Iphone Satellite messaging vs Zoleo

[Greenbelt]

I have been out goat hu ting lately and I have had a Verizon iPhone and a ZOLEO.

Both have worked fine for sending messages to home and work. However, the iPhone only sends and receives the messages while you are connected. My phone will not upload old messages (I.e if someone sends me a message in the morning and I then connect in the afternoon). ZOLEO does send me the messages, even if they were sent while the device was off. Once I connect I get all my messages.

I will keep carrying the zoleo for that purpose.

Good info. I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna carry my zoleo this year again. Everyone else in my party is going with just phones and the T-link. I'm not to positive the technology is there yet where I need it to be. But it does have a ton of potential.

 

[TXCO]

I was actually going to do a quick review on these after coming from Alaska this week. I brought an iphone, an inreach and a starlink.

The iphone was ok. I didnt like having to wait for satellites to come in range and I never seemed to get messages unless I was initiating a message. ie a flood of messages came in whenever I had service or starlink up. I wouldnt use this as a single use, at least up that far north. I also agree the battery seemed to go faster in sat mode.

The inreach did as expected and has done over the last 10 years. I do feel like theyre getting slower as several messages took a couple of hours to show up, like my pilots takeoff message coming in after he landed.

The starlink performed well when it had a very clear view to the north. Otherwise, it really struggled. Also the anker batteries I had for it died very quickly which was disappointing.

 

[hunt1up]

I used my Iphone sat messaging in the Yukon a few weeks ago. I have Verizon. It is neat to be able to text someone from 3000 miles away and in the middle of nowhere. But it isn't fast, and one of our camp locations was surrounded by mountains and they'd kill the signal about half the time. You sit there and track the satellite with your phone, get connection for 2-3 minute, then wait for another satellite. Some come in 5 minutes, some are 20 minutes. As others have said, it's fine for a quick text back and forth but I'd never trust it for emergencies. It was more of a novelty than a functional tool I could trust.

I'll likely try the T-Mobile starlink add-on to my Verizon phone for my son's upcoming elk hunt. He's 12 and it's just me and him, so I need something more trustworthy and intuitive. And/or I'll take the Inreach.

 

[Greenbelt]

I was actually going to do a quick review on these after coming from Alaska this week. I brought an iphone, an inreach and a starlink.

The iphone was ok. I didnt like having to wait for satellites to come in range and I never seemed to get messages unless I was initiating a message. ie a flood of messages came in whenever I had service or starlink up. I wouldnt use this as a single use, at least up that far north. I also agree the battery seemed to go faster in sat mode.

The inreach did as expected and has done over the last 10 years. I do feel like theyre getting slower as several messages took a couple of hours to show up, like my pilots takeoff message coming in after he landed.

The starlink performed well when it had a very clear view to the north. Otherwise, it really struggled. Also the anker batteries I had for it died very quickly which was disappointing.

Would still love to see the write up. I'm actually planning on bringing a starlink as well and have kind of settled on running the peakdo battery connected to it. Through all the reviews I've read you get about 4hr plus continual use on that battery. So Ill run that off of a solar panel. That will all be back at base camp but we'll be about 5 miles from that hunting another area spike camping. But it will be an option for guys to go back at some point and use that if they want or if they just decide to hunt from that camp.

 

[160andup]

One MASSIVE issue with the iPhone sat messaging that I haven’t seen mentioned is if you’re in and out of service (very spotty where it’s not enough to send a normal text), it won’t let you put it into satellite mode. So you literally cannot send a message at all. That would be a major downfall in an emergency situation. Not to mention the frustration and drain on the battery associated with that. It was a real PIA in Canada recently.

 

[ScottyB82]

I'm reading that your phone has to be unlocked is this true?

Yes

 

[wapitibob]

Just read about the T-mobile starlink setup and from what users were saying, it's really no different than the iphone sat texting, I'll pass.
Service needs to be at absolute zero before it'll try to connect, same as the Iphone sat texting. Only text, no data, same as Iphone.

 

[doc holiday13]

My buddy was using his Iphone messaging on our last hunt and he was burning through battery so fast. Meanwhile I think my phone running bluetooth only while in airplane mode lasted 2.5 days and I was still messaging with my Inreach.

