Starlink T-Mobile Goes Live... Death of the InReach?

[camping1601]

Myself and my wife (both Verizon) have been in the beta and have not been able to text one time yet. If anyone has some experience that can help that would be great. Figure at some point I'll try to reach tech support.

 

[Hussar]

I have Verizon as my main carrier and was in the beta. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra for my phone. I've sent a few texts from the T-Mobile sim card in service and sent/received a few texts through the satellites when out of service. Satellite texting send and receive seemed to take about 10 seconds per message which is quite a bit faster than my InReach was. I was able to have a normal conversation while out of conventional cell service.

The functionality seems to work about the same as my InReach. A clear view of the sky is a necessity and you have to be completely out of service before it switches. It seems like if you're hovering between one bar or service and none, there's not enough time for it to lock on the satellites. It only seemed to lock on if I was out of service for more than 5 minutes at a time.

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Garmin lowered their prices a few months ago and upped the messages. They know what’s up, currently there’s no reason to quit Garmin. The messaging is superior to iMessage Sat by far. I gave up trying on multiple trips this year. You have to sit still forever in the wide open, **** that. Drains phone battery, you don’t receive messages back unless you keep your phone still. I don’t get the hype. I’ve been using Inreach for a decade in the timber and it’s always worked for me. Starlink will get better I’m sure.

 

[ThorM465]

Has anyone here used the newer Garmin InReach Messenger Plus? It's suppose to be faster with higher data rates. It would be interesting to hear someones experience with these up against these stories on starlink, iphone sat, and the older InReaches.

 

[mntnguide]

I called T-mobile trying to get the starlink activated on my Verizon phone, and it got me nowhere. The people who answer have zero clue what you are talking about, and dont exactly speak english already, which doesnt help. Ended up getting nowhere. Might give it a few more days and try again, guessing this is all pretty new to the those people.

 

[Buglebrush]

I have Verizon as my main carrier and was in the beta. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra for my phone. I've sent a few texts from the T-Mobile sim card in service and sent/received a few texts through the satellites when out of service. Satellite texting send and receive seemed to take about 10 seconds per message which is quite a bit faster than my InReach was. I was able to have a normal conversation while out of conventional cell service.

The functionality seems to work about the same as my InReach. A clear view of the sky is a necessity and you have to be completely out of service before it switches. It seems like if you're hovering between one bar or service and none, there's not enough time for it to lock on the satellites. It only seemed to lock on if I was out of service for more than 5 minutes at a time.

I have T-Mobile and joined the Beta. This was my experience too. Absolutely loved it, and where it really shines is if your hunting buddies have it too. Being able to easily text back and forth was amazing! My biggest concern is being in an area with almost, but not quite phone service and not being able to use the Satellite or Phone.

 

[nm.otter]

CNET has a summary listing supported phones here:

Everything You Need to Know About T-Mobile's New Satellite Texting with Starlink

Are dead zones a thing of the past? T-Mobile and Starlink's new satellite cell service thinks so. Here's what you need to know.

www.cnet.com

The company said 911 texting will be available later this year to "any mobile customer with a compatible device, regardless of carrier or whether or not they are subscribed to the service."

Good enough for my current needs. Hopefully they provide a way to verify this functionality.