iPhone 16 pro replace iNReach?

[nimike]

Curious as to opinions.
If using inreach for emergency reasons, do you think the iPhone 16Pro with its satellite text and emergency capabilities can replace it when in the mtns?

 

[doc holiday13]

Dude..... Use the search function.. There is literally a post on page 1 of GD forum..

Thread 'Western states Tmobile coverage and satelite experience?'

May 15, 2025

As title states, I'm curious about folks real world Tmobile service experience in western states.
Where we live currently its not an issue,pretty much everything works fine but our travels take us west frequently and relocation likely in the works in next year or two.
Just wondering if any folks in WY, MT, ID, CO, UTAH etc have any good, bad or ugly things to report on Tmobile out there.
Also curious about real world experience with satellite text/calling on tmobile over starlink network, I know its new, just wondering if much experience with it around here yet.
Overdue for new phones...

• StuckInTheEast
• Replies: 20
• Forum: General Discussion Forum

 

[nimike]

Roger that. Tried to delete.

 

[fngTony]

Yes we have a few threads on this but I want to point out that there’s two different types of satellite capable phones to consider. We have the iPhone 15 and up regardless of carrier will connect to apple’s service via the Globalstar network. A phone from T-Mobile will also connect to the starlink network which is going to be a better platform in the future to provide a data connection similar to cell service.

Inreach and Zoleo use the iridium network which tends to have better coverage over the US. These standalone devices can also be mounted to a shoulder strap for easy reach to their very weather resistant dedicated SOS button. So they are still providing a better way to “sound the alarm” in an emergency. Lots of talk in the hunting community that you can just get your phone out when you need it. Personally I’m with the rest of the outdoor crowd in that an emergency is an emergency and time is valuable. You don’t necessarily have the same cognitive ability if injured but if you’re just trading jokes to your buddy on the next ridge then a satellite capable cell phone is fine.

 

[BRTreedogs]

iPhone 16 pro max and I wouldn’t trust the sat messaging to tell someone I farted, little loan rely on it as an emergency device.

It was the entire reason i switched to iPhone and It wouldn’t even work last time i tried

 

[Calcoyote]

iPhone 16 pro max and I wouldn’t trust the sat messaging to tell someone I farted, little loan rely on it as an emergency device.

It was the entire reason i switched to iPhone and It wouldn’t even work last time i tried

Based on what you are saying I will probably be doing some additional testing.

My wife and I upgraded to the iPhone 16 last year when we were still living in Oregon. I tested it several times that fall while deer hunting in a general unit on the West side of the Cascades not too far out of Sisters. It worked GREAT. Even with some tree canopy I was always able to get a reliable signal and send/receive texts with zero failures. Normally the texts would only take about 20-25 seconds to go through. I sent and received approximately 25-30 messages on a couple of trips. I was pretty happy with it (but alas, I did not get a deer).

Now we are living in Western Wyoming and I will be backpacking and hunting is some MUCH more remote country. Based on what you are saying I will doing some additional test on the iPhone 16. We use Verizon which probably should not make much difference if satellite is being used.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Based on what you are saying I will probably be doing some additional testing.

My wife and I upgraded to the iPhone 16 last year when we were still living in Oregon. I tested it several times that fall while deer hunting in a general unit on the West side of the Cascades not too far out of Sisters. It worked GREAT. Even with some tree canopy I was always able to get a reliable signal and send/receive texts with zero failures. Normally the texts would only take about 20-25 seconds to go through. I sent and received approximately 25-30 messages on a couple of trips. I was pretty happy with it (but alas, I did not get a deer).

Now we are living in Western Wyoming and I will be backpacking and hunting is some MUCH more remote country. Based on what you are saying I will doing some additional test on the iPhone 16. We use Verizon which probably should not make much difference if satellite is being used.

I used mine on an Elk hunt last yr.
It worked great for about 4 days.
Especially to another iPhone user.

Then all of a sudden it would not send a day message no matter what.

