Is the iPhone Now the Ultimate Backcountry Messenger?

Using your smartphone to call for help from the middle of nowhere used to be a fantasy. For years, serious adventurers relied on rugged satellite messengers like Garmin’s inReach series for peace of mind beyond the reach of cellular towers.

But in the last few years, smartphones have quietly begun closing that gap—first with emergency-focused features from Apple and Google, and now with a growing wave of carrier-backed services that promise broader compatibility and richer capabilities.

Satellite messaging is no longer just a niche perk—it’s fast becoming a mainstream feature. And while smartphones still have a way to go before they rival the rugged reliability of dedicated satellite messengers, they’re rapidly becoming smarter, safer companions for anyone heading off the grid.

Here’s a cheat sheet to help you understand the current satellite messaging smartphone landscape, how it compares to dedicated backcountry communication devices, and why the modern iPhone may suddenly be the king of backcountry messengers, especially for U.S.-based Verizon subscribers.

Device-Exclusive Satellite Communication Services

Apple

What are they?

Apple set the modern satellite smartphone movement in motion with the introduction of Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone 14. Initially launched in 2022 to contact emergency services when no cellular or Wi-Fi signal was available, the feature was groundbreaking—and quickly became standard across newer iPhones. But Apple didn’t stop there.

Over the last two years, the company has quietly expanded its satellite offerings to include Roadside Assistance via satellite, a partnership with AAA that allows users of in the U.S. to request help with things like flat tires and dead batteries when off the grid.

More recently, Apple began rolling out Messages via satellite, which—for the first time—lets iPhone users send standard (re: non-emergency) iMessages to contacts even when completely outside cell coverage. The feature works directly in the Messages app, as long as you’re texting another Apple device user, and it also supports sharing your location through Find My via satellite.

These features are free and work seamlessly on iPhone 14 or newer models running iOS 18 or later.

Google

Google has taken a similar approach with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro. The Satellite SOS feature, powered by Skylo, allows users to reach emergency responders and trusted contacts from anywhere with a clear view of the sky.

Like Apple, Google has integrated its satellite feature into a native app—Google Messages—allowing users to send texts even when totally offline. It also offers location-sharing tools and a streamlined setup flow for pre-selecting emergency contacts.

The bottom line is that Apple and Google have proven that smartphones can go far beyond just connecting to towers. And with the addition of non-emergency features, these tools are evolving from “just in case” options into everyday safety nets.

The Benefits

• Owners of the iPhone 14 or newer, as well as Pixel 9 owners don’t have to sign up or opt into an additional service to access these features
• Neither Apple nor Google is currently charging compatible device owners for these services, though at some point, this will likely change.

Current Shortcomings

These device-specific satellite capabilities are welcome additions to the modern smartphone toolbox, but they’re still far from flawless.

Beyond needing to own a specific smartphone, the most prominent drawbacks of these services include:

• Users must remember to opt in and configure satellite communication emergency settings before they’re needed. Here’s how to do it on supported iPhones and the Google Pixel 9.
• Users must also ensure their mobile operating system software is current and up to date.
• Apple and Google’s services require pointing the device in the right direction to connect with a geostationary satellite. Apple’s service requires keeping your device pointing at a satellite as it moves across the sky to work.
• Satellite coverage via these services is limited to certain countries and regions. And in some environments—dense forest, canyons, or heavy cloud cover—connectivity can be spotty or unavailable altogether.
• Messaging via satellite only works with the built-in apps (iMessage or Google Messages), not third-party messaging platforms.
• In some cases, as with Google’s Pixel 9, only emergency messaging and communication are currently supported.

Still, Apple and Google have proven that smartphones can go far beyond just connecting to towers. And with the addition of non-emergency features, these tools are evolving from “just in case” options into everyday safety nets.

Carrier Satellite Communication Services

T-Mobile

What are they?

The next phase of satellite smartphone connectivity is coming from a different direction: your wireless carrier.

This month, T-Mobile officially launched T-Satellite, a satellite text messaging service powered by SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. And you don’t have to use T-Mobile as your standard cell service provider to sign up or access T-Satellite. It’s a separate service that Verizon and AT&T users with compatible phones equipped with eSIMs can still opt to pay for on top of their existing wireless plans.

Verizon has also launched a similar service that is free for current subscribers who own an iPhone 14 running iOS 18, Google Pixel 9 series owners, and Samsung Galaxy S25 owners. It’s powered by Skylo, the same satellite provider already powering Google’s Pixel-exclusive satellite emergency messaging services.

Skylo

As with Apple’s and Google’s device-specific services, users who sign up for carrier satellite services can send and receive text messages in areas without cell service. In some cases, like T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, sending pictures is also supported for select Android devices.

Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T have also announced plans to build additional satellite connectivity options, such as voice communication and full-on video calls over satellite—a concept AST SpaceMobile has already demoed with AT&T.

AT&T

This activity suggests that satellite messaging is fast becoming a mainstream feature for all modern smartphones, making them smarter, safer companions for anyone heading off the grid.

The Benefits

• These new services promise broad compatibility with existing smartphones—not just the latest iPhone or Pixel—and the potential to scale up dramatically in the coming years.
• Thanks to these services, a single smartphone can now access multiple satellite communication networks, providing additional peace of mind. While Verizon’s announced partnership with Skylo is the same satellite provider that already powers Google’s Pixel-exclusive satellite emergency messaging services, other services like T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service and future services powered by AST SpaceMobile rely on different satellite networks.
• In some cases, these services are easier to use. T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, for example, doesn’t require users to correctly point their phone at a specific satellite in the sky to work.
• These services may soon offer more connectivity and messaging options than the device-specific services that ship with newer iPhones and Pixel phones.

