contract, which Tmo will pay for, plus feels like he's not as tech savvy (not even close) as he's pussy savvy. 😂.

[Bfsie]

I think I will just switch to T-Mobile and be fully covered.

KK,

I think that T-mobile is the best choice for you if you are a heavy user, because T-mobile is a German company and started out in Germany. So, as you can imagine, it has extensive network and infrastructure here.

If you are an occasional user, German sim card like Lebara is probably better choice as Gino02 and Chongmal suggested. You can register Lebara sim card in Deutsche post (German post office) now and they only need your passport when you register it.

For example, you can buy a Proximus Pay&Go sim in Belgium for 25 e with prepaid minutes on it without showing any documents.

I think that there is a new EU law effective in July 2018, which states the owner of any new sim card in EU has to register it with its carrier before he is able to use it. I also think that prepaid sim card is still more expensive than the plans KK and Gino02 were talking about if you are a heavy user.

[Chongmal]

I think I am even more confused now than before

However T-Mobile has been suggested to me a few times today and all by Americans who tell me the service in Germany is excellent for them and one of them is a former Sprint user. Higher speeds, faster internet and for a few extra bucks per month my usual usage I am told won't cost me what Sprint is gauging me for. T-Mobile will buy my contract out as well and probably toss me some perks or at least the first year ' give the service away. ' I also had an issue with Sprint trying to call the USA directly and the minute I dialed ' Call Failed' came up; I am told T-Mobile coverage in Germany is much better and that Sprint is the worst carrier to have there. I think I will just switch to T-Mobile and be fully covered.

I would like to be fully covered all over Germany except in one place.

The Zimmer

It may be worth investing in a cheaper smart phone and get a European sim. With the new EU agreement roaming costs are nothing and most have good coverage. For example, you can buy a Proximus Pay&Go sim in Belgium for 25 e with prepaid minutes on it without showing any documents. In Italy you need to show your passport since the rendition issue. Romania has some reasonable plans. If you can score a Mobile Viking sim it's decent service and you can pay as little as 5 e per month to keep it active and then load more by the app when traveling.

[Kosher Kowboy]

(2) Next best deal is T-mobile USA.
unless you pay ahead some $20 worth of plus service for 4G/LTE
International plans from other US providers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint etc are way more expensive and way worse service (coverage and speed).

I think I am even more confused now than before.

However T-Mobile has been suggested to me a few times today and all by Americans who tell me the service in Germany is excellent for them and one of them is a former Sprint user. Higher speeds, faster internet and for a few extra bucks per month my usual usage I am told won't cost me what Sprint is gauging me for. T-Mobile will buy my contract out as well and probably toss me some perks or at least the first year ' give the service away. ' I also had an issue with Sprint trying to call the USA directly and the minute I dialed ' Call Failed' came up; I am told T-Mobile coverage in Germany is much better and that Sprint is the worst carrier to have there. I think I will just switch to T-Mobile and be fully covered.

I would like to be fully covered all over Germany except in one place.

The Zimmer.

[McAdonis]

If you get that cheap unlocked international phone in Amazon (meaning you use your Sprint phone in USA, and this cheap one outside of USA)

Based on value and "bang for buck", a lot of people think Xiaomi is producing the best phones.

Xiaomi sells its equipment at prices that are only slightly above the manufacturing costs. The smartphone flagship of the manufacturer Mix 3, for example, offers similar specifications as the recently discontinued iPhone X from Apple or the Galaxy Note 9 from Samsung, but starts at the equivalent of just 417 euros (3,299 yuan). * For comparison: The iPhone X was 1.149 Euro suggested retail price, the Galaxy Note 9 costs 999 Euro.

https://www.businessinsider.de/xiaomi-ein-unternehmen-aus-china-laesst-apple-alt-aussehen-2018-11

Note that 417 EUR is for the Xiaomi's highest-end phones. I have the Redmi 6 A (110 USD on Amazon, 116 EUR Amazon DE). Unless you are playing video games, you probably won't notice a difference in performance. I have shown it to numerous people. They are amazed at the quality and speed that you can get at such a cheap price point. The Redmi 6 A has dual SIM cards so you can have a German phone number and home country phone number if you choose. I hate swapping out. I just leave them both in and disable SIMs if necessary.

(1) Best truly international (meaning you can use the same phone and plans in USA as well as in Europe) deal that I know is Google Fi (https://fi.google.com/) but make sure you get a phone that is supported by Google Fi. Their plan is $10/GB of data anywhere in the world and they have pretty good service in Germany and rest of the Europe.

