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If it's that intermittent, stick your phone in a metal bowl shielding it from below and only open to the sky might workAnd by "off the grid with no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage" Apple means you must have zero cell signal bars. If you have even 1 cell signal bar.....NO satellite messaging for you. That's how it is currently configured by Apple.
So there you are at several thousand feet, somewhere over the US. You might have just enough intermittent cell signal for the phone to not make a satellite messaging connection.....but not a consistent enough cell signal to send a cell based text message either.
Maybe. It is already in a metal bowl shielded from the ground......aka: the fuselage...on my lap, below the canopy deck.
Well that's your problem, put it on a mount above the glare shield and it won't intermittent !Maybe. It is already in a metal bowl shielded from the ground......aka: the fuselage...on my lap, below the canopy deck.
And with that, this mechanical engineer will cease and desist discussing satellite and cell tower RF stuff.
Even that doesn't work well in the mountain west, at 10-12k msl (to clear the rocks), when right over a major interstate highway (where the cell coverage is pretty good on the ground). Next OSH trip I'll try it somewhere over the plain states where there are cell towers that cover a very large area.Well that's your problem, put it on a mount above the glare shield and it won't intermittent !
www.macrumors.com
I had the opportunity to sign up a while back and did. Tested it while flying with a friend and .... it worked!T-Mobile is offering anyone, regardless of phone brand or cell service provider, to sign up to beta-test their upcoming Starlink service offering from now until July, for free. Along with a substantial discount if those people wish to stay with the Starlink service after the beta testing is done. Gotta sign up before the end of February.
iPhone Users Can Sign Up to Try Starlink Connectivity For Free Until July
T-Mobile today announced that its Starlink satellite feature is now available in public beta, meaning anyone in the U.S. with a compatible iPhone or Android smartphone can sign up to test the off-the-grid connectivity, even if they use another carrier like AT&T or Verizon. Starlink is a...
My aviation mission makes the current expense of satellite texting a pointless investment. I'm pretty confident, however, that it will become ubiquitous in the not-so-distant future and likely just another component of a basic cell phone plan or standard hardware feature of any cell phone.
Yes, confirmed on iPhone 15 with IOS 26.5
Mine did not connect. All I saw was SOS. I have an Iphone 13
It requires an iPhone 14 or newer. I'm still using a 12 but will upgrade soon.
Im asking about T-Mobile's satellite service, not the Apple one.
That’s interesting because when I signed up, T Mobile said I was compatible and it shows on my phone that I have satellite service
Yes. It seems to always work for me when NO cell service is available.
Exactly. The email I received back when I was accepted into the Beta program explained that it's only available to use when I don't have cell service. There's a section of road close to my house where it always switches to satellite automatically for a few miles. Aside from that road, I've only been able to access it when in the air and I can't reach a cell tower.
My earlier statement of needing iPhone 14 or newer is now old news. T-mobile has made the iPhone 13 capable with iOS 26 and updates to SIM settings.
