Satelite cell phones?

[elevatorman]

I had been considering a satellite emergency device like the inreach or zoleo as I hunt alot of public land in the mountains where there's no cell signal by myself climbing trees with a saddle. Well now that they are coming out with satellite messaging capabilities to cover that same emergency communications role in cellphones it seems like a no brainer to me. Just wait until January when samsung releases the s24 lineup and get one. I'm not an apple fan but Apple already has this out now in all iPhone 14s.

Have any of yall iPhone folks used this yet?

To me it seems better than the inreach or zoleo because not only can you use it for emergency SOS 's but also to send a simple text to my wife to say I'm ok, but staying in the woods a bit longer, or she can reach me. And it's already in your phone. Just one less item to remember.

 

[Sagebrush1]

Yah if you could just do that from your phone with no added device, that would be awesome.
I have a ZOLEO that I am really impressed with, but I figure the next phone I get will probably negate the ZOLEO device. I have an IPhone 14 which I just got. Previously was an 8, so at my average phone lifespan I’ll be up for an iPhone 20 next. Ha!

 

[elevatorman]

I think your iPhone 14 already does that. It's supposed to be free for 2 years Also from what I'd read on apples page. Apple said you can send messages via satellite as well as send your location.

The other question I have is I'm assuming if I'm in the middle of nowhere and use satellite to send a message the person receiving it can be on regular cell towers?

I would love to play around with it and test it but my wife's iPhone is a 12.

I'm like you, I have a Samsung s10 that's beat up but still kicking and if it wasn't for the whole satellite thing in the new s24s I'd be trying to keep it another 4 or 5 years. A new flagship phone costs about what a new flagship bow or a performance center revolver does.

 

[Sagebrush1]

Hmmm….I’m going to have to look into that. Thanks for the info.

My son just went to college and we also got him a new 14 when I got mine. I was planning on getting him a ZOLEO because I know he’s going to be making new friends and doing adventurous stuff.

I bought a 16’ skiff when I went to college and we took that thing everywhere in SoCal spearfishing. Now I fully understand why my folks bought me a little GPS and handheld VHF…ha!

Shit really comes around.

 

[DoubleAron]

Correct me if I am wrong on this. Currently you can not simply send messages using an iPhone over Sat. You can contact emergency services and you can share your location with contacts. So you can send your Wife etc you current location but not any messages. This may expand in the future and my guess is that it will include messaging. It also currently can not send a breadcrumb track like an in reach etc.

 

[JSTAFNG]

Correct me if I am wrong on this. Currently you can not simply send messages using an iPhone over Sat. You can contact emergency services and you can share your location with contacts. So you can send your Wife etc you current location but not any messages. This may expand in the future and my guess is that it will include messaging. It also currently can not send a breadcrumb track like an in reach etc.

That’s what I thought. But would be sweet if I was wrong! Hopefully Someone can chime in. Because I have a iPhone 14pro and just bought a inreach mini 2!

 

[WapitiBob]

Iphone 14 only does SOS.

 

[perma]

I’d opt for the sat comm anyway. Small price to pay if your phone ever dies/fails and you’re in a pickle.

 

[JSTAFNG]

Iphone 14 only does SOS.

That’s what I thought. Makes me feel better about getting my Inreach now

 

[elevatorman]

Kind of a bummer. Apple definitely could've done more there. My wife just got the iPhone 15 and it's like yall said, SOS only.

I'm waiting for the s24 samsungs to come out in January. No way to know for sure yet but hoping since samsung took longer to work bugs out then apple and Samsung is using a better satellite network closer to earth that they will offer at least basic text messaging with their satellites. Definitely hoping. Heck I'd even pay a little extra for the service.