I thought it was tree canopy and location low in a canyon.
But even after getting up top and being in the wide open sitting still it would link, but just wouldn’t send or receive.

Tried again a few weeks ago and same thing.

It’s handy, but there is just absolutely no way I would rely on it as a safety device compared to an in reach.

Idk why everyone acts like an inreach is so expensive.
The entire device and basic service for a year is like 3 tanks of gas.

 

[DougR67]

Based on what you are saying I will probably be doing some additional testing.

My wife and I upgraded to the iPhone 16 last year when we were still living in Oregon. I tested it several times that fall while deer hunting in a general unit on the West side of the Cascades not too far out of Sisters. It worked GREAT. Even with some tree canopy I was always able to get a reliable signal and send/receive texts with zero failures. Normally the texts would only take about 20-25 seconds to go through. I sent and received approximately 25-30 messages on a couple of trips. I was pretty happy with it (but alas, I did not get a deer).

Now we are living in Western Wyoming and I will be backpacking and hunting is some MUCH more remote country. Based on what you are saying I will doing some additional test on the iPhone 16. We use Verizon which probably should not make much difference if satellite is being used.

Please keep us updated. We have an AK hunt scheduled and I'm planning on using my new 16pro instead of an inReach.

 

[homers]

HikingGuy, a well known outdoor YouTuber, has a couple of videos on this with the testing he did and the results. Your mileage may vary.

 

[AcesHigh]

Curious as to opinions.
If using inreach for emergency reasons, do you think the iPhone 16Pro with its satellite text and emergency capabilities can replace it when in the mtns?

To each their own I guess. But why replace a great piece of gear with a cellphone? At least until you have tested the phone thoroughly. Living far outweighs the cost of a subscription. Consider phones are more sensitive to heat, cold, fragile, reduced battery life in extreme environments etc. 16pro has a great IP rating. But I don’t trust any cellphone models durability and have a few have failed me in extreme cold. The inreach offers better operating temperature range (this is a big one for me), longer battery life, better connection, and more accurate GPS location than a 16. Murphy seems to always find his way into the chat in SAR situations. Also consider most emergency dispatch centers and SAR organizations are familiar Inreach, and work well together. How easy will the phone companies share your info with emergency responders? They can be a PITA. Just things to consider IMO.

 

[Dawg In Montana]

I’ll keep an eye on this but I am sure not going to be on the leading edge. This is a technology that needs to work without fail in certain situations, and I’ll let others test that out how an iPhone does here. Until then I’ll keep using my inreach.

 

[Yellowknife]

I used it quite a bit (iPhone 16 on AT&T) in northern / interior Alaska this spring. It's not yet an InReach for emergency purposes, although it's getting there.

1.) Sat link usually took 2-9 minutes to connect and lasted 5-10 minutes.
2.) Text replies only work as a response when you are linked. If someone sent me a standard text while my phone was in my pocket, I wouldn't get it... even after I connected.

It was an improvement on the InReach for keeping up with work and family. It would be dubious in a remote emergency situation. I will be keeping the InReach for the SOS capability for now, at least in Alaska. I do expect the tech will quickly improve and make it obsolete though. InReach has a number of it's own problems with communication, so the bar is pretty low.

 

[rogerdoger]

I will not have it replace my inreach. I will keep the inreach as my backup communication as well as my backup gps. The inreach paired with a paper map will get me home if phone dies.

 

[wapitibob]

Curious as to opinions.
If using inreach for emergency reasons, do you think the iPhone 16Pro with its satellite text and emergency capabilities can replace it when in the mtns?

Not even close.
I'd love to see someone try to follow and connect to a sat when they're having a chest ripper or a tree stob stuck in their femoral artery.
It does work great for texting your buddies to let them know what's going on.

