Germany | guide on how to order and recharge solomo SIM cards

[inquisitor]

As I was asked repeatedly how to order or recharge solomo SIM cards, here's a short guide:

1. open http://www.solomo.de/?function=order&affiliateId=11127 (only ordering through this link will give you € 5 of extra credit, later shown as "solomo Voucher 5 Euro "Kunden werben Kunden"").
   
2. chose your tariff: "solomo pro" or "solomo 0/8/5" (note, that only solomo pro provides cheap international and roaming rates and VoIP service)
   
3. now chose a phone number:
   • either take the suggested number ("Ihre neue solomo Rufnummer lautet:01570 / xxxxxxx")
     or
   • pick another number ("Wunschrufnummer oder mehrere Rufnummern aussuchen")
     or
   • import a number from another operator ("Meine bestehende Rufnummer zu solomo mitnehmen."), which however requires cancellation of contract with your original operator even for prepaid SIMs.
4. If you have decided to pick another number a list of 12 suggestions will be shown. Below you can search for a number containing up to 4 digits of your choice ("Nach bestimmten Rufnummern suchen (bis zu 4 Ziffern)"). However some easier to remember numbers are designated "silver" ("Silber Rufnummer)" or "gold" ("Gold Rufnummer") costing some additional € 5 or € 25.
   After chosing a number click on "Weiter zu Schritt 3" in order to continue ordering.
   
5. Now recharge settings have to be made ("Auflade-Einstellungen"). You may chose between:
   • Automatische Aufladung - Komfort
     which will recharge your SIM automatically by the last-mentioned amount if credit falls below the fist-mentioned amount.
   • Automatische Aufladung - Taschengeld
     which will recharge your SIM weekly ("wöchentlich") or monthly ("monatlich") with the given amount
   • Automatische Aufladung deaktivieren und Guthaben manuell aufladen
     which will disable automatic recharge.
   Below (under "Sonstige Einstellungen ") you may chose if you want to have an itemized bill and if so the level of details:
   • vollständiger Einzelverbindungsnachweis (EVN)
     = complete itemized bill containing all numbers dialed
   • gekürzter Einzelverbindungsnachweis (EVN)
     = shortened itemized bill containing anonymized numbers (shortened by last 3 digits)
   • kein Einzelverbindungsnachweis (EVN)
     = no itemized bill at all
   Lastly you have to set a password to legitimate with customer care ("Hotline Passwort:").
   Continue by clicking "weiter zu Schritt 4".
   
6. The next page will show the total amount due. Check out by clicking "Zur Kasse".
7. Now, if you already have an online account with solomo, you may log in or, if not, create a new account by hitting "Neues Konto anlegen".
8. If you have chosen to create a new account, you will be required to enter the following details:
   • Benutzername = username
     (may only contain the following charachters: a-z, A-Z, 0-9)
   • Passwort = password
     the password must contain at least 7 characters, otherwise password quality will be insufficient ("ungenügend")
   • Passwort bestätigen = repeat password
   • E-Mail Adresse = eMail address
   • E-Mail Adresse bestätigen = repeat eMail address
   Confirm by clicking "Neues Benutzerkonto anlegen".
9. Now enter the following details:
   • Anrede = title (Frau = Mrs, Herr = Mr)
   • Vorname = firstname
   • Nachname = lastname
   • Firma = company
   • Adresszusatz = additional address information (e.g. "c/o someone" or floor)
   • Straße / Hausnr. = street / number
   • PLZ / Ort = postal code / city
   • Geburtstag = birthday (Tag = day, Monat = month, Jahr = year)
   • Mobilfunknummer = mobile phone number
   • Telefonnummer = fixed phone number
   • Faxnummer = fax number
   • Land = country
   Below you may chose a different billing address ("Abweichende Rechnungsadresse") or shipping address ("Abweichende Lieferadresse"). If you check one of these you need to add an address by clicking "Rechnungsadresse hinzufügen" or "Lieferadresse hinzufügen".
   Then click "Weiter zu Schritt 6".
10. Chose between payment...
    • ...by credit card ("per Kreditkarte bezahlen"), which will require the following details
      • Karteninhaber = card holder's name
      • Kreditkartenanbieter = card company (American Express, Mastercard or Visa)
      • Kreditkartennummer = card number
      • Prüfnummer (CVC) = security code
      • Gültig bis = validity
      • Die Kreditkartendaten in "Meine Zahlungsdaten" speichern = save credit card for future payments
      or
    • by bank transfer ("per Überweisung bezahlen")
    click "Weiter zu Schritt 8"
11. Finally the confirmation page will show up, where you need to check all 3 checkboxes on the bottom and click "Bestellung absenden"
12. If the order succeeded, the following page should say "Die Bestellung wurde erfolgreich abgeschlossen." (=the order has been completed successfully) and you should receive two eMails with the following subjects:
    • solomo - besser mobil / Ihr Benutzerkonto wurde erstellt = your account has been created
    • solomo - besser mobil / Ihre Bestellung wurde abgeschlossen = your order has been completed
    The first eMail ("solomo - besser mobil / Ihr Benutzerkonto wurde erstellt") contains an activation link, which has to be clicked!
    If you have chosen to pay by bank transfer, the second eMail will contain the following bank details:
    • recipient: solomo GmbH
    • bank: Commerzbank
    • account number: 104436100
    • bank code: 44340037
    • IBAN: DE51 4434 0037 0104 4361 00
    • SWIFT-BIC: COBADEFF443
    • reference (1st part): xxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx
    • reference (2nd part): firstname lastname
    • amount: see confirmation eMail

