Phone and internet in Berlin: the contract trap

Signing up is quick. Getting out is where Australians come unstuck, so read the exit rules before you sign anything.

The short version

Every prepaid SIM in Germany has to be registered to a real identity before it works. An Australian passport is an accepted document [3][5].
A contract's first term can't be longer than 24 months, and the provider must also offer you a term of 12 months or less [2].
After the first term ends, the contract can roll on, but you can then cancel at any time with one month's notice [1][2].
Cancel in writing (email or the website's cancel button counts) and keep the confirmation. Providers can't demand a signed paper letter [4][6].
Keep your Australian number alive somewhere. Your Aussie bank, myGov and the ATO will keep texting codes to it.

Prepaid or contract: what to get first

In Australia you can walk out of a shop with a prepaid SIM in five minutes. In Germany it's slower, because the law makes providers check who you are before a prepaid SIM is switched on [3].

The prepaid identity check

Under section 172 of the Telecommunications Act (Telekommunikationsgesetz, TKG), providers must record your name, address and date of birth and check them against an official document. A passport is on the list, including a foreign passport [3]. Your Australian passport doesn't show an address, and that's fine: the provider checks what the document contains and records your address separately [3].

In practice the check happens one of three ways:

In a shop. Staff look at your passport at the counter. This is the simplest option in your first week.
By video call. Many SIMs bought at supermarkets or online are activated through a video identification in the provider's app, where you hold your passport up to the camera.
Through another approved method such as a bank-based or post office check, depending on the provider.

The Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) decides which methods are allowed and in 2026 opened consultation on tighter rules for video-based checks, citing security concerns [5]. If one route fails, try another. Video checks with non-German passports don't always go smoothly.

Why prepaid first makes sense

A prepaid SIM gets you a German number for the flat hunt, the Bürgeramt and job applications, with nothing to cancel later. Contracts usually want a German bank account for direct debit and often run a credit check (see our Schufa guide). Newcomers with no German credit history can be knocked back for subsidised phone deals, but prepaid and SIM-only plans are rarely a problem.

Option	Good for	What you need	The catch
Prepaid SIM	First weeks, short stays, no German bank yet	Passport and an identity check [3]	Top-ups, smaller data packs on some brands
Monthly SIM-only plan	Settled in, want flexibility	German IBAN, address	Check whether the term is one month or 24
24-month contract with handset	Buying a phone on instalments	IBAN, address, usually a credit check	You're tied in for two years [2]
Home internet (DSL, cable, fibre)	Your own flat	Registered address, IBAN, sometimes landlord consent for works	Install waits and a long first term

Home internet: the install wait

Moving into an unfurnished Berlin flat usually means sorting internet yourself. Three things decide how fast you get online:

What the building has. Older Altbau buildings in Neukölln, Kreuzberg or Prenzlauer Berg often have copper DSL; many newer or renovated blocks have cable via the TV socket; fibre (Glasfaser) is spreading but is far from universal. Enter your exact address on provider sites to see what's actually available.
Whether a technician is needed. DSL in a flat that had a working line can sometimes be switched on remotely. A new fibre connection may need work in the building, and in a rented flat that can involve the landlord or property manager.
Appointment slots. Waits of a few weeks are common, longer for new fibre connections. Order as soon as you have a signed lease and a move-in date, not when you get the keys.

Bridge the gap with a mobile hotspot or a 4G/5G router on an unlimited or large data plan. Plenty of Berliners use one permanently.

Your rights when things go wrong

German law gives you more protection than you might expect [1]:

Missed technician appointment: compensation of 20% of the monthly fee or at least €10 [1].
Total outage: from the third day after you report it, 10% of the monthly fee (at least €5) per day, rising to 20% (at least €10) from the fifth day [1].
Slow speeds: if your speed is regularly and significantly below what you're paying for, you can reduce payments or cancel. You prove it with the Bundesnetzagentur's free measuring tool at breitbandmessung.de [1].
Before you sign: the provider must give you a contract summary (Vertragszusammenfassung) in text form. A contract made over the phone isn't valid until you approve that summary in text form [1].

