hTTi

I'd like to get a German phone number for obvious reasons, but would like to keep my US number at least for a while. I thought that perhaps I could get a discount here in Germany with Telekom since I have T-Mobile in the US, but as far as I can tell, that's not true. Does anyone have advice about getting a second SIM, or an eSIM, to go along with a US one? I have a year-old phone with multiple SIM slots, so I feel confident that some option will work.

Thanks,
Alison

I get a 30 day T-Mobile sim when I go to the U.S. but it won't work here. Not sure if that helps.

alison wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 7:02 pm I'd like to get a German phone number for obvious reasons, but would like to keep my US number at least for a while. I thought that perhaps I could get a discount here in Germany with Telekom since I have T-Mobile in the US, but as far as I can tell, that's not true. Does anyone have advice about getting a second SIM, or an eSIM, to go along with a US one? I have a year-old phone with multiple SIM slots, so I feel confident that some option will work.

Thanks,
Alison

I kept my T-Mobile number and have a German Telekom prepaid card that works in the EU and (a must since I live on the border). I’m quite happy with it. Rather than paying 10€ a month I just pay 99€ in advance once a year. I text using WhatsApp.

How much does it cost to use your T-Mobile number to call the U.S. from here? Just curious. My sim doesn't work from here but it is a temporary sim.

I call the U.S. with Whatsapp or with VOIP on my home phone which is connected to our internet.

alison wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 7:02 pm I'd like to get a German phone number for obvious reasons, but would like to keep my US number at least for a while. I thought that perhaps I could get a discount here in Germany with Telekom since I have T-Mobile in the US, but as far as I can tell, that's not true. Does anyone have advice about getting a second SIM, or an eSIM, to go along with a US one? I have a year-old phone with multiple SIM slots, so I feel confident that some option will work.

The Edeka Kombi M works pretty good for me... Yes, in a dual SIM configuration. And it is a Telekom Tarif. And it is not a contract but prepaid. Available at any Edeka Store.

bethannbitt wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 8:34 pm I kept my T-Mobile number and have a German Telekom prepaid card that works in the EU and (a must since I live on the border). I’m quite happy with it. Rather than paying 10€ a month I just pay 99€ in advance once a year. I text using WhatsApp.

The Telekom yearly tariff is brilliant. 30GB/month data, direct Telekom network access, all for less than 9 euro/month. It's a no breainer for most.

It looks like that it is 13GB per month now.

kaffeemitmilch wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 10:28 am

bethannbitt wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 8:34 pm I kept my T-Mobile number and have a German Telekom prepaid card that works in the EU and (a must since I live on the border). I’m quite happy with it. Rather than paying 10€ a month I just pay 99€ in advance once a year. I text using WhatsApp.

The Telekom yearly tariff is brilliant. 30GB/month data, direct Telekom network access, all for less than 9 euro/month. It's a no breainer for most.

They just start upping it instantly and you're at 30 per month before you know it. I speak from experience. Also, if one were to run it completely down one is simply throttled.

I went to Edeka and bought a card that promised 40 GB for a one year contract for 70 €. That sounded great, but I failed to complete the verification procedure because Google Play reported that the Edeka Smart App "is not installable in your country." Apparently my phone knows that it was purchased in the US even though it's a OnePlus.

Delightfully, Edeka sent me an email noting that I had not completed the verification while I was wondering what to do next. I responded and explained the problem, and they advise me

Haben Sie einen Reisepass? Dann können Sie die Karte via Postident aktivieren.

I'm not sure what a Postident is, but tomorrow I will figure it out.

Thanks,
Alison

alison wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 9:36 pm
I'm not sure what a Postident is, but tomorrow I will figure it out.

"ident" as in "identity", and "post" as in "Post Office".

With the purchase of the SIM, you should have gotten a "postident coupon". Bring this coupon to the nearest post office, show the coupon and your passport. The clerk will compare the name on the coupon with the name in your passport, the clerk will compare your face with the photo in your passport... And they will then tell the SIM provider "This person is really the person".

This is done to prevent fraud.
Remember when in "Breaking Bad" every bad guy had a "disposable phone(-number)" that he threw away after a call?
It is unwanted that people can get phone numbers without leaving a trace of who they really are.
Again, fraud protection.

alison wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 9:36 pm I went to Edeka and bought a card that promised 40 GB for a one year contract for 70 €. That sounded great, but I failed to complete the verification procedure because Google Play reported that the Edeka Smart App "is not installable in your country." Apparently my phone knows that it was purchased in the US even though it's a OnePlus.

Delightfully, Edeka sent me an email noting that I had not completed the verification while I was wondering what to do next. I responded and explained the problem, and they advise me

Haben Sie einen Reisepass? Dann können Sie die Karte via Postident aktivieren.

I'm not sure what a Postident is, but tomorrow I will figure it out.

Thanks,
Alison

The app is not available to you because your Google account is linked to the US, not because your phone was bought there. You can set up a new Google account with another email address and set the country to Germany, and then add this account to your phone so you can temporarily switch to it in the Play Store in order to get apps only available to German accounts, and then switch back to your regular Google account once downloaded.

