How can I easily get a temporary cell phone in Germany?
I'm leaving Wednesday for German from Chicago. I just realized that although I can call people from my laptop using VOIP, it would be nice to have a cell phone there. I utilize Verizon in the States. Does anyone know of a way to easily get a temporary cell phone once I am there, and before I leave ?
Other - Germany - 8 Answers
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1 :
If you're talking about sim-card for your cell and not about phone itself, just go to closest supermarket and buy prepaid sim-card for some 25 euros. It will include some 300 minutes for domestic calls (1 minute is about 10cents no matter where you make your call to). I think, for short term you'll even not need to refill this card. Yeah, it can be a kind of complicated to activate this card- either through internet, or through call, but the thing is, that the activation phone number is not 1-800 and it's only allowed to call this number from home phone- because it costs money. Just buy a sim-card and just put it in your cell, that you can take from US. Don't forget to take some power adaptor (US to EU) for your cell charger.
2 :
www.matrix.in
3 :
k here goes, don't know if u have any affiliation with the US Army, but thats gonna be the easiest way, (going on post to any kios, renting a phone for about $30.00 + $10 dollars for 100mins) You can rent one from any Celluar kios in germany however its Expensive, they'll make u buy the phone. You cand Buy a phone card in germany or before you leave in the US, (cheaper), better buy several, they go fast! T-Mobile has service there, then u need to buy the sim card and D1 or D2 rechargeable minutes, cheapest 15euros - 100 euros. (i do the T-Mobile thing), VOIP not a good bet, Black Jack and Vonage, europe has blockers that dont allow connections! and this is after u have a secure, high speed internet! good luck! Last option will be to use euros on the Pay phones or your hotel, emergencys only bout $5.00 a min! Get all the country / area codes from an operator before u leave, I leave Wed 10 Dec, also hit my email if u have futher questions,
4 :
Alex is wrong in one thing: Although the SIM you'll buy may be good for 300 minutes of domestic calls, that doesn't mean that they're good for international calls, too. But generally it's a good idea to go to a phone store (not necessarily a supermarket) and buy a prepaid SIM for your phone. It's a bit tricky to find out the best rates, but I think that's not too important for you. What you need is good network coverage, and the possibility to recharge your card at every supermarket, and as to that, I'd say, use Vodafone. I've been with them for years, prepaid and otherwise, and I'm pretty much satisfied. You'll have to pay 15 or 20 euros for the SIM, with maybe 10 euros to phone off immediately, and can recharge for 15, 30 or 50 euros at virtually any supermarket. You can inform your friends via email about your new German phone number. The wonderful thing about using a German mobile number within Germany is: You'll not be charged for airtime. It's a "caller pays all" scheme. So when your friends call you on your German number, it won't cost you a dime. -- On the other hand, phoning out of Germany may well be around 50 or 60 euro-cents per minute. Even sending a text message to a country not far away like Great Britain cost me 44 euro-cents. So be careful. If you don't want to switch SIMs all the time on your mobile, see if you can borrow an old cellphone from a friend. I'd have suggested you buy one on Ebay (I bought my spare phone there for just 40 euros, and it has worked well now for more than three years), but as you're short on time, this won't work. A voltage adaptor, as has been mentioned, is an absolute MUST; but you can buy these things at the airport. In America! In Europe, you're expected to have your gear ready when you arrive. I've rarely seen an airport store that sells 120-240-Volt adaptors, but rather the other way round. Anyway, you can get a universal adaptor at electronics stores here, for some 20 euros, that are good for all your electrical widgets. But never plug them into a 240 volt wall outlet without using a voltage converter. Most modern devices have a security switch that shuts them down, and nothing will happen. With some, you'll end up with a blown fuse (that can be changed), and some will just be fried. Automatic voltage selection exists in the more expensive charging devices, like for business laptops. But I'm getting off topic now. You asked for an easy way to use a cellphone here, I gave you one. I also own two cellphones, one I use here and one I use in the Czech Republic, and I carry both when I'm there: One to be called and one to call back. You can never have enough spare cellphones, especially when you're a frequent traveller.
5 :
well the sim card will prolly not work since its coded differently... you will prolly have to buy a cheap phone at any of the billion shops with a D1 or a D2 card inside of it then you just simply insert the card and charge teh phone like normal....When you buy the phone you will need an ID of some sorts.
6 :
Get a local German SIM card and a cheap un-locked cell phone from RebelFone, get it delivered overnight before you leave.. try the link below:
7 :
You can also get a cheap prepaid sim card from the retail chain "Aldi". It's called "aldi talk". You can register online, it will then take approx. 6hours to activate your card. You can write text meassages and make national and international calls. It's really quiet cheap for Germany. The starter pack costs 20 Euro, inclusive of 10 Euro, which you can immediately use for calls and texts. Enjoy your trip to Germany. (Sorry the website of aldi talk is only in german, but I'm sure you'll find somebody to help you register.)
8 :
Go to the O2 shop. They are the easiest to deal with. One thing to note, you will probably need your passport. They record who is using what SIM card. I went into Saturn, which is an electronics store here, and they wanted my passport and proof of residency
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