Just finished the Central Oregon Backcountry Explorer. No cell coverage for most of it — perfect test for T-Mobile’s new satellite texting.
Verdict: it feels like normal texting. Messages in and out instantly. About 1 in 20 failed when no satellite was overhead, but I’d get a quick fail notice, hit Resend, and it went right through.
Compared to Garmin, SPOT, or Iridium systems that can take minutes to send (and longer to reply), this is a game-changer for bikepacking in the Western U.S.
$10/month for unlimited satellite texting. Works whether you’re a T-Mobile customer or not. You just need a phone with an eSIM.
Next up: 10 days of bikepacking in the remote deserts of Nevada, Death Valley, and near Bishop, CA. Zero coverage out there — I'm now very confident, but we’ll see how it holds up.
by GuestLongjumping6106
3 Comments
How’s the battery drain? Reports from the ultralight hiking and PCT subs indicate that power consumption is significantly higher, any truth to that?
Is this like the [messages via satellite](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120930) feature included with iPhones (for the first two years)?
My wife had this. The battery drain is severe. You CANNOT put your phone on airplane mode. And when you have satellite, you don’t have terrestrial service which means your phone is constantly searching for service.
I didn’t play with the settings to see if you could turn off some of the bands to keep drain down, but if it’s on at all, it’s going to drain the battery.
This isn’t a replacement for a garmin. And generally it doesn’t take minutes to send/receive a message. If LOS to the sky is solid it’s a few seconds to send. Receive is limited to your settings to conserve battery. For me it’s 20minutes.
Garmin wasn’t intended to send and receive like SMS. It’s more of an emergency use type thing. But it’s great at what it does, battery last for days and it’s rugged. I still am using a Delorme InReach. Gotta be 10 years old and last for days on a single charge with 10-30 minutes tracking intervals.
Edit to add: garmin is only $7.99 a month for the pay as you go plan. Typically that cost me 7.99-15$ a month. Usually about $12 average.