You could ALSO just change your Google account details to your German ones, and it will work. But then, when you go back to the US, you'll have the opposite problem. Best to have a separate account for each country.

Nixon wrote: ↑Thu Feb 05, 2026 11:49 am It looks like that it is 13GB per month now.

kaffeemitmilch wrote: ↑Tue Feb 03, 2026 10:28 am

bethannbitt wrote: ↑Mon Feb 02, 2026 8:34 pm I kept my T-Mobile number and have a German Telekom prepaid card that works in the EU and (a must since I live on the border). I’m quite happy with it. Rather than paying 10€ a month I just pay 99€ in advance once a year. I text using WhatsApp.

The Telekom yearly tariff is brilliant. 30GB/month data, direct Telekom network access, all for less than 9 euro/month. It's a no breainer for most.

Ah yes they had a special where they offered 30. It'll be back. I signed up last year at 13, and it just let me upgrade to 30.

Deutsche Post explained that the SIM seller must provide the Postident document. Unfortunately, the Edeka store where I bought the SIM has apparently never heard of the Postident document. I sent Edeka Kundenbetreuung another message, in the hope that they will help.

Thanks everyone for their advice,
Alison

alison wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 2:11 pm Deutsche Post explained that the SIM seller must provide the Postident document. Unfortunately, the Edeka store where I bought the SIM has apparently never heard of the Postident document. I sent Edeka Kundenbetreuung another message, in the hope that they will help.

OK, either follow Kaffemitmilch's advice how to get the APP running,or use any webbrowser at https://www.edeka-smart.de/freischalten :
In the next screen, select your tarif.

Continue by entering a valid email address.

Then enter your phone number and the PUK1 number you've got in the package.

You will end up at some point where you have access to the Postident document.

Franklan wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 2:49 pm OK, either follow Kaffemitmilch's advice how to get the APP running,or use any webbrowser at https://www.edeka-smart.de/freischalten :

I can't use the web method because I have no Ausweis. And I can't install the Edeka app because Google Play is locked to the US. To change the country, I must associate a German payment method with my Google account, but for that, I must wait for my Girokarte to come in the mail. So, I'll pretend to be patient.

I find it somewhat bizarre that it's so much easier to open a bank account than to get a phone number. Perhaps I should just demand a refund from Edeka and go to a Telekom store? But I need to change my Google account anyway.

Thanks again for your advice,
Alison

Your US passport is your Ausweis. That’s what I used of course to get my number years ago. I just went to the Telekom store and dealt with a human being.

bethannbitt wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:04 am Your US passport is your Ausweis. That’s what I used of course to get my number years ago. I just went to the Telekom store and dealt with a human being.

I was referring to the Ausweis app, which requires a "german ID card, electronic residence permit or eID card for EU citizens." I suppose that when I receive my Blaue Karte, that it will be an electronic residence permit.

Thanks,
Alison

alison wrote: ↑Tue Feb 10, 2026 10:13 am

bethannbitt wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 10:04 am Your US passport is your Ausweis. That’s what I used of course to get my number years ago. I just went to the Telekom store and dealt with a human being.

I was referring to the Ausweis app, which requires a "german ID card, electronic residence permit or eID card for EU citizens." I suppose that when I receive my Blaue Karte, that it will be an electronic residence permit.

Thanks,
Alison

I've never used the Ausweis app for video-ident.

Here is a recap of my experience, in the hope that it might help someone else.

I went to Edeka and bought a 70€ Telekom-backed SIM. Upon returning home and installing it in my phone, I tried to activate it via the Edeka Smart App, but the Google Play Store informed me that "This app isn't available on Google Play in your region." To change my region, I must provide a German-based payment method, but I have been waiting forever for the PIN number of my new Girokarte to arrive. Whether inability to install the Edeka Smart App afflicts European citizens from outside the U.S., I don't know.

Meanwhile, I received an email from EDEKA smart-Kundenbetreuung, who recommended I use the PostIdent method. I visited a post office, where they explained that they couldn't help me without a PostIdent document from Edeka. I returned to Edeka and asked for the PostIdent. I showed my receipt and explained the situation, but they simply refused to help me. The post office had shown me PostIdent documents which they had received from other customers whose sellers had provided them, so Edeka was clearly in the wrong.

At this point I went to the Telekom store. They confirmed that Edeka should have given me the PostIdent document, and explained they could not help me with it. At this point, having been back to the Edeka store yet again, I simply decided to give up on that SIM. I bought a new Telekom SIM, they put it in my phone, and immediately activated it. That is what I should have done in the first place!

Thanks as always,
Alison

I have multiple sim cards for 4 or 5 different countries, all in one phone , dual sim plus couple of esim
you have to set also multiple google play profiles to access different country apps if required , as something like Edeka may not be possible to access with US google play

not a rocket science by the way
why I needed so many sims at once? good question

I worked and traveled as a digital nomad from different countries

if anyone still needs help please let me know