topic Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you! in Mobile Services

Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:36:19 GMT

Hi,

I just wanted to say a big thank you for finally re-enabling Telekom as a roaming partner in Germany after a couple of years of having to live with O2, which was SO bad

Also, 5G roaming? Woaa I was not expecting this, nice surprise, working really well.

The only thing that's really missing now is VoLTE/5G when roaming, it's really annoying to loose internet during calls.

IPv6 when roaming would be cool too, but not as critical.

Thanks again for the recent improvements.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

Christopher_G — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:48:18 GMT

I'm glad your roaming service has improved, @fguerraz. 🙂

Thank you for letting us know.

Chris

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 15:00:26 GMT

Sure thing. I really hope that feedback is passed on the relevant teams.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 21:01:16 GMT

Has this really been done?! If so, please can EE give me some reassurance that they won't mess about with the roaming arrangement again? I'm happy with Vodafone or Telekom on 4G, but Telekom on 5G would be fantastic. O2 Germany though is pants.

I left EE last March for the very reason that I couldn't live with o2 Germany, and funnily enough I joined O2-UK because they also roam with Telekom.

I'm in Germany so much and I didn't want to leave EE in the first place as their UK service is much better than O2.

Thanks

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

Christopher_G — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 06:59:06 GMT

Hi @mailjackhorrey

Roaming agreements are subject to change, so we cannot guarantee that this won't change in future.

Chris

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 12:21:38 GMT

I, of course, can't guarantee that it's going to stay, but I'm still in Germany, and still on Telekom, and it's still working very well.

I hope it stays this way too, but this forum was full of complaints so maybe they have listened?

I moved from Vodafone UK to EE in february because they started to enforce a 25GB limit for roaming (compared to EE's 50GB), but having to roam with 02 Germany was tough...

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:16:32 GMT

Thank you for your feedback @fguerraz I am discussing with O2 about leaving my contact, I'm just waiting to hear when I can leave.

Just out of interest when you arrived in Germany was Telekom the first one that your phone picked up, or did you have to do a manual selection?

Can you still get O2 and Vodafone manually? I remember O2 was preferred, and Vodafone was a backup on 2G which was awful.

I'm only asking because the first one it goes to on an automatic search tends to be the one, they stick with. Hopefully that's Telekom.

I'd like to think the complaints did help on here, they were a bit tin-eared for three years but I'm glad they've listened and at least we can be grateful for that!

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:39:19 GMT

The default seems to be Telekom but I can still choose O2 if I want to.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

_MrR_ — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 07:42:01 GMT

This is good to know as I'm heading to Germany next week.

I am still relatively new to being an EE customer. Coming up to my one year anniversary. I was reluctant to switch from Vodafone as they always seemed to be ahead of the game when it came to roaming. That and it was usually pretty easy to identify the roaming network you needed to use as in a lot of cases it was Vodafone).

What has really impressed me with EE (and seems to be echoed in this thread) is how they're head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to roaming.

EE don't shout about 5G roaming (in fact last time I looked, it still said it wasn't available) but in my time with the network, I have experienced 5G roaming in so many countries. It caught me by surprise the first few times but now come to expect it.

Now if only I could get coverage at home, where I lived then I really would have the perfect carrier. The checker says great 4G coverage inside and out. The reality is, I rely on wi-fi calling inside and regularly drop calls outside until I'm about a mile away from my home. But hey, can't have everything 🙂

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 14:21:57 GMT

@fguerraz I arrived in Germany yesterday and my phone picked up O2 straight away and once I went into the area where I have no O2 coverage it picked up Vodafone which is only 2G so I thought they had dropped Telekom again.

However I went for a manual search and my phone sat there with No Service for about an hour but it eventually picked it up with full signal bars and 5G which is excellent.

It seems to be available, but they don't make it easy. I thought I'd pass this information on just in case you have trouble connecting to Telekom the next time you're here.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

Barra — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:49:44 GMT

It’s interesting that you have noted the length of time that it has taken to connect to Telekom.