 

[Bob-WY]

To allow texting it would require more software etc. They will do SOS first and see if there's a market, which I doubt there is. Most of the country is under cell service, where it's not, a SMALL minority of customers go, so will it be worth it? Time will tell

Zoleo is a great peace of mind, especially elk hunting

 

[elevatorman]

There's more to it than just what the market demands as far as SOS purposes. They now have the ability to track you and your location no matter where you are, where as before they could only track you by triangulation from cell towers. No matter what your opinion of our surveillance state being good or bad, most everything nowadays is tracked and data stored. My point is there is definitely motivation for these phone companies to be putting sattelite capabilities into the phones outside of our small niche uses as hunters.

I'm not knocking dedicated sattelite devices as emergency means but it would be nice to have the same capabilities built into a device you already own for most folks that would be a cost savings and a benefit of less things to remember and bring.

 

[Sytes]

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[Airmedic1]

A couple other things to remember, the iPhone uses Global Star, same as SPOT devices. Garmin InReach uses the Iridium network, same as US special forces and our military. I have used the Iridium network during National disasters and it is rock solid, not so Global Star. It may be free but if it doesn’t work is it really free?

 

[elevatorman]

So I just got an s24 ultra. Samsung did not implement sattelite abilities into this phone. So no idea how it would work. Fortunately I am able to use my ham radio to hit a repeater tower on a mountain to be able to communicate where there's no cell signal, avoiding the need for sattelite for now.

For some of yall getting your entry level (technician) ham radio license may be a worthwhile thing. Ham radio on handheld transmitter frequencies uses alot of repeaters with it being common to see towers on mountain tops greatly extending your range and ability to communicate. This is exactly what your police and fire departments use. Could be a great gap filler between cell phones and full on SOS sattelite communicators.

 

[elevatorman]

For more info, my wife doesn't have her ham license. So for us she has a handheld radio at home turned on so she can listen. I have mine that I can let her know I'm safe, or lying on the ground dying etc. As of now she can only listen, unless it's a real emergency for me, which case FCC rules allow using any means at your disposal to aquire emergency help. IE she can communicate back to me. I previously shared ONYX GPS coordinates so she'd know where to go.

Even if your spouse doesn't want to study to get their license, it's still a worthwhile thing to do. The first license is pretty easy to get.

 

[Moserkr]

I have the iphone 12 and an update gave it the SOS capabilities. I also have an inreach mini. The iphone sos only works when you have no cell service AND it picks up a satellite signal. From what I noticed hiking around, the SOS connected to the satellites randomly and rarely. Im not aware of any other uses besides sending an SOS. For now I still prefer the inreach. It's a matter of time though, 2-3 years probably, and cell phones will replace satellite messaging/sos devices like inreach. It happened with GPS devices already.

 

[Trial153]

I have had the last three models of inreach, I now have the mini too. I keep a year round plan and it’s a bargain. Checks all my boxes, contact with my wife and kids who put up with me being away several weeks a year. Emergency, yep. Also it serves as a sat phone replacement while I am in communication with transporters.

 

[WapitiMuser]

Getting my 10 post welcome in, it sounds like youve got an answer but just thought I'd share:

I carry two phones for work while hunting, one being an S22 unlocked and through my carrier connects to Union, AT&T, and T-Mobile, the other phone a new Iphone through Verizon. Usually throughout a day of moving I'll come accross a glimpse of signal from one of the four providers.
This last year I spent most of the fall in the flat tops. Apart from being on one of the peaks service is non-existent from King Mountain to Hunns Peak (30 miles as a crow goes). My last day a mile in from the road I ran into a hunter desperate for a black bear. I'd seen a dozen or so from late summer to mid September so I thought I'd point out some spots to him. He was carrying a Garmin In reach and I gave him my cell number as we parted ways. For the next 5 days he was in constant contact with me, texting from his Garmin while I was at home or at work. He'd say something like, I'm at the river where do I cross? And within seconds I could drop him a pin he could see on his GPS.

I was impressed with how well it worked for him in a remote area with nothing else. He said that he pays for the activation and uses it two months and cancels until the following season, being able to text his wife while gone week/s at a time kept them both sane. Seemed pretty slick to me.