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Trip to Germany--esp. need cell phone advice


AFwife Claire
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We are planning to take a space-a flight on military aircraft the end of January/beginning of February to visit friends who live near Ramstein AB.  DH and I took a space-a flight to Germany on our honeymoon, which will be 25 years ago this next summer, so it's been awhile since we've been there, lol.  I don't remember taking anything special--nothing to convert current, and certainly nothing to communicate with!

 

Now we would be going with 8 of our kids, and we'll probably have to be driving 2 cars around (we'll only have to rent one because we can borrow one from our friends we'll be staying with).  I'm really anxious about being able to communicate with dh if we are both trying to drive somewhere, find parking, etc.  So what would you do for cell phones?  We're on Verizon, and I have an old iphone, and he has a Samsung android something.  

 

Also, any recommendations for an electrical converter so we can charge phones, use laptops, etc?  Unfortunately, due to stuff with dh's work, we're having to go the end of January instead of the end of Feb. when more classes have a winter break, so we'll have to be able to keep up with TPS classes, etc.  We're hoping to go this year because at least we don't have anyone dual-enrolled this year!

 

We space-a'd to Hawaii 4 years ago (to visit the same friends!), which was more complicated as far as the actual flights go, but at least everyone there spoke English, lol.  For some reason, I'm a lot more intimidated by this trip.  Any other hints?  We're only planning on being there 10 days or so, and we're planning on staying around Ramstein, Trier, and Stuttgart areas.  Thanks!

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For the cell phones, our family purchased a really cheap cell phone unlocked phone for a "travel to different countries phone." The most important thing is that the phone HAS to be unlocked.

 

We have this one.  It is a bare bones very basic unlocked phone that you can install any sim card that works in that particular country.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/BLU-Advance-Unlocked-Smartphone-Black/dp/B072N6BD9V/ref=sr_1_6?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1514834163&sr=1-6&keywords=unlocked+phones

 

You might need two though, for the two different cars.  

 

Then, you can install a sim card for your phone(s).  Look around, there's a ton of different ones available.  This one popped up on Amazon when I typed in German sim card.  This one includes 1 GB of data, but there are other sim cards that don't include any data that are cheaper.

 

//www.amazon.com/Included-Calling-Excellent-Coverage-Throughout/dp/B01HQ16WS4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1514834294&sr=8-8&keywords=german+sim+card

 

Honestly, we found this to be the best option even with purchasing new cheap unlocked phones. 

 

With the power adapter, they also have a ton on amazon with good reviews.

 

 https://www.amazon.com/European-Adapter-Schuko-Germany-France/dp/B004SY5O5K/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1514834757&sr=1-9&keywords=european+electrical+plug+adapter

 

 

Your trip sounds like an incredible experience!  Have fun!

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We have TMobile which has free texting within Germany and the data is charged to your regular data's plan.  I would check with your Verizon plan and see what it will cost for you to use your existing phones.  Remember that if you are using your phone to call your husband, you will be charged for calling a US number from outside of the US and he will be charged for receiving a call while outside the US.  Sometimes the international plans get confusing--you want a plan that you can use your phone internationally economically, not a plan where you can call international numbers from the US economically.  You can also use WhatsApp or other services to communicate via Wifi when you are at places that provide free wifi.

 

You probably do not need an electric converter.  Most electronics (phones and computers) charging cords automatically convert the electricity (the only electronic my kids have travelled with in recent years that this was not the case was a GameBoy).  You will need a plug adapter so that you can plug into the outlets.  If any of your chargers are three--prong plugs you must get an adapter that handles a three prong plug.

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I will try to keep it short and simple. First, if you have CDMA  phones (those do not have a SIM card), they cannot be used in Europe.  What you need are "Unlocked" GSM phones that have the GSM bands used in Germany.

 

You need phones that are "Unlocked", so that you can use them on any carrier, after inserting the SIM card into the phone.  In general, I would not recommend using your normal carrier, Verizon I think you mentioned, because "Roaming" charges are usually very high. Probably much less expensive to buy SIM cards from a local carrier and use those phones with a local carrier with a local phone number.   Prepaid. If it's like here, you can buy SIM cards in Supermarkets and many other places. 

 

If the data on the below web page is correct, it shows the different bands in use in Germany for the different types of service:

https://www.gsmarena.com/network-bands.php3?sCountry=Germany

 

You will need 1 or 2 different AC adapters, so that you can plug into an AC outlet there and charge the batteries in the phones.  Buy those in Germany.

 

NOTE: I don't know if Virgin Mobile has service in Germany. We have Virgin Mobile (Prepaid) in Colombia. I didn't realize this for a long time (never needed it), but we can call to the USA (and I think to 2 or 3 other countries) with the same minutes that we can use here in Colombia. Possibly they have that in Germany, and if so, you could call the USA very inexpensively if you needed to.

 

Enjoy your trip!

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For the cell phones, our family purchased a really cheap cell phone unlocked phone for a "travel to different countries phone." The most important thing is that the phone HAS to be unlocked.

 

We have this one.  It is a bare bones very basic unlocked phone that you can install any sim card that works in that particular country.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/BLU-Advance-Unlocked-Smartphone-Black/dp/B072N6BD9V/ref=sr_1_6?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1514834163&sr=1-6&keywords=unlocked+phones

 

<snip> 

 

 I clicked on that Amazon link.  If the information for that BLU phone is correct, that is not what they used to call a "World Band" phone or something like that. That was in the days before the LTE service and the new bands.  Why do I make this comment? Because that Amazon page does not show that it has the 900 MHz GSM band.  The chart I referenced in my reply shows that 2G service in Germany is on the 900 and 1800 MHz GSM bands.  3G is on 900 and 2100.  That could be an issue,  issue, assuming the chart I referenced about GSM bands in Germany is correct, if the OP and her DH want to do Voice calls, phone to phone, which may be over 2G. However, 2G is (I believe) being phased out by the providers, so that may or may not be an issue.