I have tried multiple times, but my phone has never connected. I’m going to leave it for over an hour one last time before contacting EE. I spend a lot of time in Germany and travelling to other countries for work.

I am thinking a move to 3 may be on the cards, as I’ve experienced issues like others on this thread with low to no signal in and around Düsseldorf (on both o2 and Voda), and cycling around NRW. Sometimes being stranded with no maps.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 19:56:45 GMT

I have literally just got back from Germany I spend the first part of the week there.

I had the same problem, I tried to select Telekom manually, and I even left my phone overnight, but it wouldn’t connect! I really wish EE could just provide a decent service in Germany. Is it really that much to ask?
What has changed is that 02 now provides 5G and the only place I could seem to get that was around Frankfurt airport. Apart from that, it’s the same old ropey service that you end up losing the minute you go anywhere a tree is in sight. The big problem I have is that because 02 is the only network that provides any form of data and I lose service so often it then connects to Vodafone. The signal from Vodafone is excellent. The only problem is the EE only offers and edge service for Vodafone!!

I’m forever, ending up with a service where I can use a phone for basic calls only but no Internet Once Vodafone is connected with the an Edge service. My phone wants to stay on that, and I have to manually go back to O2 but more often than not there isn’t much service available.
All EE really have to do is either allow access to Telekom once again, which was perfect, or allow a 4G service on Vodafone, and then everything will be fine.
The former prime minister, Liz Truss was very tin eared and wouldn’t listen to the people. I just wonder if she’s taken at post at a certain telecommunications company 😂

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

Barra — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 20:45:55 GMT

Well.

You have captured my last 4 weeks in NRW (mainly Düsseldorf) perfectly.

My contract with EE will be cancelled in the next month and take out a new contract with 3, as that is who my fiancé is with and she has zero issues.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:16:04 GMT

I’m sorry to hear you’ve had the same problems but I wish I could go to 3 like you are! I’ve got a 3 Go Roam pay as you go second sim on my phone which is broadband only. I use it when I go to the USA and Singapore as the roaming is good value.

I tested it in Germany and it allows 5G connections to Vodafone, Telekom and O2. No restrictions whatsoever and you can easily manually connect to whichever provider you choose. An excellent service. I think you’ll be quite happy.

Funnily enough EE offer 4G and 5G on 2 networks + in France and Italy. Why they can’t do it in Germany I’ll never know.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 08:34:58 GMT

Well, I don't know what's different about my service, but I've had Telekom connectivity every time I went to Germany since October.

I've switched to the Pixel 7 Pro (eSIM) at around the same time but I don't see how it could be related.

I'm going again in two weeks, I'll report back.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 10:42:24 GMT

I look forward to your report. I had Telekom in December but I think you’ll find you can’t get it now sadly.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:46:33 GMT

Well indeed, Telekom is no longer accessible. At least we have O2 with a nice 5G logo (but of course, barely 3G speeds). I have no words for you EE.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 23:34:59 GMT

I would say that I’m shocked but I’m not shocked! I’m going again next week. I called customer services and the guy I spoke to was doing his best. He tried to convince me that they can change my E signal I get on Vodafone to 4G. If only he could I’d be happy. I’ve no idea why EE are so incompetent when it comes to roaming in Germany.

I agree the 5G with O2 is a joke. It certainly is slower than 3G!

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

fguerraz — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 06:05:00 GMT

They're not incompetent, they're just cheap. I bet Telekom and Vodafone are refusing to sell them data at the regulatory rate since Brexit, since they can.

Re: Roaming in Germany: thank you!

mailjackhorrey — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 11:19:51 GMT

Three allow data on all German networks, O2 Uk also roam with Telekom as well as O2 Germany. I’ll replace the word incompetent with ‘conservative’ 😂