T-Mobile’s ‘T-Satellite’ Service Is Officially Here

After the beta version has tested its satellite services for a better part of the month, T-Satellite is finally there. If you have T-Mobile, you have the option of sending text messages even when there is no cell coverage in sight, because your phone will automatically connect as close as possible to 650 Starlink satellites in your region. The fact is that it is no longer free, and unless you have registered in the beta version, this is limited to T-Mobile customers.

T-Satellite was months in manufacturing

Here is the scoop: in December, T-Mobile announced a partnership between itself and SpaceX to provide the Starlink service to customers. Then, in January, the company began to accept users in the beta version, but only those with specific and recent Samsung devices.

Things have changed again when Apple published iOS 18.3. It seems that Apple works with SpaceX and T-Mobile to also deploy the Starlink support to iphones, although none of this was announced from Apple as part of the update. In addition, T-Mobile seemed to approve certain Pixel 9 users who also signed up for the beta version, explaining the program to Apple, Samsung and Google devices.

Then, in an advertisement of the Super Bowl Sunday, T-Mobile announced that it opened its beta version of Starlink to all of the United States, including users of Verizon and AT&T. Although there were restrictions, if you wanted to try the T-Mobile satellite service, you can throw your name in the ring.

Then, in June, this beta access opened to everyone, it doesn’t matter who your carrier was. In addition, T-Mobile offered serious advantages for free: you had access to the 5G network of T-Mobile, including 50 GB of unlimited data and texts, as well as a series of advantages, such as $ 5 cinema tickets, 25% reduction on concert tickets, travel discounts and “T-Mobile Mardis”.

Finally, on July 23, T-Mobile officially launched T-Satellite.

What is the problem with satellite connectivity?

Being able to connect your smartphone to satellites is, literally, a game changer. This means that you no longer need to worry about losing cellular service or being far from a wifi connection. As long as you have a somewhat clear view of the sky and you are in the cover card, you can connect to the outside world.

To be clear, this feature only works when you do not have an available cellular service. When this happens, your phone automatically connects to the nearest satellites. You will not be able to manually connect to satellites when you have a network connection.

Currently, T-Satellite only works for SMS and location sharing. T-Mobile says that it works on the support for image sharing and data covering for optimized applications then. According to Elon Musk, the current starlink technology should support average resolution images and music and podcast streaming. But even if T-Mobile only supports SMS and location sharing for the moment, you can imagine what a life buoy is. If you do not have a cellular service and otherwise could not contact the emergency services or essential contacts, you can connect to a Starlink satellite and send SMS to one or the other (or both).

That said, this is not the first time that iPhones can connect to satellites. Apple has offered satellite connectivity since 2022, when it made its debut “SOS emergency via satellite” with the iPhone 14. The company has expanded the functionality with iOS 18: before, you could not contact emergency services or road aid via satellite, but from the big update of last year, you were able to send messages to anyone.

It seems that the two options are quite good in what they do, at least according to the experiences of Michael Kan from Pcmag. Kan reports that with the two services, messages can be sent instantly or delays from 30 seconds to a few minutes at a time. He also had no problem connecting without having to point his phone on the sky, or while something blocked the sight of the sky above, like inside a car. Kan found that T-Satellite maintained his connection longer than Apple’s services, which forced him to reconnect from time to time. However, T-Satellite has not sometimes managed to connect to satellites, potentially due to the proximity of cellular networks.

How to join T-Satellite

This beta period is now, unfortunately, over. If you want to continue using T-Satellite, you need a T-Mobile plan that supports it-which means the “experience beyond” plan or the “Go5g Next” plan. If you were part of the free beta version, you can continue to use the services, whether or not you have T-Mobile, but you must start paying $ 10 per month. T-mobile customers who were not on the beta version can also add T-Satellite to their plans for the same monthly price. (T-Mobile says that this is a “economy of $ 5 per month”, which implies that the service will really cost $ 15.)

If you are interested in trying the T-Mobile satellite service, you first need a compatible unlock that uses ESIM. T-Mobile has a list of compatible devices on its official Starlink website and includes the following elements:

Apple

• iPhone 13

• iPhone 13 mini

• iPhone 13 Pro

• iPhone 13 Pro Max

• iPhone 14

• iPhone 14 Plus

• iPhone 14 pro

• iPhone 14 Pro Max

• iPhone 15

• iPhone 15 Plus

• iPhone 15 pro

• iPhone 15 pro max

• iPhone 16th

• iPhone 16

• iPhone 16 Plus

• iPhone 16 pro

• iPhone 16 pro max

Google

• Google Pixel 9

• Google Pixel 9a

• Google Pixel 9 Pro

• Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

• Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold

Motorola

Samsung

• Samsung Galaxy A14

• Samsung Galaxy A15 5G

• Samsung Galaxy A16 5G is

• Samsung Galaxy A25 is

• Samsung Galaxy A35

• Samsung Galaxy A36 is

• Samsung Galaxy A53

• Samsung Galaxy A54

• Samsung Galaxy A56 5G is

• Samsung Galaxy S21

• Samsung Galaxy S21 +

• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

• Samsung Galaxy S21 Fe

• Samsung Galaxy S22

• Samsung Galaxy S22 +

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Fe

• Samsung Galaxy S23

• Samsung Galaxy S23 +

• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

• Samsung Galaxy S23 FE

• Samsung Galaxy S24

• Samsung Galaxy S24 +

• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

• Samsung Galaxy S24 Fe

• Samsung Galaxy S25

• Samsung Galaxy S25 +

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

• Edge Samsung Galaxy S25

• Samsung Galaxy Xcover6 Pro

• Samsung Galaxy Xcover7 Pro

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Fe (coming soon)

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 (coming soon)

Note that some non-mobile galaxy devices cannot connect to the satellite.

Mobile

If you are new to the service and you do not have a compatible plan, you will have to add it to your plan via T-Mobile. You can find this option via the official T-Satellite page of T-Mobile.

T-Mobile encourages you to download the T-Life application if you register, but be notified: the application saves your default screen when you actively use T-Life. You must manually deactivate this feature if you want to keep a certain confidentiality.

This article was updated on the Wedenesday on July 23 to reflect the official launch of T-Satellite T-Mobile.