Is 1&1 the Right Internet and Mobile Provider for Your Life in Germany?
You’ve signed the lease, the Anmeldung appointment is booked, and the flat has a phone socket on the wall that nobody can explain. Before the boxes are unpacked you’ll want two things working: Wi-Fi at home and a German number on your phone. 1&1 is one of the names you’ll see on almost every comparison site, and it can handle both from a single account.
The appeal for a newcomer is simple. One provider, one login, one bill to understand while everything else in your life is in a language you’re still learning.
The real question is whether a German contract with 1&1 fits the way you live here. That comes down to a handful of contract terms, and once you know where to look they’re far less intimidating than the paperwork suggests.
What 1&1 sells
At home, 1&1 offers DSL over the existing copper line and fibre (Glasfaser) where the street has it. The DSL page lists four speed tiers, from 16 up to 250 Mbit/s download, and each one comes with a landline phone flat for calls to German landlines. The router is 1&1’s own HomeServer, which the company says is built on FRITZ!Box technology; the current HomeServer Pro is marketed as a Wi-Fi 7 tri-band model.
On the mobile side there are All-Net-Flat tariffs with a fixed data allowance, “Unlimited on demand” tariffs where you can book extra gigabytes at no charge, and fully unlimited options. They run on 1&1’s own 5G network, which went live for mobile customers in December 2023 as Germany’s fourth network. Where 1&1 doesn’t have its own coverage yet, phones switch automatically to Vodafone’s network through a national roaming deal. New tariffs are activated by eSIM, so you can be up and running without waiting for a SIM card in the post.
The larger home tariffs also bundle in mobile SIMs with a small monthly data allowance, which is handy if a partner or flatmate needs a number too.
📶 Check which speeds reach your address
How to read a German contract before you sign
None of this is unique to 1&1, but it’s what to look for on any German tariff page.
Minimum term. German law caps the initial minimum term for telecoms contracts at 24 months. After that, a contract may roll on automatically, but the Verbraucherzentrale NRW confirms you can then cancel at any time with one month’s notice. 1&1 also sells mobile tariffs “ohne Vertragslaufzeit”, which can be cancelled monthly with a month’s notice, and a DSL Flex option it describes as cancellable at short notice. Check which kind you’re ordering before you click through.
Introductory price versus the regular price. Some 1&1 deals are structured as a reduced or free first few months followed by the standard monthly rate; others offer one lower price for the whole term. To compare fairly, add up the promo months and the regular months across the full minimum term, then divide by the number of months. That gives you a true monthly figure you can hold against any rival offer.
One-off fees. Look for the Bereitstellungspreis, the one-time setup charge, and add it to your total.
The contract summary. Under German rules, the provider has to give you a Vertragszusammenfassung, a short written summary of the contract, before you sign. It’s the quickest place to confirm the term, the speeds and the fees in one view, so keep a copy.
One more protection deserves a mention. 1&1 runs a 30-day test period across its products. In its own words, you can cancel within the first 30 days at any time without giving a reason, and the company says it will refund the one-time setup price and the base fee.
Picking a tariff
Start at home, because that’s where the hardware lives. Run the 1&1 availability check with your full address, including house number. It gives an immediate estimate of the bandwidth your building can get, and there’s a separate check for fibre. Buying a 250 Mbit/s tariff makes little sense if the line outside tops out far lower.
Then think about how many people share the connection. Two people on video calls all day need more headroom than one evening streamer.
For mobile, look honestly at your last few months of data use. If you’re on Wi-Fi most of the day, a fixed allowance is fine. If you tether a laptop on trains or work from cafĂ©s, the unlimited tiers are where 1&1 is strongest. People with a tablet or smartwatch should look at the M and L mobile tariffs, which include a Multi-Card so a second device can share the same number.
Not sure how long you’ll stay in Germany? Lean towards the tariffs without a minimum term, even if the monthly figure is a little higher. Flexibility has a value when your visa or job contract has an end date.
📱 Compare 1&1 mobile tariffs side by side
Who it suits
1&1 makes the most sense for people who want internet and mobile under one roof. Families and couples get the most from the bundled SIMs on the bigger home tariffs, and anyone working from home benefits from a proper router included in the package rather than a basic box.
It also suits people moving into Germany from another provider. The 1&1 Einfach-Wechsel service handles the switch for you, cancels the old contract on request and transfers your phone numbers, with the company promising no double costs. A relief when your German isn’t up to a call with a cancellations team.
If you live somewhere rural, check mobile coverage at your address first. 1&1 is still building its own network, and outside it you’ll be relying on the Vodafone roaming partnership.
Getting the most from 1&1 once you’re connected
Use the first 30 days properly. Test the Wi-Fi in every room, run a few speed tests at busy evening hours and make sure the mobile signal holds up on your commute. If something isn’t right, the test period is your window to walk away.
Keep the contract summary somewhere you’ll find it again, and set a calendar reminder a month before the minimum term ends. That’s when you decide whether to stay, switch tariff or cancel.
If you move flat later, the Umzugs-Service is designed to activate the line at your new address on the day the old one switches off. And if your current speeds are regularly far below what you’re paying for, German rules let you document it with the Bundesnetzagentur’s broadband measurement tool and claim a reduction.
Small habits, but they turn a German contract from something you put up with into something that works for you.
🏠Start your 1&1 order with the 30-day test
