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Recharging Vodafone CallYa SIM

I’m putting this here simply so that future versions of myself – or other English-speaking travelers in Germany – can refer to it.

So you’ve got yourself a Vodafone CallYa pre-paid SIM card in Germany – easy and cheap to pick up at any Vodafone outlet in the country (when I went looking for one last March they were having a 5-for-1 sale, so I have five German mobile numbers working in rotation for a time). And you need to recharge your account now that you’ve extinguished its initial value. But how?

I tried many times, in vain, to recharge online at Vodafone.de – it seems like it’s actually not possible. In theory you can buy a CallNow scratch card from kiosks, but that’s not always convenient or lingually possible.

Fortunately there’s a solution: aufladen.de. From that site you can purchase online, in English, a 15 or 30 Euro “top up code” by credit card that gets delivered to you by email and can then be entered on the phone by calling Vodafone’s 22922 line.

I did this today, and it worked as expected, with the following caveats:

  • I appeared to need a German address, at least when paying by credit card: I kept getting an error message about a missing postal code when I used my Canadian address. I ended up using the address of my temporary Berlin apartment and the transaction processed without further problems.
  • It’s possible that when you dial 22922 you’ll get messaging only in German. To switch your Vodafone language to English. press 4 and then 2; all future calls will then be in English.
  • The code took about 3 minutes to arrive by email; be patient.

I still haven’t quite figured out how to tell what CallYa plan I’m signed up for and what the rates are: all I know is that an afternoon of occasional data and SMS use comes out to about 1 EUR of charges, which seems reasonable to me.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - 6:12pm
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Comments

Dan Reed's picture
Dan Reed on August 3, 2011
Thanks for the information on recharging a Vodaphone Callya account. I got around the problem of having a credit card with a German address by paying through my Paypal account. I used the 22922 number to recharge my account from the U.S. Vodaphone uses the AT&T network in the US. For some time have been trying to figure out how to top my account without having a German friend go into a Vodaphone shop. Thanks!
Bill S's picture
Bill S on August 27, 2011
Guys, if you have an Android smartphone, there is an app on the market called “Mein CallYa”. If you go into any dm store (they seem to be everywhere here in Frankfurt) you can purchase a top-up card for Vodaphone which is simply a barcode that they scan at the register. When they scan this code, you will get a top-up number on the receipt from the register and they will keep the barcode to put back on the shelf. Go into the Mein CallYa app, and there you can find under “Menu” an option that says “Aufladen”. Here there is a field that says “Aufladennummer” and you can simply type in the number from the receipt and click “Senden”. A few seconds later you will get a message that says “Vielen Dank” indicating that you’ve topped up. Also, the first time you used the phone, it should have given you an option to have either German or English. You can dial 22044 on your mobile with the CallYa SIM installed and you should get some English options for managing it.
Medhat's picture
Medhat on November 16, 2011

My name is Medhat Dessouki

I have a Vodafone CallYa prepaid SIM & it was roaming unitl very soon but now it is diconnected & I can not even recharge it by the internet how can I restore the SIM & recharge it from the internet
SIM details:
70 5085 0538229 1 g 0162
+491627270326

expat's picture
expat on January 22, 2012
Thanks for this info, you saved me a lengthy drive to the store for minutes.
Denis's picture
Denis on February 15, 2012
You have to key in: *100* then your Aufladenummer (usually 15 numbers) then # and hit call. you should instantly receive a message that says your phone has been topped up
andy's picture
andy on February 21, 2012
i have a call prepaid sim card, i try to use the function by calling *100#. but it in germany, anyway to change to english version. thanks
djoko's picture
djoko on April 29, 2012

I bought top up vodafone call-ya in germany... I used vodafone italy simcard... Until now I try to use code *100*aufladenummer# still can't to top up... And the respond write internal error...

Can you guy help me how to top up..., I already call service number : 22922 but all is italiano language that I didn't understand...

Thanks before... :)

Lauren's picture
Lauren on May 10, 2012

Ok so I just tried buying credit on Aufladen.de but they said my phone number was incorrect. Has anyone had that problem?

dude's picture
dude on June 27, 2012

visit ezetop.com

Peter's picture
Peter on July 7, 2012

For those using vodafone.de (German) and want to change the instructions to English. The new way is:
1. Dial 22044 from your vodafone handy
2. wait a few seconds, press 5
3. wait a few seconds, press 4
4. wait a few seconds, press 2 (by now you should hear an English voice)

For voicemail, you can call the help line, either the one that came with you handy or 017222911, listen and press the correct number for an English speaking representative, it took me less than 3 minutes to connect (Free) and about 24 hours for the Voicemail to change to English.

Thanks to www.everythingkmc.com

Micky's picture
Micky on July 26, 2012

Hi,

a few weeks ago I visited Germany and bought 2 VODAFONE SIMS (One is a CallYa the second is a pre-paid but I'm not sure if it is also a CallYa).

Both SIMS still have some € credit on them.

As I'm not going to Germany every year and to recharge the SIMS from where I live costs a lot more than the 5 or 10 Euros (Fees + Exchange rate) my question refers to the Call Numbers of both SIMS.

Is there a limited period where after which I will loose the numbers if I don't recharge and/or place or receive any calls ?

Is there any written contract or whatever where I can learn about the requirements etc ?

Any reply will be more than appreciated.

Thanks, Micky

mike d's picture
mike d on August 16, 2012

OMG this was a Godsend! Thank you!!!! I was on a client conference call when I ran out of euro on the sim card. Mortified!

I did a quick google search and your article was the first to come up. Within 5 minutes I had a number to enter (by following your directions) and voila... I had service again! THANK YOU.

One thing to know... the afluden.de site is ONLY in German. I know absolutely zero german but by guessing the words by their position on the page, I was able to adequately get through without any mistakes at all. I also used Paypal so I got around the whole german address thing (though I guess I could have used the hotel address).

Either way... I have to say, this info is PRICELESS!

Now... I wonder if it will be as easy in italy! I have my sim for there that is very low and I'm off to Tuscany in a week. If I find out it works I'll post back.

Thanks again.

Alex's picture
Alex on August 30, 2012

Hi!
Yes you can do this easily online.
Then you dont even need to follow any operator instructions,
when you finish your order the website will give you a code, you
just need to dial

*100*123456789012345#

Where the 123... is is the actual charging code.
Be sure to put the # at the end!

Und das ist alles!

Evgeniya's picture
Evgeniya on April 17, 2013

Thank you so much!! You really helped me!

Bill's picture
Bill on September 5, 2012

The aufladen.de does have a English version - just click on the German flag in the upper right hand of the page and you will be given and English option. Also, when you put in your phone number, you need to have the correct country code.

joe's picture
joe on March 16, 2013

Absolute genius......just used it to send credit to a friend...

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