In Reach Questions

[.330 Dakota]

Hey Guys, thinking of buying an InReach so I can do some scouting for the fall and stay connected to my business. Got a couple questions I hope someone can help me with.

1) Can I access my Gmail (have a Gmail app on my phone) and if so can I respond to emails?

2) Do they work well in the mountains?

3) User friendly? My patience is someone limited with some tech

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

1) No. This is not a hotspot or satellite internet hub.
2) Yes, but YMMV - messages, at least for me, sometimes take 10min or so to be sent, so don't expect "text messaging behavior". It's not meant for that. But I found it to be reliable. AT least the device tells you if it has been successfully sent or not and you can manually trigger a retry if need be
3) Well.... shitty as most garmin devices. For messages I usually pair with my phone and send messages that way, I can't handle the old "flip phone move the cursor around und pick yoru letter" style typing. That said: Pairing with your phone is easy, reliable, and has some other advantages such as waypoint sync, etc.

FWIW: I love my inreach, use it all the time and the family loves the added safety.

[Dannybuoy]

I don't have/use a cell phone so can't answer that part , but have sent messages to gmail accounts and cell phones... takes only a few minutes to get a reply . I use mine in the mountains where there is No cell phone reception and the Sirius sat radio is spotty at best

[KBC]

Mine has always worked getting messages in and out. As some have said sometimes it takes a few minutes. Easy to use if you pair with your phone and text that way.
If I were to do it again I would get the mini instead of the full size but if you want to add an SD card with maps I think there’s a new version that does that. I might upgrade to one of those in the future but since I’m usually alone it is so nice to be able to message my wife at night to let her know I’m ok. Everyone sleeps a bit better.

[Blockcaver]

IR is limited to 160 characters (letters, number and spaces, including phone # or email address) so messages need to be brief...receiving or sending. You would need to give the party your IR address to receive an email or text initiated by them. If you send them an IR message first, they can simply reply, but warn them about the 160 character limit....you can send multiple messages though and cover a lot of ground with the IR.

I do love mine and have used it paired with the iPhone for 4 years. It has worked reliably for me from the arctic to Australia and all over BC. Note that mine does not work indoors in my house, and is spotty under very heavy leaf cover. Good luck.

[bighornbob]

1) No. This is not a hotspot or satellite internet hub.
2) Yes, but YMMV - messages, at least for me, sometimes take 10min or so to be sent, so don't expect "text messaging behavior". It's not meant for that. But I found it to be reliable. AT least the device tells you if it has been successfully sent or not and you can manually trigger a retry if need be
3) Well.... shitty as most garmin devices. For messages I usually pair with my phone and send messages that way, I can't handle the old "flip phone move the cursor around und pick yoru letter" style typing. That said: Pairing with your phone is easy, reliable, and has some other advantages such as waypoint sync, etc.

FWIW: I love my inreach, use it all the time and the family loves the added safety.

X2

One thing I would add is that if you dont pair it with a smart phone then it takes forever to type out a message by toggling through the keys. If while you are getting letters down on the screen if a message would come in you lose everything you typed. I would be trying to type an answer to the wifes question when she would send another one and I would lose about 5 minutes of getting letters down. Go to the point I would say Im fine talk tomorrow.

Now that i use my iphone to text I cant type way faster so I cant get stuff sent out before then next question comes in.

Remember this is meant for emergency communications and letting others know how you are doing and to send them your coordinates. If you are wanting to read and respond to emails this is not your device. Not sure there is one for that.

BHB

[Harvest the Land]

1) No. This is not a hotspot or satellite internet hub.
2) Yes, but YMMV - messages, at least for me, sometimes take 10min or so to be sent, so don't expect "text messaging behavior". It's not meant for that. But I found it to be reliable. AT least the device tells you if it has been successfully sent or not and you can manually trigger a retry if need be
3) Well.... shitty as most garmin devices. For messages I usually pair with my phone and send messages that way, I can't handle the old "flip phone move the cursor around und pick yoru letter" style typing. That said: Pairing with your phone is easy, reliable, and has some other advantages such as waypoint sync, etc.

FWIW: I love my inreach, use it all the time and the family loves the added safety.

^^^^X2

I have one spot that's at the bottom of a steep and deep canyon in some serious cover in the mountains with no cell service or sirius radio, and I will hold it up to the sky and look for a clear spot in the trees to get messages sent out. Sometimes it can take longer than 15-20 minutes for messages to get sent, depending on how much rhubarb you're in. But they do work great and its piece of mind for the family. Download the EarthMate app to pair it with your phone and it makes typing a heck of a lot easier. Definitely recommend getting one, especially if you hunt solo

[.330 Dakota]

Thanks Guys, I guess that isnt going to work for me then

[Ride Red]

https://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go/

[.330 Dakota]

https://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go/

Thanks Red Ride, I looked at these online today, and thought, thats the ticket,,so I called them and they said nope, wont work the way I was thinking. I want to check my business emails. The Iridium network gives you a seperate email address that can only be accessed through their system. I almost ordered one, then thought I should talk to a rep,,glad I did

[boxhitch]

Not sure how it might work, but in Outlook or Gmail there is a method to have emails automatically forwarded to another email address

IR can handle the traffic for sure, I had two hunters using one IR to carry on daily businesses while on a sheep hunt. Annoying as all get out, I threatened to smash their unit, but soon it was all joking aside and clear they would be pounding the toggle at least four hours each day. Glad we finished early.

[Jamesonm]

Pic up a zoleo they're great. I use an InReach for searxh and rescue and zoleo for my personal device. You can use email with it.

I have found it to be very reliable.

[jimzuk]

So far my inreach has always sent my messages and it works in the truck or my home. I have not paired it with my phone as I don’t carry it if there is no cell service. Slow to type but that’s a small price to pay.

[albravo2]

I've been an InReach user since they came out with their first device. They work pretty well but not perfectly, especially in steep mountains where you cannot see multiple satellites simultaneously.

I've had many messages that show as sent that were never sent. I've also missed many messages incoming over the years.

It is a good system, but you have to develop methodology that anticipates the shortcomings. My wife and I have it figured out pretty well. We add timestamps within our messages and clearly acknowledge receipt of each other's messages. "Rec'd message re: Moose down at 1630. Good for you! All good here". If I don't get a message acknowledging receipt I assume the message was not sent.