I had to clear the cache a few times based on advice from customer support, but I got the Google FI SIM card to work on my Redmi 6 A which is not a "supported device". Clarifying a few things: (1) it costs $20 for unlimited phone and texts, and $10 per GB, but any data above 6 GB is free, so this means your monthly bill will be between $20-$80 regardless of how much data you use, regardless of location, and (2) if not abundantly clear from first point, Project FI has no concept of roaming, so you can use 3 GB in Japan, 2 GB in USA and 1 GB in Japan, and you always pay the same price as if you used all 6 GB in USA.

[Free Dude]

For a while I used an Aldi sim card. You need a German address to register, so just took one from an Ibis hotel I had stayed at. Never had any problems, nowadays I can use my minutes and data all over Europe without extra charge.

[Gino02]

That's interesting! I tried to get a German sim three weeks ago in Moers at T Mobile, they would not sell me one as I did not have a permanent address in Germany. It was unnecessary anyway, I was going to use it to contact girls that work out of an apartment, they won't reply to calls without identification. What requirements did Lebara have?

Yeah, big real network operators will do that. I had a similar experience in Saturn in Darmstadt and also in Dietzenbach.

Then I went to a gas station, just picked up a Lebara card, and followed their instructions. I needed to be in good WIFI to make the video call though, McDonald's free WIFI didn't work. Lebara was totally OK with my American passport as the identification. If I remember correctly, they needed two IDs, so I think I gave them my US Driver License as well. But that video call was real pain in the ass, even for me who has a pretty high threshold before my patience breaks down LOL.

Pro tips. Getting and activating a Lebara or other MVNO SIM card is not that complicated in Romania or Bulgaria. So if you can have one of your Gypsy to get an already activated SIM card for you, that maybe even simpler. I might do that for my next trip. 😁

[Downandup]

In Germany and neighboring countries, one of the best deal in Lebara SIM cards. You can get them in most gas stations for 15-20 e with 5 GB included. Then top-ups are 10 GB for 20 e or similar plans you can do using their App or in most gas stations or Rewe etc. But activating the SIM card first time is a major pain in the ass with video call with their identification center. And you must use the SIM at least once per month else they will automatically deactivate the card and you have to again go thru that painful process of activating the SIM.

That's interesting! I tried to get a German sim three weeks ago in Moers at T Mobile, they would not sell me one as I did not have a permanent address in Germany. It was unnecessary anyway, I was going to use it to contact girls that work out of an apartment, they won't reply to calls without identification. What requirements did Lebara have?

[Mursenary]

Going through the trouble of getting European sim cards and putting in your unlocked phone or a burner is the cheapest option but I find that to be a pain in the ass. Instead, I use Sprint's international high speed data service. They provide an international roaming plan with unlimited data for $25 per week. Sms is free and calls are $0. 25 per minute. I'm not sure if I had to call to set it up but now I just go to the url they sms to me every time I land in Europe.

http://intlroam.sprint.com/

This way, I still have access to all phone functionality as if I were in the States while having seemless high speed access. The only drawback I think is that the speed is throttled in certain countries but otherwise it's fast enough to watch youtube videos and I don't have to worry about data overage. In short, $25 per week added to my phone bill for easy breezy internet access.

I don't know how European phone plans work if within the EU if there is unlimited data or not so maybe this applies more to the guests from North America and Asia. I just opened my e-mail and saw my Sprint Bill (forgot to pay it last month) was not double it's usual two month price but just over triple. I get hit with whatever this shit is:

Overage: 2. 5807 GB Additional Wireless Data Roaming. Germany.

Overage: 0. 0517 GB Additional Wireless Data Roaming. Netherlands.

I set my phone to the proper settings per Sprint support. They told me a few months ago to turn all my e-mails, apps etc. Off ' auto grab' so you actually have to open the app or the email for it to pull data and turn off the notifications as well on all messenger apps; he said just turning the phone off won't prevent this ' grabbing. '.

[Gino02]

I don't know how European phone plans work if within the EU if there is unlimited data or not so maybe this applies more to the guests from North America and Asia. I just opened my e-mail and saw my Sprint Bill (forgot to pay it last month) was not double it's usual two month price but just over triple. I get hit with whatever this shit is:

Overage: 2. 5807 GB Additional Wireless Data Roaming. Germany.

Overage: 0. 0517 GB Additional Wireless Data Roaming. Netherlands.

I set my phone to the proper settings per Sprint support. They told me a few months ago to turn all my e-mails, apps etc. Off ' auto grab' so you actually have to open the app or the email for it to pull data and turn off the notifications as well on all messenger apps; he said just turning the phone off won't prevent this ' grabbing. '.

