So I was recently in Germany for 2 weeks and I knew I needed a way to get Internet everywhere I was going. They don’t have WiFi (W-LAN as they call it) everywhere you go like we have in Canada. So I was hoping to find a prepaid SIM card that would solve my problem.
The Prepaid SIM
First of all, at a local grocery store in Germany I found a bunch of prepaid SIM cards that enable mobile Internet. I have an unlocked Nexus 5 that I got directly from Google. Wasn’t sure how well the Internet would work or what reception would be like in different regions, as a result I decided to go with the cheapest deal. I bought a Lebara 1GB starter pack.
Lebara Sim Pack
The starter pack came with a SIM card, actually all three sizes (Standard, micro and nano) that you can snap apart to the size you need for your phone. It had a manual with English instructions and the packet had the magic numbers you need to activate the service. My card would only be good for 30 days.
Lebara Sim Pack Open
So after I removed my Telus SIM (and stored it somewhere safe) I inserted the new SIM and followed the instructions for activating the service.
Lebara Sim Pack Manual
Pretty simple really; just go to the website and fill in the magic numbers and a valid address (this might be a problem for people that don’t have an address but you can probably get away with a hotel or hostel address). I used my uncle’s address in Germany.
The cost of the kit was €15 ($21 CDN) for 1GB of Internet for 1 month. For an extra €5 you get a phone number that you can use anywhere in Germany. I just used the mobile data.
Quality of Service
I got a good 3G signal almost everywhere we went. I lost the signal a couple times when driving through the country side, also HSVA+ in a couple places. Therefore I can’t really complain, it worked when I needed it to. We traveled from the north of Germany all the way down to Munich and it worked just about everywhere.
Some Recommendations
I recommend setting up your mobile limit in the data usage section of your phone’s settings. Keep an eye on it as the data can disappear quickly.