Before you start

Passport or national ID for the mandatory identity verification
A German address, for postpaid contracts and for broadband
A German bank account, for direct debit on a contract
An unlocked handset or one that supports eSIM

Step-by-step

1
Buy prepaid on day one and verify your identity
Prepaid SIMs and eSIMs are sold in supermarkets, phone shops and online. Activation requires an identity check — in store with your passport, by video call, or through the Post's identification service. It is quick, and it is not optional under the Telekommunikationsgesetz.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Do not attempt a postpaid contract in your first weeks
Contracts require a German bank account, a registered address and a Schufa check. A brand-new file will produce either a refusal or a deposit demand. Prepaid sidesteps all three and costs very little for a moderate data allowance.
OnlineWho: You
3
Order home broadband the day you sign the lease
German provisioning routinely takes several weeks and can require an engineer visit and work in the stairwell in older buildings. Order against the future address as soon as the contract is signed. Ordering on moving day means a month of tethering, which is the single most common avoidable frustration of a German move.
OnlineWho: YouAt lease signing
4
Check what is actually in the building before you promise anyone a video call
Düsseldorf has substantial fibre coverage in newer districts and the harbour, and older Gründerzeit blocks in Flingern, Bilk and Pempelfort that are still on copper or cable. Ask the landlord or agent which connection the flat has rather than what the provider advertises for the postcode — if your work depends on it, treat this as a viewing question.
OnlineWho: You
5
Switch to a contract once you have a few months of history
After a registered address, a bank account in good standing and a prepaid record, a postpaid plan becomes achievable and is usually cheaper per gigabyte. Keep the number when you move — mobile number portability is a legal right and providers must complete it quickly.
OnlineWho: You
6
Understand the cancellation rules before you sign anything
German contracts historically rolled over for another full year if the cancellation window was missed. Since the Telekommunikationsgesetz was overhauled on 1 December 2021, a contract continuing past its minimum term can be cancelled with one month's notice. Older advice still reflects the previous regime, so check the specific terms rather than the general rule.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport or national ID for SIM registration
Meldebescheinigung, for postpaid contracts
German bank details for direct debit
Rental contract, for a broadband order against a future address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Order broadband at lease signing, not at move-in — the gap is weeks, not days.

German fixed-line provisioning is slow by the standards of almost every comparable country, frequently taking three to six weeks from order to a working line, and longer where an engineer has to work in a shared stairwell. The order can be placed against a future address with a start date. People who wait until they have the keys spend their first month tethering, and remote workers lose real money to it.

Source: community-reported

There is no anonymous prepaid SIM in Germany, and the check happens before activation.

Since a 2017 change to the Telekommunikationsgesetz every SIM must be registered against a verified identity document. The supermarket card is cheap but dead until you complete a video, in-store or post office identification. Automated video verification does not accept every nationality's passport, and being bounced mid-call is common — the post office route accepts everyone and is the reliable fallback.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur

A Gründerzeit flat in Flingern and a new build in the harbour are different internet countries.

Düsseldorf's fibre rollout is uneven: newer developments and the MedienHafen are well served, while the nineteenth-century blocks that make the inner districts attractive are frequently still on copper or on shared cable that degrades in the evening. Postcode-level availability checkers overstate what reaches your actual flat. Ask what is physically installed in the building, and ask at the viewing.

Source: Breitbandatlas (Gigabitgrundbuch des Bundes)

German mobile coverage on regional rail is worse than the country's reputation suggests.

The Rhine-Ruhr corridor is well covered, but the regional lines out toward the Bergisches Land, the Eifel and the Dutch border still drop calls in a way that surprises people arriving from southern or eastern Europe. If your commute or your weekends run out of the conurbation, compare the three network operators on the regulator's coverage map rather than on headline price.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur — mobile coverage map

Common mistakes to avoid

Ordering home broadband on moving day and losing a month to tethering.
Expecting to buy an unregistered prepaid SIM off a shelf as you would in the US.
Applying for a postpaid contract in your first weeks with no Schufa record.
Trusting a postcode availability checker rather than asking what is wired into the building.
Missing a cancellation window on an older contract that still auto-renews for a full year.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.