 

[Muttman]

I just got the Iphone 16 pro max - T-Mobile - 2 months ago & signed up for the beta test for starlink.
so when i leave any service area, my phone automatically connects to SpaceX (starlink). no searching for satellites or pointing my phone in a certain direction like my buddies had to do on verizon.
i live in utah & was bear hunting all last week in Montana, & came home thru yellowstone & tetons.
i was able to text my wife, kids, parents, at anytime of the day including a big thunderstorm with no issues. and they could text me also. it was instant & they could see the bubbles as i was typing & if i was still watching i could see that they were typing. also showed when the text was delivered & read.
the only issue was when i would type a text then put it in my pocket sometimes it wouldnt send right away as i think it couldnt connect to the satelites. so i started making sure they were delivered b4 i put in pocket.
so the text would change from blue to green.

i have been using Zoleo for the past 5 yrs and i am not ready to give it up quite yet. cuz i like that i can just push the SOS button & immediately sends SOS signal & location to SAR & know that they will respond in even if i cant respond back.

also on this trip, one of my buddies had the Starlink mini on the 50G plan. that was pretty cool to stay in touch with work emails, video calls, etc.... while we sat on the ridges glassing bears. especially for us lucky ones that dont have to be in an office & can work on the go. so i will be getting one of those too!!

mutt

 

[wyosteve]

I just finished an Alaska hunt where I took my Messenger and iPhone 16 Pro. My thoughts- the Messenger was flawless. Kind of a 'set it and forget it' deal. The iPhone worked when there was a satellite and might have sent and received a bit quicker than the Messenger. The downside to me is with the iPhone, you had to constantly keep turning for it to stay aligned with the satellite. Not hard to do with the phone screen, but a difference from the Messenger. Biggest surprise was that quite a few times when I'd turn the phone on to the satellite page, it said I had to wait for a satellite, sometimes 5 minutes or so. That was a pain. Bottom line for me, I'll trust the Messenger over the iPhone given the current iPhone technology.

 

[Mtaylor]

I hope they get it figured out, it’s kinda clunky right now in my opinion

 

[Marshfly]

People should be stating whether they are using the Apple satellite texting or the Starlink satellite texting on their iPhones. I have used both. Apple texting last fall. And now Starlink texting since I am with T-mobile. There is a huge difference in effectiveness in the two systems from my experience.

If all you have experience with is the Apple system, I can see how you would feel it clunky.

 

[WoolyBugger]

People should be stating whether they are using the Apple satellite texting or the Starlink satellite texting on their iPhones. I have used both. Apple texting last fall. And now Starlink texting since I am with T-mobile. There is a huge difference in effectiveness in the two systems from my experience.

If all you have experience with is the Apple system, I can see how you would feel it clunky.

Yep the starlink was pretty nice. I just switched back to Verizon because t mobile sucked in my area.. but it looks like I can add their starlink service once my sim is off of carrier lock.

Starlink connects automatically once you are about of cell service, unlike the iPhone sat messenger. And also unlike the iPhone sat messenger, you will get texts from others without having to message them first or go through extra steps to connect. Texts usually sent immediately.

I used iPhone sat service last fall on an elk hunt and it was just fine, performed better than expected. Could have been frustrating in an emergency situation but there was never a time I waited more than a couple minutes to connect and get a text out.

 

[Marshfly]

Yep the starlink was pretty nice. I just switched back to Verizon because t mobile sucked in my area.. but it looks like I can add their starlink service once my sim is off of carrier lock.

Starlink connects automatically once you are about of cell service, unlike the iPhone sat messenger. And also unlike the iPhone sat messenger, you will get texts from others without having to message them first or go through extra steps to connect. Texts usually sent immediately.

I used iPhone sat service last fall on an elk hunt and it was just fine, performed better than expected. Could have been frustrating in an emergency situation but there was never a time I waited more than a couple minutes to connect and get a text out.

Yeah. I found the Starlink texting to perform similarly to being connected to home wifi without cell service. It should be fairly seamless in coverage also from my experience with an actual Starlink internet setup.

The inreach battery and robustness advantage is there for sure, but I think any connectivity advantage is pretty much gone at this point.