iPhone 14/15 GPS texting - anybody using this feature?

[daygo]

Having read all the zoleo vs garmin posts, I was super close to purchasing a garmin product for an upcoming solo hunt; however one last google search for ‘best gps texting options’ indicated that the newer iPhones (14 and 15 running the iOS 1 can text using gps…

My question has now become - maybe I should put the money I was going to spend on the garmin towards an iPhone 14?
Cost wise, the info I am finding is saying this gps texting will be free for two years.

Just wanted to see if anyone out there is using their newer iPhone for gos texting, and if so; how is working out for you?

Thanks!!

[KodiakHntr]

I saw it pop up as an option the other day when I was trying to reply to a text and out of service. Didn’t try it though as I expected it to be $$

[Evanguy]

That would be awesome to have but myself when I'm in the woods and far away I like a stand alone unit, I have broken many phones over the years, they also use a lot of power compared to say an Inreach.

[skaha]

I tested it over the weekend, works very well and is currently free although that’ll probably change eventually. It sucks the life out of your battery though.

[wifigary]

Here's my experience as both a hunter and an IT guy by trade.

I successfully used the feature three times this weekend, each time I was in a what I would consider steep terrain with a 30 degree above slice of open sky.

The instructions on the screen were easy to follow, although one of my co-workers was unable to establish a connection on his phone ( also a compatible model ). He later reported to me that he "did not point the phone at the sky, but had it laying flat in his hand". This was likely the cause of him not connecting. Basically, think of it as your camera needs to see the satellites and then the antennas are properly aligned.

I texted people who had and also had not upgraded to iOS18. Messages take 15-30 seconds to send, and an equivalent response time to return.

once I locked my phone and put it back in my pocket, the connection was terminated and I had to manually re-connect

[daygo]

Thanks for the replies - all great info to factor in.
Have a great day!

[RyoTHC]

I thought it was only able to be used for SOS and alerting emergency services in Canada?

can you actually full blown communicate with a hunting buddy while out of service ? That’s an absolute game changer.

[stan]

Before I bought inreach mini I looked into it and was pretty certain only emergency services communication. Mabey that changed?

[skaha]

With the newest iOS update, satellite messaging is now available.

[dawsonhunter]

I have been using this since September, I used it while I was hunting and now we use it for a safety every week. The up side is that it has not let me down once but sometimes it takes a minute to get signal but it works., it is free now and the for see-able future because of the Starlink phone that will be coming out soon.. the down side s that you can send to a group text or send pictures, the real shitty thing is that as soon as the phone hibernates or is put away you loose connectivity. this is frustrating when you are waiting for a reply, but you wont get the unexpected beep when you are hunting and forget to turn your ringer off but who does that

Over all it is a great feature that costs nothing... I have only used my inreach twice since the IOS 18.1 update was installed... I still carry the Inreach just because I trust it and am paying for it... Just my 2 cents