 

Conclusion: The more GSM bands a phone has, the better chance it will work on the network of the provider someone wants to use.

Edited by Lanny
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I suggest checking with your friends in Germany.  If they have had a lot of visitors, they may be able to recommend the best course of action.  Some depends upon how long you will be traveling and how often you might use your device.  While you may pay more per minute if you use your existing phone on your existing plan, it may be cheaper if you are only using it for emergency type of situations.  It also is easier in that you know your phone, know the phone numbers you need to call, don't have to worry about how to retrieve something from voice mail, etc.  I have had friends traveling to Germany who ran into two issues:  needing an address in Germany to purchase a SIM card--your friends may be able to help you with this; they may even be able to purchase this for you before you arrive so that you have it ready to go and you reimburse them.  If you purchase a German SIM card, it may not work if you cross into another country.  If you decide to take a day trip into France (not far from where you will be), the card may not work.

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I suggest checking with your friends in Germany.  If they have had a lot of visitors, they may be able to recommend the best course of action.  Some depends upon how long you will be traveling and how often you might use your device.  While you may pay more per minute if you use your existing phone on your existing plan, it may be cheaper if you are only using it for emergency type of situations.  It also is easier in that you know your phone, know the phone numbers you need to call, don't have to worry about how to retrieve something from voice mail, etc.  I have had friends traveling to Germany who ran into two issues:  needing an address in Germany to purchase a SIM card--your friends may be able to help you with this; they may even be able to purchase this for you before you arrive so that you have it ready to go and you reimburse them.  If you purchase a German SIM card, it may not work if you cross into another country.  If you decide to take a day trip into France (not far from where you will be), the card may not work.

 

+1 for this.  Ask the friends you will be visiting to buy two (2) Prepaid SIMs for the same cell provider.  You bring the Unlocked phones, pay your friends for the SIM cards they bought, put some credit on them, if they don't already have it, insert the SIMs into the phones and you are good to go. That's the easiest and best thing for you to do.

 

I did look on the Virgin Mobile web site (they are an MVNO, or Virtual provider), but Germany is not one of the countries where they provide service. They provide service in the USA and approximately 7 other countries, including Colombia, where we live. 

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Duh traveled to Germany several times in the past few years. His apple iphone , which I believe is considered unlocked, worked just fine.

 

I have nothing to add, except the bolded may be the best autocorrect typo ever.  Assuming it wasn't intentional, that is...

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I don't think you will have any problem speaking English in the areas you will be going to visit. We've traveled in Germany many times and I don't speak German more than how to order basic food, say please and thank you, hello and good bye. They have recently eliminated roaming charges for phone plans inside the EU. So if you get a German SIM you should be fine traveling to France. One thing I learned traveling to the US over Christmas with my Belgian phone plan was that I should have turned off roaming before turning off my phone on the plane. When we all turned on our phones in the airport in the US we were immediately hit with 50 euros of data costs just from our phones updating. We didn't even make a call. I wanted to keep my SIM in my phone so I could be contacted in case of emergencies at home, so I just headed to Walmart and got a "cheap" android phone and a one-month SIM card with unlimited data. I'm sure your friends will know what to do.

 

You might need to get an international driver's license from AAA before you go to rent a car. Also check with your insurance provider to see what your rental coverage is exactly and bring proof of that. 

 

I'm sure you will have a great time.

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I have Verizon. When I travel overseas, I add international service to my existing plan. For the countries I go to, which include Italy and some in Africa and the Middle East, it makes more sense for me to add the monthly service for about $40 a month. With that service I can call or text any US number as usual, but calling numbers in the countries I'm visiting would count as international calls. Since I can usually use WhatsApp for local communication, this is not a problem. If I needed regular local phone service, I would buy a cheap unlocked phone and local sim card.

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If you have a newer iPhone, it should be unlocked. You should be able to purchase a SIM card from any of a number of stores with all the data you need for around 20 euro. This is what I do when I go to Ireland. Then I can use my phone to call anyone in that country and use data to use WhatsApp or Messenger to contact anyone at home and use Google Maps to get around.

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Have a fabulous trip! We were in Stuttgart last year and I miss it so much!

 

We have Sprint and on our plan data and texting were free over there. Phone calls cost something, but we just texted and used FaceTime or what’s app.

 

You can get converters on amazon or a store here. Do your friends have extras? We always had plenty when people came to visit.

Edited by lovinmyboys
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This is all so helpful! I have things to look into now.  I don't think I actually really care about calling dh's cell--I just want to make sure I can contact him, so texting would be fine.  Maybe I've been making a mountain out of a molehill all along!

 

I did know we wouldn't be able to shop on base.  That will be a pain, but hopefully we can figure out a few things at a local grocery store so we can at least bring snacks in the car or stuff to munch on for lunch if we are out.  Eating lunches every day at a restaurant for 10 people will get pricy fast, although hopefully we'll be able to try donar kebabs and other cheap things I've heard people eat there.

 

Next on my list is contacting the Ramstein car rental places to see what kind of vehicle we can expect.

 

Thanks for all the help!  

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