We’re heading to BER now in June for an extended weekend, and we’re going to get the heavily discounted €9 monthly "all over Germany" train tickets.

I have read that it’s valid for local means of public transportation only, i.e. No RE, IC, ICE etc, and we’ll only going to be using S and U bahn when in Berlin anyway…

My questions are as follows:

1. I’m going to get the tickets via the BVG app for June. Do I need to validate/activaten the ticket in the app prior to getting on my first train/bus ride? I guess there is no "tap" on/off as it’s a monthly nationwide ticket?

2. Does the BER - Berlin Hbf trains all count as "local", i.e. Can I jump on the FEX, IC or RE from the airport to the city with the €9 ticket or is it only valid on the S and U lines?