If you have traveled to remote areas where cellular coverage does not reach, you know that when your communication is stopped, you feel anxious. T -Mobile’s new $ 10 monthly Star Link -based satellite texting service, T -satellite, which goes directly today, adopts a different approach from other satellite services to provide mobile access within half a million square miles of the wireless dead zone in the United States.
To test this, I launched about 3 hours from Seattle until my phone bars abandoned me, giving me the opportunity to see if the satellite texting using a satellite is just as easy as everyday cellular texting.
See this: Hand with T -Mobile’s T -satellite service
How is T -satellite different from other satellite services
Satellite Texting is now a huge thing: Wireless providers and phone makers, including Apple, are batting on satellite connectivity for passengers and people living in remote areas (and even for those affected by the emergency. Mass flooding In Texas).
This is not new. Apple offered SOS communications in collaboration with the Global Star on iPhone 14. And then, when you are out of coverage areas, emergency texting is allowed – which is a literal life saving for people trapped in wounded, lost or remote areas. This feature also allowed you to share your location through a satellite to find my app. Apple then extended the service to add any texting using the Messages app as well as demand for roadside assistance. CNET’s David Lumb used messages via satellite on his iPhone 15 Pro to send texts to friends and when he summarized the peak of Mount Hallikley in Hawaii.
In addition to Google’s Pixel 9A, it has a similar feature in its Pixel 9 phones, which works with a satellite provider Skylo. Samsung Galaxy Phone, such as recently released Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Philip 7, can use Verizon for satellite texting And also contact Emergency Services through Skylo.
However, this communication includes some steps to activate the feature. You need to stay out with a clear view of the sky – not trees or buildings – and point your phone on the satellite, and keep it stable to maintain the connection.
With the T -satellite, the experience is quite different. When you are in cellular coverage, texting is almost separated. On the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra with a T -Mobile Plan, the phone was already attached to the satellite in opening the messages app, which read the banner by reading “you are messaging by satellite.” A small satellite icon appears in the menu bar to identify the connection status.
The phone has automatically contacted the T -satellite network, as indicated by its (teen) status icon.
This is due to the fact that more than 650 starlinks provide wider coverage to satellite overheads, but because they are compatible with most phones sold in the last four years. You do not need a specific phone model that has satellite messaging hardware, such as Motorola Roger Ultra.
The experience of setting up a TT satellite on my iPhone 16 Pro was usually the same. One of the strange things about T -satellite is that T -Mobile is offering service to anyone, even if they use another carrier for cellular service. In my case, I set up a T -satellite beta using another ESIM slot on my phone, and just closed the primary service (AT&T) to test the T -Mobile feature. A solid black satellite icon appears in the menu bar.
I should note that I did this test a few days before the T -satellite was directly, so it was technically during the T -satellite beta period, and the beta version of the messages app on Android was used.
In addition, I did not try to make an emergency call, either, which would have to dial 911 in the phone app on the satellite service, vs. Apple to launch SOS text communications using Apple service.
Texting, but sometimes slowly
Most, texting through satellite is just like texting through cellular. The data pipe between the phone and a satellite that flies from above 17,000 miles per hour is small, so it takes several seconds to pass the text occasionally. But sometimes the conversation would have been without interruption. In comparison, when CNET’s Patrick Holland experienced Apple’s messages through the satellite feature, he noted that “most senders were nearby, others took 15 to 20 seconds a minute in a minute.”
A feature that goes directly to Android is the ability to send photos, videos and audio files using the multimedia messaging service on the satellite network. On the Galaxy S25 ultra, I took a picture of the lake and sent it using messages as I would usually do. The only difference in the satellite is that it took two and a half minutes to send.
On Android, you can also send photos through MMS on a satellite connection. The feature is coming for iOS later.
However, MMS is currently only supported on Android. iOS support is coming later. Reaching in the future – October, in particular – has the ability to send and receive data on satellite connections for apps. T -Mobile has presented devices as an example of apps that will be compatible with the service.
This will be a huge use of data for other mapping tools. Although I could never lose this trip-I ignored a well-marked natural neglect to test with amazing views-I also made a point to download an offline map of the area using Apple maps while I was still in the cellular range.
Delayed questions and challenges
Not every message passed, and after my limited testing, there are some areas where further explanation will help.
For example, on Android, it was not always clear when I lost a satellite connection. In theory, with many starlink satellite overheads, you should not have to worry about pointing to a particular patch of the sky to maintain the connection. But at one point after sending the message, some text below has stated that the app is waiting to be connected. Only then did I not see the small satellite icon was shown in thin gray bars instead of thin black bars.
Compare this with Apple’s implementation, which uses a dynamic island to display a different Green Status button impossible to identify a solid relationship with a satellite. Or Google’s satellite SOS service, with its full screen visual indicators that help you stay connected to the satellite or connect with a new one when needed.
The vibrant green icon on the dynamic island indicates a satellite connection when using Apple’s satellite texting feature. (The Red icon shows that the screen is being recorded and does not belong to the connection.)
I also confused my iPhone 16 Pro -run T -satellite as a secondary ESIM. While trying to warn a friend who came with me and was using Apple’s method on his iPhone, I received a message that he was connected through a satellite and was given the option to tap. Send through satellite. What I did not realize at that time was that when I was typing the text, the connection fell. On Further researchI discovered that an active third -party satellite connection menu shows “SAT” in the menu bar. When SAT is replaced by a black satellite icon, it means that the T -satellite is no longer connected, but that Apple’s satellite option is available. I thought it meant that I was still connected.
At one point, I was unable to text my friend who was also using access to the satellite, though it appears to be integrated (see the satellite icon in the menu bar). (The red button in the dynamic island shows that the screen is being recorded.)
Look, and forward
Will satellite services cover the rest of the dead zone and allow easy communication in remote areas? Based on my experience, the ability is definitely present. Apple has been less than two years since the launch of the emergency SOS for the first time via satellite on the iPhone, and it is impressive how the satellite has spread so quickly with the ability to support the texting. I appreciate that the implementation of a T -satellite is the same as millions of people talk every day through text. Removing friction is the key to adopting such technologies.
Since companies promote the capacity and performance of satellite services, it is easy to see the nearby future where you do not need to think how you are getting data, just as we never think the cellular tower is receiving our data.
As someone who lives in a cellular saturated seattle, I probably will not need to rely on satellite data. But the North Caskads are the place where I have been camping for years, so I can occasionally see it useful, especially if there is an emergency.
When I was shining my phones and surrounded my friends and family with texts, a couple approached to ask what I was doing. He was visiting the area from a small town in northern Adhu, near the Canadian border, where cellular coverage is a joke. After talking for a few minutes, I found that being able to connect wireless through a satellite, especially in emergencies, but also everyday problems, when other forms of communication are not available, such as during the power outage.