Current Shortcomings

• You must know these carrier services exist and sign up for them before venturing off the grid to use them. In some cases, you’ll also have to pay a monthly fee to use at least some of these carrier-provided services. For example, T-Mobile’s new T-Satellite services cost $10 a month for “a limited time”, but T-Mobile says the price will eventually increase to $15.
• You’ll also have to do homework to determine which smartphones can support various carrier satellite communication services.

How Do Dedicated Backcountry Communicators Compare?

Garmin

Despite the hype surrounding smartphones gaining satellite powers, dedicated satellite communicators like Garmin’s inReach series remain the gold standard for backcountry communication—and for good reason.

First, there’s the hardware itself.

Devices like the inReach Mini 2 and inReach Messenger Plus are purpose-built for remote use. They feature ruggedized housings, physical buttons that work in snow or rain, and battery lives measured in days, not hours. These aren’t gadgets designed to survive a hike—they’re built to excel in hostile environments.

Then there’s the network. Garmin’s devices (and most other dedicated satellite communicators) operate on the Iridium satellite constellation, offering truly global coverage (including in both the North and South Poles) that’s long been relied on by maritime, aviation, and military sectors.

Garmin

While Iridium’s bandwidth isn’t as high as that of emerging players like Starlink, it’s tested and reliable, and it counts most for basic needs like SOS messaging and location sharing.

Garmin’s most advanced devices also offer features that even the newest smartphone satellite tools can’t yet match—like the ability to send photo and voice messages (on the inReach Messenger Plus) and flexible pairing with smartphones via the Garmin Messenger app. It’s important to know that these apps enhance the experience but aren’t required—the devices work just fine solo.

In short, a dedicated satellite communicator may still be the safest option if your plans involve more extreme excursions, especially in highly remote regions abroad.

That said, if you own a relatively new smartphone, investing time and potentially a bit of money to activate satellite communication capabilities on that device is also a smart backup option for the extremely risk-averse.

The Benefits

• Backcountry communicators are dedicated devices that are optimized for use in rugged conditions. They also offer significantly longer battery life than any smartphone
• Most connect to a long-standing Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network that has proven to provide communication access even in very remote regions across the globe.

Current Shortcomings

• Dedicated backcountry satellite messengers aren’t cheap. The cheapest option currently in Garmin’s inReach line costs $299.
• As with some of the other satellite communication services mentioned in this article, dedicated backcountry satellite messenger devices also come with a monthly fee. In the case of Garmin’s inReach line, the base-level consumer “enabled” service starts at $7.99 a month, plus an activation fee and per-use charges for messaging, check-ins, and location tracking. The top-level premium consumer service costs $49.99 a month.
• You also have to remember to pack a dedicated satellite communicator with you for it to be of use.
• Sending communication via these devices can be slower than on device smartphone services.
• The current network of satellites these devices rely on will eventually stop functioning sometime in the next decade or so. While that still represents a significant usage runway for anyone looking to purchase a communicator soon, it may make buying a dedicated communicator more risky as time passes, given that they may abruptly stop working at some stage. Given the new pressure services like StarLink are putting on the company’s core business, it’s still unclear whether Iridium will launch a new array of satellites to replace the current second-generation Iridium satellites.

The Case for the iPhone’s Satellite Messaging Supremacy

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Despite lacking the rugged design, tactile controls, and multi-day battery life of a dedicated satellite communicator like the Garmin inReach, modern iPhones may quietly be the most versatile satellite messaging devices available to consumers today.

That’s not because they’re the toughest tool for the job—they aren’t—but because they’re the most connected.

Modern iPhones already support Apple’s Emergency SOS via satellite, a free, built-in service that uses the Globalstar satellite network to send emergency messages, share your location via Find My, and even contact roadside assistance in remote areas.

But the real magic potentially happens when you start layering on additional satellite capabilities.

T-Mobile’s newly launched T-Satellite service, powered by Starlink’s growing low-earth-orbit constellation, is now available to iPhone users as well, offering a completely separate and redundant network for basic text messaging when cell towers aren’t in reach.

And for Verizon customers, a third option is also possible: satellite messaging support via Skylo, the same provider that powers Google’s Pixel 9 satellite features.

That means a single iPhone—without any external accessories—can theoretically tap into three distinct satellite networks: Globalstar via Apple’s native features, Starlink through T-Mobile, and Skylo via Verizon.

No other civilian satellite communicator on the market that I’m aware of, including Garmin’s excellent inReach lineup, can offer that level of remote network diversity.

Apple

This is a powerful, if under-appreciated, communication advantage for users seeking redundancy and the ability to stay connected across various satellite constellations.

Of course, whether all that theoretical coverage translates to better real-world reliability than Iridium—the tried-and-true satellite network behind Garmin’s inReach devices—is hard to quantify.

Iridium has decades of proven global performance, especially in harsh or remote environments. But as a matter of simple logic, having access to multiple satellite systems seems smarter than betting everything on a single one.

In that sense, the iPhone isn’t just catching up—it may already be playing a different, and arguably smarter, game.

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