Cost a few extra bucks to run the Inreach but I didn't need a massive backup battery. I had a 25kMa battery and only used 1/2 the charge over the course of 4 days hunting

 

[ScottyB82]

Just read about the T-mobile starlink setup and from what users were saying, it's really no different than the iphone sat texting, I'll pass.
Service needs to be at absolute zero before it'll try to connect, same as the Iphone sat texting. Only text, no data, same as Iphone.

I have it and I can switch between services no problem I have two service bars one for starlink and one for my AT&T line. I just set my iPhone to use the starlink for data and works no issue I was 70 miles offshore last week and able to make calls over WiFi on starlink. See the photo attached

 

[wapitibob]

I have it and I can switch between services no problem I have two service bars one for starlink and one for my AT&T line. I just set my iPhone to use the starlink for data and works no issue I was 70 miles offshore last week and able to make calls over WiFi on starlink. See the photo attached

Figures, reddit posts came up on google, I will make a trip to the t-mobile store.

thanks

 

[Maverick1]

Just got back from an elk hunting trip. Tried out the iPhone satellite texting feature to see how it functions. It works, but definitely not something I would want to rely on in an emergency situation. I will keep my antiquated SPOT device for those purposes.

The iPhone satellite communication took too long to connect, and was too inconsistent - it seemed to struggle with clouds and terrain (tall trees, mountains). I would not rely on it if I was in a situation deep in the timber, under heavy cover, or in a deep bowl. It did not function particularly well - at all - with the connection. At times I had to relocate quite a distance and in a relatively open area to get things to connect to the nearest satellite and send out a message. If one was injured (broken leg, ankle, etc.) , they would likely not be able to relocate themselves to be able to connect. As already mentioned, I'll be keeping my SPOT device for the time being. I'd consider the satellite texting feature a "nice to have" - for those that actually want to stay in contact with friends and family while in the backcountry.

 

[matchu865]

If you need text based weather for the iphone, try out this service (it's free) https://www.boltwx.com/

I used it on a recent backcountry trip and it worked great.

 

[Norcal18]

Up until this last weekend I would have said T-mobiles Starlink based texting was great. Never had a problem when in a dead zone. Then this weekend went in to the wilderness of Northern California and it took 2.5 days for it to connect. Got service on a ridge and asked the wife it check on it. Basically they said it can happen with older iPhones-sorry. Looking into it model 13 and 14s are the less reliable. Glad it eventually started working but it was pretty frustrated. Just something for others to know and consider.

 

[Jerrenowtt]

I’ve had cases where the messages didn’t go through right away without a clear view of the sky. Battery life also matters a lot if you're out for several days.

 

[Olsolitaire1]

We just swapped over to T-Mobile & internet and new phones a couple of weeks ago. We did this at one of their official stores, the lead person taking care of us was an outdoors person when downloading my phone she said that she seen I have Garmin messaging and said they offer satellite but recommended sticking with Garmin because their technology isn't there yet.

 

[Backyard]

We just swapped over to T-Mobile & internet and new phones a couple of weeks ago. We did this at one of their official stores, the lead person taking care of us was an outdoors person when downloading my phone she said that she seen I have Garmin messaging and said they offer satellite but recommended sticking with Garmin because their technology isn't there yet.

I used both Zoleo and my IPhone this year elk hunting Wyoming. The Zoleo was quicker and easier than dicking around trying to keep on a satellite with the phone. Plus Zoleo has a one-touch SOS feature should I have needed it. I will keep using it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[patrickj71]

I've used the included Iphone sat texting quite a bit and also carry a Zoleo.
There is no comparison between the two when the shiit hits the fan. Break your leg, being immobile, then try following satellites with the phone..... Or better yet, have a chest ripper, pull out the iphone, wait for it to connect, then get the message, "next satellite will be in range in 12 minutes".
The iphone sat texting is great for telling buddies you have a bull down, it's not an emergency sat device, not even close.
The t-mobile star link setup may be a lot better, I haven't used that.

I have T-Mobile with my android phone and it seems to work pretty well. I live out west where cell coverage is spotty in the mountains. The satellite texting has been pretty good for me. My wife has an iPhone on the same account so I'll see if there is any difference between our phones during our next trip. I'll give an update if there is a difference.