I am on average 7-12 days in Germany a month now with two very long stays planned this year. Do I need to buy a German phone like some shit burner phone and pay with minutes as you go and install the apps I need? One of the Gypsies tells me her phone is a pre-paid everything which sounds like a TracPhone type thing here where you just buy refill cards.

Sprint tried to sell me some plan that is like $120 more per month but I think they are upselling me!

If anyone knows the solution to this please feel free to make any suggestions. My SMS to folks in the states, WhatsApp, Facebook IM, AOL and Gmail as well as the internet are what I mainly use and where there is Wifi including riding on The Creampie Express and other trains I use I am on Wifi too although it switches to ' LTE' or ' 3 G' often without me noticing. Same in the hotel; Sprint tells me this is not the phone that the hotel WIfi is too many users on it will also boot folks and / or since it requires log ins if you are logged in to your laptop and phone it will boot one or the other. Perhaps he is bullshitting me on that too. He told me a SIM card won't make a difference but perhaps he is bullshitting on that too in order to sell me a new plan.

Sorry I am not technically up to date, I am still living in the Ice Age when it comes to this stuff.

In Germany and neighboring countries, one of the best deal is Lebara SIM cards. You can get their SIM card in most gas stations for 15-20 e with 5 GB data and some minutes included. Then top-up as you need, they have plans like 10 GB data and unlimited minutes for 20 e. You can top-up using their App or in most gas stations or Rewe etc. But activating any new SIM card in Germany first time is a major pain in the ass with video call with the company's identification center. And you must use the SIM at least once per month (you have to do that while your phone is physically in countries that Lebara covers) else they will automatically deactivate the card and next time you have to again go thru that painful process of activating the SIM. Most of the gypsies use Lebara or similar other SIMs as these MVNOs give way better deals compared to T-mobile, E-Plus, O2 or Vodafone, and works well in most of the Europe, particularly well in Germany, Romania, Bulgaria etc. If your phone is unlocked, you can just swap the American SIM before you land in Germany. But since you KK are on Sprint, that phone might not work as Sprint uses (at least used to) some different technologies compared to rest like T-mobile, AT&T or Verizon, and I had problems (many years back though) in swapping SIM on a Sprint phone. Alternatively, you can just get a cheap unlocked (may be one model older than latest) Samsung or LG or some other unlocked phone from Amazon (they have sweet deals) and simply use that phone while you are outside USA. Must have to keep the Sprint phone powered off (and possibly even take the SIM out) for your trip so that Sprint system doesn't try to push data while roaming internationally.

If you get that cheap unlocked international phone in Amazon (meaning you use your Sprint phone in USA, and this cheap one outside of USA),

(1) Best truly international (meaning you can use the same phone and plans in USA as well as in Europe) deal that I know is Google Fi (https://fi.google.com/) but make sure you get a phone that is supported by Google Fi. Their plan is $10/GB of data anywhere in the world and they have pretty good service in Germany and rest of the Europe.

(2) Next best deal is T-mobile USA. Again make sure the cheap unlocked international phone you get from Amazon is compatible with T-mobile. Good thing is if you get a phone that is supported by Google Fi, that will definitely be supported by T-mobile as Google Fi is basically an MVNO that uses T-Mobile US, U.S. Cellular, Sprint etc towers in USA and other big network operators in other countries. T-mobile works OK in Germany but not as good as Google Fi or local SIMs as they downgrade you to 2G service outside USA unless you pay ahead some $20 worth of plus service for 4G/LTE. I prefer Google Fi over T-mobile.

International plans from other US providers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint etc are way more expensive and way worse service (coverage and speed).

Hope this helps. Let me know here or by PM if you need any more info.

[Pessimist]

Normally I have my company phone which has unlimited data and voice usage globally. But I also have a 2nd phone that is on my personal plan. When I travel abroad I power down my personal device or use it in WiFi only or even use my company phone to tether my personal phone. I need my personal phone because I don't like to do my amorous activities including checking out ISG from my business phone.

Occasionally I have paid international on my personal device. But as you said overage charges are excessive. Since there is no prior agreement between you and them, your telco carrier is at liberty to suck every last ounce of your blood.

One solution is to sign up for a international plan before you leave. I have Verizon but I know AT&T has a similar plan and very likely Sprint and TMo do too. They charge 10 bucks a day for unlimited data and voice usage. Verizon also has a monthly plan which costs 50 I think. So if you are in DE more than 5 days, can sign up for that as opposed to the daily $10 plan.

I have not used a local sim which is probably much cheaper. However I am not sure how easy it is for an American tourist to obtain a temporary or even a permanent German SIM. Worth exploring. Perhaps you should buy a unlocked phone first and then load it with a local sim at the airport, assuming registration is not onerous.