The minimum term and the new monthly exit

This is the part that catches people. Since the 2021 Telecommunications Act, the rules are [1][2]:

The first term (Mindestlaufzeit) can't exceed 24 months.
The provider must offer a contract of 12 months or less before you sign, even if the 24-month deal is the one in the shop window.
If you don't cancel before the first term ends, the contract rolls on automatically with no fixed end.
Once it has rolled on, you can cancel at any time with one month's notice. The old trap of being locked in for another 12 months is gone [1].
Before each rollover, the provider must remind you on a durable medium (letter, email, PDF) that it's coming and how to cancel [2].

For mobile plans with a monthly term, check whether notice is "one month" or "four weeks", as some budget brands differ [1].

Moving flat or leaving Germany

If you move within Germany and your provider can't serve the new address, you can cancel with one month's notice and can give notice in advance so it takes effect when you move out [1]. Moving back to Australia is different: leaving the country doesn't automatically end a contract still in its first term. Some providers will let you out early with proof of de-registration (Abmeldung); others will want the remaining months paid. Ask before you assume, and time your leaving date around your minimum terms if you can.

Writing a proper Kündigung

A cancellation is called a Kündigung. Do it properly and you'll avoid months of invoices sent to Brisbane.

How you're allowed to cancel

Text form is enough. For standard consumer contracts, providers can't require anything stricter than text form, which includes email, the customer portal or a letter [6].
The cancel button. Since 2022, any business selling contracts online must have a clearly labelled cancellation button, usually "Verträge hier kündigen", leading to a form with a final "jetzt kündigen" button. The provider must confirm your cancellation electronically, with the date it ends. If a provider has no such button, you can cancel at any time without notice [4].
Phone isn't enough. Calling the hotline is fine for questions. Always get it in writing.

A Kündigung that works, step by step

Find your customer and contract numbers (Kundennummer, Vertragsnummer) on an invoice.
Check the end date in your customer portal or contract summary.
Use the cancel button on the provider's website if it has one. Otherwise email or post a short letter.
Write the key sentence: "Hiermit kündige ich meinen Vertrag [number] fristgerecht zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt." (I hereby cancel my contract [number] with due notice at the earliest possible date.)
Ask for confirmation: "Bitte bestätigen Sie mir die Kündigung und das Vertragsende schriftlich."
Port your number if you want to keep it. Say so in the cancellation or arrange it with your new provider. If porting fails, the old provider owes you €10 a day from the second working day after the agreed date [1].
Return any rented router if the contract says so, and keep the postage receipt.
Stop the direct debit only after the final bill. Cancelling the debit is not cancelling the contract.

Expect a "retention" call or a discount offer. You're free to ignore it.

Keeping your Australian number

Your German number handles daily life, but your Australian number is how Aussie institutions find you. Banks send one-time codes by SMS, and myGov, the ATO and Services Australia may use it for sign-in or contact. Losing it while you live abroad can mean being locked out at the worst moment.

Your options:

Keep a cheap Australian prepaid plan and recharge often enough that the service doesn't expire. Check how long your provider keeps a number active without a recharge.
Move to a long-expiry plan before you leave, then pop the SIM into a dual-SIM phone or an eSIM slot.
Switch codes to an authenticator app wherever your bank and myGov allow it, so you're not relying on SMS roaming.
Update your number with your bank, the ATO and super fund if you do let the Aussie number go.

Roaming SMS on an Australian SIM in Germany can cost a little, but receiving texts is often free or cheap. Check with your provider before you fly. Our guide on keeping Australian accounts while abroad covers the banking side.

Smartraveller also warns about cyber risks on public wi-fi in Germany, so avoid logging into banking on open café networks [7]. The Australian Embassy in Berlin is at Wallstrasse 76–79 in Mitte if your passport, and with it your ID for SIM checks, goes missing [7].

For real-world tips on which providers are handing out appointments this month, ask in Cooee Germany, our Facebook group for Australians in Germany.

Phone and internet in Berlin: SIMs, contracts and how to get out of them