After clicking the activation link, you can log in to solomo's Website by clicking "mein solomo", where you can see the status of your order under "Meine Bestellungen" and where you will find a lot of other settings and services.

Here's a translation of the remaining menu of "mein solomo":

SIM-Verwaltung = SIM administration
Verwalten der SIM-Karte(n) = administer your SIM card(s)

Guthaben aufladen = recharge credit
Online Aufladen = recharge online credit (note that solomo has sepearate credit for the SIM and their online services, such as VoIP and SMS via their website)

Verbindungsübersicht = itemized bill
Gespräche, SMS, Daten = calls, SMS, data

Hauptmenü = main menu

Mein Profil = my profile
Meine Daten = my details
Mein Passwort = my password
Meine Rechnungen = my bills
Mein Kontoauszug = my account statement
Meine Bestellungen = my orders
Mein Newsletter = my newsletter
Meine Einstellungen = my settings
Meine Verbindungen = my connections

Meine SIM-Karte(n) = my SIM card
SIM-Karte verwalten = administer SIM card
Guthaben aufladen = recharge credit (note that solomo has sepearate credit for the SIM and their online services, such as VoIP and SMS via their website)
Komfortaufladung = automatic recharge
Verbindungsübersicht = itemized bill
SIM-Einstellungen = SIM settings
Rufnummer portieren = import number from another operator
Kunden-werben-Kunden = customer referal program

Meine Extras = my extras
iSMS verwalten = administer iSMS (= sending SMS via solomo's website)
VoIP-Account verwalten = administer VoIP account
TweetPush verwalten = administer TweetPush (= free Twitter messages through SMS)

You can recharge your solomo SIM either...

• by "viload" vouchers available at most gasstations and many kiosks (find one here).
  After purchasing a voucher, enter *101*voucher code# into your phone
• by credit card:
  • log into "mein solomo" and click "Guthaben aufladen" and chose "solomo Prepaid SIM-Karte" to recharge the SIM credit.
  • Afterwards you wil be asked wether to enable automatic recharge ("Ja,...") or not ("Nein,...")
  • Now chose "Aufladung per Kreditkarte" and select an existing credit card below or enter a new credit card by selecting "Neue Kreditkartendaten hinterlegen und in die folgende Box eingeben." and click "Guthaben aufladen".
    or
• by bank transfer:
  Just transfer an amount between € 15 and €50 to:
  • recipient: vistream GmbH
  • account number: 1181653
  • bank code: 44050199
  • bank: Sparkasse Dortmund
  • IBAN: DE34440501990001181653
  • SWIFT-BIC: DORTDE33
  • reference: 491570xxxxxxx (your solomo number)
  • amount: between €15 and €50

You can configure call diversions at "mein solomo" under "Meine SIM-Karte(n)" / "SIM Rufumleitungen", where diversion can be made for the following cases:

• Alle Anrufe umleiten = divert all calls
• Umleiten wenn besetzt = divert if busy
• Anrufe bei nicht abheben = divert if unanswered after x seconds ("umleiten nach")
• Anrufe bei nicht Erreichbarkeit = divert if unavailable (= no coverage or switched off)

"Keine Rufumleitung" means no diversion.

