T-Mobile Is Bringing Starlink to Your Phone. Check If You’ll Get It for Free
Going out out of network could soon be one thing in the past, because T-Mobile’s partnership with the Starlink Satellite service in SpaceX is about to be launched on July 23. The Alliance will provide a direct courier service on a cell, called T-Satellite, which will also be available for AT&T and Verizon Cell Phone customers.
T-Mobile says that its objective is “to eliminate for good” mobile dead areas “using 657 Starlink satellites which will be used exclusively for the mobile phone service. T-Satellite has been in beta since December 2024, with nearly 1.8 million users who have registered so far.
According to T-Mobile, the Direct cell messaging service represents a major step in mobile technology: it works with most of the phones made in the past four years, according to T-Mobile, instead of requiring dedicated equipment. It will be available for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon customers for $ 10 per month-or for free for anyone on the experience of T-Mobile Beyond Plan.
“In the end, it is good to be able to send a selfie when you are in a place where there is no coverage, but it is essential to be able to connect to the emergency services,” said Jeff Carlson Mike Katz, T-Mobile President of Marketing, Strategy and Products, CNET. “We just think that with technology like this, no customer should be in a situation where they are not connected in an emergency.”
However, you could always benefit from it even if you do not register, because T-Mobile will render free service for emergency purposes. The company said that texts 911 will be available later this year to “any mobile customer with a compatible device, regardless of the operator or whether or not they are subscribed to service”.
What is T-Satellite?
T-Satellite is a partnership between T-Mobile and Starlink which will allow the accessibility of direct SMS messaging to cells in areas where there is no cell coverage. Starlink has more than 7,000 satellites in low orbit in the sky, and now, 657 of them will be entirely devoted to T-Satellite. The objective is to extend the coverage in the 500,000 square miles of the country that traditional cellular towers cannot reach, explains T-Mobile.
“When you leave the terrestrial network and you go to a place where there is no network, your phone will automatically seek and connect to the satellite network, which is quite different from all the other satellite systems that are there that force you to connect manually, and you must point your phone to the sky,” Katz explains.
Satellite connectivity in mobile phones is not exactly new – iPhones have since 2022 – but it is generally reserved for SOS messaging to connect with an emergency distributor. On July 23, T-Satellite users will be able to send SMS on iOS and Android. Android users will also get MMS (multimedia messaging service) immediately, with the iOS “to follow” support.
This means that users will be able to send audio images and clips in addition to standard text messages. In October, the service will extend to include data management in third -party applications such as Accuweather, Alltrails, Whatsapp and X. Access benefits from the hooks integrated in iOS and Android, so that developers can make their applications capable of sending data via narrow quantities of bandwidth available via satellite.
It is far beyond what other telephone operators have so far launched in the field of satellites-largely due to the T-Mobile partnership with Starlink. AT&T and Verizon both associated with AST Spacemobile for satellite messaging, and Verizon told Eli Blumenthal de Cnet last year that he still planned to work with the Amazon Kuiper project, which launched its first 27 satellites on April 28, 2025
“Despite the things our competitors have said, they are behind this technology,” said Katz.
How much will T-Satellite cost?
On July 23, T-Satellite will be available for AT&T customers, T-Mobile and Verizon for $ 10 autonomous per month. But there is an exception: customers on the experience of T-Mobile beyond the plan ($ 100 per month for a line) will obtain the service for free indefinitely, and those on the experience more plan ($ 85 per month) will obtain it until the end of the year.
Even if you do not pay $ 10 per month, T-Mobile says that texts 911 will be available later this year “for any mobile customer with a compatible device, whatever the carrier”.
If you are a Verizon or AT&T client, you will have to activate T-Satellite as second ESIM on your phone to take advantage of the service. You can find instructions on the ESIM configuration here.
What phones are supported?
Most phones published in the past two years will work with T-Satellite. Here are the devices that are currently compatible with the beta version:
Apple
- iPhone 13, iPhone 14, iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 (all models)
- Google Pixel 9
- Google Pixel 9a
- Google Pixel 9 Pro
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
- Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
Motorola
- Moto G Stylus 2025
- MOTO RAZR 2024
- Moto Razr Plus 2024
- MOTO RAZR 2025
- Moto Razr Plus 2025
- Motorcycle Razr Ultra 2025
- Motorcycle Razr Ultra Plus 2025
Samsung
- Samsung Galaxy A25 5G SE *
- Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
- Samsung Galaxy A36
- Samsung Galaxy A36 is
- Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
- Samsung Galaxy A54 5G *
- Samsung Galaxy S21
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Fe
- Samsung Galaxy S22
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Fe
- Samsung Galaxy S23
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
- Samsung Galaxy S24
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe
- Samsung Galaxy S25
- Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus
- Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
- Edge Samsung Galaxy S25
- Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6
* (Some variants of non-mobile devices are not capable of satellite)
When T-Satellite is officially launched on July 23, the following devices will also be compatible:
Motorola
- Motorola Edge 2024
- MOTO G 2024
- Moto G Stylus 2024
- MOTO G 5G 2024
- Moto G Stylus 5G 2024
Samsung
- Samsung Galaxy A14
- Samsung Galaxy A15 *
- Samsung Galaxy A16
- Samsung Galaxy A35
- Samsung Galaxy A53 *
- Samsung Galaxy Xcover6 Pro
* (Some variants of non-mobile devices are not capable of satellite)
Mobile
- T-Mobile Revvl 7
- T-Mobile Revvl 7 Pro
How to try T-Mobile Starlink Service today
If you can’t wait to try the T-Mobile Starlink satellite messaging service and you don’t want to wait until July 23, you can always try to register for the beta version. I do not hold too much hope, however – when I grabbed my information, I received a message saying: “Due to the high demand, we admit beta testers on a rolling basis. Keep an eye on an update in the coming weeks. ”
