iPhones will soon be able to text via satellite

[peter303]

Is there a way to test if you have this feature working before you're cliffed out in Zion NP?

I did not have cell coverage at Brainard Lake last month. I suppose you could test there. Not too far away.

Maybe I'll try at Black Rock City later this month. There is no cellular there.

[rmcpherson]

I just returned from a 5 day backpacking trip into the Chicago Basin from Purgatory where I was able to put iOS satellite messaging through its paces. It "just worked" for the most part.

I was able to keep my partner updated on our progress throughout the trip, checking in via iMessage a couple times / day, updating location in "Find My" as well. Even in the Animas River Valley and in the basin, I could usually reach a satellite by standing in an open area. Trees will block the signal, so that could certainly affect reliability in densely wooded areas like the Appalachians. Occasionally the satellite was behind a mountain or ridge and I had to wait a few minutes until another came into view. The satellite messaging interface will let you know "another will be available in 8 minutes" so I didn't have to stand there cluelessly waiting and draining the battery. Battery usage was not too bad. Usually a couple of percentage drop during a 10 minute messaging session on my iPhone 16 Pro. My brother had the iPhone 14 Pro and it seemed to work equally as well.

The process to connect is:
1. Turn off airplane mode (I usually keep my phone in airplane mode in the wilderness to save battery and avoid fruitlessly searching for cell signal).
2. Wait for the phone to figure out that no cell service is available. It will only activate satellite messaging if there is no cell service at all.
3. Open "Messages" and click the "Connect to Satellite" popup. This opens the sat interface.
4. Wait for the phone to find the nearest satellite and point the phone toward it as directed. Wait for a connection to be established.
5. Once connected, update current location and/or begin messaging. This whole process usually takes about 30 seconds from the time airplane mode is disabled.

A couple things to note:
- You can receive iMessages asynchronously via satellite but only from members of your family sharing group and emergency contacts. Make sure you add anyone you want to communicate with to your emergency contacts before you leave.
- Annoyingly, if there is any cell service, even from a different network than you subscribe to, satellite messaging can not be activated. This means that if you have AT&T service, for example, but the phone can connect to the Verizon network for emergency calls, you will not be able to use satellite messaging. This came into play on the hike out from the Animas River to Purgatory.
- On the last morning (9/30) I started getting "Service is temporarily unavailable" messages when I tried to connect. Possibly the service was overloaded due to the national Verizon outage. It's unclear whether emergency SOS would still have worked under these circumstances, but this service is probably not yet as reliable as a Garmin InReach would be. Certainly not as reliable as a PLB.

The service unavailability issues aside, the presence of this service and ubiquity on millions of iPhones with free-for-now satellite messaging will undoubtedly change the isolated feel of the wilderness for me, something I'm ambivalent about. It was crucial to my partner's peace of mind, though, as we did some class 4 and low class 5 routes in the basin and I was able to periodically let them know that I was safe.

[Jorts]

I received this secondhand just yesterday so I have not yet verified it: from a SAR perspective, SAR will not be able to communicate with you directly like what is possible on an inreach. It's a runaround with communicating through an intermediary (not sure if that's an apple contractor or some other entity). So as alluded to above, you will not be able to receive direct correspondence from SAR even if they have your phone number.

[rmcpherson]

I received this secondhand just yesterday so I have not yet verified it: from a SAR perspective, SAR will not be able to communicate with you directly like what is possible on an inreach. It's a runaround with communicating through an intermediary (not sure if that's an apple contractor or some other entity). So as alluded to above, you will not be able to receive direct correspondence from SAR even if they have your phone number.

That's a good point and if anyone has had to use the SOS feature, I'd love to know about the experience. Obviously I can't and didn't test that functionality. The Apple documentation seems to indicate you will be texting directly with emergency services but how exactly that works is not clear and whether the conversation is truly two way:

Once you’re connected, your iPhone starts a text conversation with emergency responders by sharing critical information like your Medical ID and emergency contact information (if you have set them up), the emergency questionnaire answers, your location (including elevation), and remaining battery life for your iPhone. You might be asked to respond to additional messages.

One workaround would be to have your emergency contact that you can two-way message with act as an intermediary with emergency services but that's far from ideal.

[JohnnyLeadville]

Lucky enough to never need it, but it makes me feel gadgety

[John619]

FYI...
https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/testin ... -mesenger/

[desertdog]

I used the satellite feature (not an emergency) on my last Wemi trip. It worked like a charm. The only issue is the phone must be held pointed at the satellite. The app helps you find where the satellite is located in the sky. This is kind of a hassle. One trick is the phone can not be in airplane mode for the satellite feature to work.

The other day I tried to use it again to message my wife. It did not work at all. So for now I’ll keep my inreach.

[blazintoes]

After several tests recently on iPhone vs. InReach here are the details of what each will do for you:

iPhone
Global Star satellites (same as Spot) and does not have remote area coverage
Send and receive messages
Share location (remember to share beforehand on a network)
Free for now

InReach
Iridium satellites with world wide coverage
SOS IERCC relay center
Two way COMM
Weather updates
Monthly subscription

The way I see it is the iPhone is a nice supplement to the InReach but it will not replace it for several reasons. If you ever need SAR and rely on the iPhone it will call 911 and dispatch Apple's ER relay center and there are no details as to their experience. With the InReach you can easily trigger the SOS, which communicates with the national park service and/or appropriate SAR center. Also, you will have two-way COMM with SAR.

Battery life is better with the InReach. On a long day trip to the Sangres I used both devices and both were fully charged. After a 15 hour day my InReach was at 89% after 17 messages and shared locations. My iPhone drained to 43% after the same usage and if I triggered emergency services I would have to ensure that the phone is able to see the satellite and who knows how long the battery would last. The InReach has a better antenna. I can send messages and put it down to take care of other business. On my iPhone I have to watch and make sure it can see the satellite.

The InReach is superior for many reasons. It is durable, has better battery life, you can easily trigger SOS, have reliable two-way COMM, get daily weather updates and also easily send and receive messages while multi-tasking.

The iPhone is a nice supplement to the back country and is superior in mapping, tracking, music, podcasts, pictures etc. but it is not an adequate SOS device and the battery life and babysitting of it while communicating via satellite is frustrating. Also, you have to remember to share your location with whomever wants to know your whereabouts with a network connection before you go into the backcountry.

Bottom line, you'll want both.