[TheMadBrewer]

Just a quick update:

I ordered 3 more solomo SIMs (using the link -- I hope you are still getting credit )

I only got one email ("Ihre Bestellung wurde abgeschlossen") that had the order summary and the details for my bank transfer, but no activation link. The order shows up under "Meine Bestellungen" so I'm hoping all is OK.

[Motel75]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

Ordering through this link will give you € 5 of extra credit, later shown as "solomo Voucher 5 Euro "Kunden werben Kunden""

It looks like the Kunden werben Kunden (recommend a customer) program has been ended. I don't know if this is a sign of more ominous things to come for Solomo:

FAQ der solomo GmbH - Gibt es für solomo pro und 0/8/5-Cent ein Kunden-werben-Kunden Programm?

[babble]

Yes, I agree with you. Over on the solomo forum, a software developer admitted their voip server is "seriously [over]loaded" and that there is no date for installing the replacement. This is definitely a worrying sign at a telecoms company. And although solomo tested a software upgrade to their voip system back in April, it was never transferred onto the public network.

"Die Server sind aktuell recht stark belastet - wir arbeiten bereits mit Hochdruck an der Umsetzung einer vollständig neuen Plattform. Leider haben wir noch keinen Termin für die Umstellung auf die neuen Server. Lange dauert es aber nicht mehr!" - July 18 2010.

[Motel75]

I've wondered about this, as twice in the last few months I was unable to place any international calls via Vistream for several days (via several different Solomo SIMs and Vistream's call-through number) - I assume until they got round to calling the technician to fix their gateway. Which suggests a rather small-scale operation, and is a little odd when one of their main selling points is cheap international calls.

[babble]

Solomo screwed up an upgrade last Thursday, which will "hopefully be fixed within one or two weeks". The solomo phone system is in a real mess right now - customers have started to notice and are now bailing out fast.

The German media have not yet commented on this telecoms story.

[inquisitor]

This screwed update has two really bad effects: One is that people with activated parallel call (incoming calls will ring on mobile phone and VoIP-account simultaneously) have been unreachable since Friday while callers get an announcment saying the number is inexistant, which is strongly confusing. The other is, that there's a security flaw - if you access online customer service from the same computer after another solomo customer, you'll get to see data from that other customer. Besides these issues their online customer service is full of errors now.
Against the background of their low reliability, their recurring problems with even basic services, the bad network quality of the eplus network, which they are using, the lack of data packs and the cheap(er) rates of reliable providers like Fonic, who use better networks, I've also quit solomo today (I've posted a detailed list of issues causal for my decission on the solomo forum). Hopefully the affected number will be ported to Fonic soon.
All in all solomo seems to be just a public betatest running on minimum investments, which is reflected in all these problems.

In consequence I hereby withdraw my recommendations for solomo, which I made in the past. Fonic seems to be the best alternative for most solomo customers.

[Motel75]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

Fonic seems to be the best alternative for most solomo customers.

I'd agree, but I'd also say that CallYa International is also a good choice for short-term foreign visitors, as it has very competitive international rates and the first month's 1.99 fee is essentially free; the 5 cent on-network rate is good if there is more than one person visiting Germany together. (However, the data pricing is counterintuitive, the 15-cent off-network rate is not outstanding, and the monthly fee discourages casual use of this tariff, as does the fact that it is a tariff and not an add-on.)

[TheMadBrewer]

You can see from my earlier post (27 July) that I ordered 3 solomo pro startpackets.

I got an email that they shipped 2 August.

Here we are 10 days later and they have not arrived and emails to solomo have not been answered.

I'm starting to get that old "United Mobile" feeling

I'll have 8 sims to replace -- a bit of money if I switch to fonic -- but better to spend the money and have something that works, rather than not spend it and have ....

[inquisitor]

Well, I don't think solomo or vistream (the underlying MVNE) are at risk of bankruptcy and if you're just looking for voice and SMS you probably won't be affected by their issues at all. Problems start if you use their VoIP-feature or data. Fortunatley the security flaw on their website has been fixed meanwhile.
Also solomo still has some advantages over Fonic, such as the possibility of recharging online by creditcard.