Iphone Satellite Messaging

[Bronco]

I was able to text with my wife on my iPhone from the Green Creek drainage near the Twin Sister range recently.  Also sent and received one from the trailhead which is pretty heavily treed.  I'm planning to cancel my inReach subscription based on the cost ($0 vs $17/month), performance and convenience.  It sounds like the satellite system isn't quite as robust as Garmin's but probably adequate for my needs in North America.  Anyone else used the satellite service on their iPhone?

 

[mthorman]

I still have an older Iphone 13 so I don't have that option.  But I have had multiple climbing partners text on it in the backcountry from WA to UT.  Sometimes it took a few minutes but it never failed.  In the future I will probably do the same as you once I upgrade phones.  I am curious if the Iphone satellite texting works well in Alaska.  That would be a huge improvement for expedition climbing especially weather forecasting.

[Stefan]

I use the iPhone texting via satellite too.  I use it basically in open terrain.  Its free.  I don't know if it will work in valleys with trees.

[olyclimber]

It’s a bit more fiddlly than the inreach (I have a Mini2).  Others thing about the mini2 is it has insane battery life, versus a phone (unless you go airplane mode, etc).  I also wonder how much longer the satellite messaging will be free…I’m betting it will at some point cost extra.

 

that said if I already had not paid for the garmin I probably wouldn’t at this point. And I’m probably not getting good value for my money given how many times a year I am truly out of cell service. But for now I still pay for the Garmin service. 
 

it won’t be long till there won’t be such a thing as “off the grid”  or “out of cell service “ … the death of that freedom