Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- In light of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, SpaceX has enabled satellite-based texting service for T-Mobile users for free in affected regions.
- The service works best outdoors, but you can try to get it working near a window.
- Satellite-based texting will allow users to send texts to their loved ones even if the conventional cell network goes down.
T-Mobile users in regions affected by Hurricane Helene and the soon-to-landfall Hurricane Milton have some small relief coming their way. SpaceX has announced that it has enabled satellite-based basic texting service for T-Mobile users in hurricane-affected users through its Starlink satellites, allowing them to text loved ones for free.
When a T-Mobile phone connects to a Starlink satellite instead of the regular network tower, it will have one to two bars of signal and show “T-Mobile SpaceX” in the network name. Once you see this, you will be able to send texts, though the announcement makes it clear that this is being offered on a best-effort basis. If your messages don’t go through, you can manually retry sending them.
As with anything related to smartphone satellite connectivity, the service works best outdoors. If you are indoors, you can occasionally get it working near a window.
Satellite texting has been made possible thanks to the FCC, which recently approved emergency special temporary authority coverage in Florida for SpaceX ahead of Hurricane Milton.
SpaceX mentions that it has also activated its Direct to Cell satellites to provide emergency alerts for all phones and carriers in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. This is in addition to the over 10,000 Starlink kits that SpaceX is delivering as part of relief efforts.
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