Thread: TXT by SpaceX satellite

Could people who have tried this out please post how well it works ?
The main thing will be whether it can be used under any canopy at all.
And what will happen to Garmin InReach ?

One NZ dont seem to have uploaded any info about it to theire chatbot yet and the door to a hunan isnt working either.
What does it cost per message ?
Can you use other messaging apps like iMessage, Whats App etc ?
Can you send a picture ?

“One NZ Satellite TXT is now included on your One NZ mobile plan at no extra cost. TXT anywhere in NZ with line of sight to the sky on your iPhone XX with the latest iOS. See one.nz/spaceX for service limitations. Network performance varies.”

I did a deep dive on this the other day, my phone is duel sim and have a prepaid One NZ as a long standing Spark user and i note that currently cant be used on One NZ prepaid for satalite texting....suck ballos....

I suspect Spark wont be far off joining so going to wait for that.....Currently my Samsung S23 is compatible but not keen to go on a plan.

Some areas i hunt get both signals and others only one or the other hence duel sim....

I watch with interest

Hamish

I can't see inreach going away for a wee while unless you can send a one push sos on your phone and even then you will have to unlock it, obviously you could just use a plb with your phone but my feeling is, it's going to take a while for it to be fairly reliable, I have the star link on my roof in a rural setting with no obstructions and even that isn't always that flash.

One NZ do say upfront you should always carry a PLB even with this Spacey capability on your phone. So they have someone there whos onto it.
@HNTMAD ive been thinking of changing providers . Which would you say is better overall in the hills ?

Originally Posted by Bagheera

One NZ do say upfront you should always carry a PLB even with this Spacey capability on your phone. So they have someone there whos onto it.
@HNTMAD ive been thinking of changing providers . Which would you say is better overall in the hills ?

Mostly Spark....where I hunt.

Hamish

Originally Posted by HNTMAD

I did a deep dive on this the other day, my phone is duel sim and have a prepaid One NZ as a long standing Spark user and i note that currently cant be used on One NZ prepaid for satalite texting....suck ballos....

I suspect Spark wont be far off joining so going to wait for that.....Currently my Samsung S23 is compatible but not keen to go on a plan.

Some areas i hunt get both signals and others only one or the other hence duel sim....

I watch with interest

Hamish

Same boat, exactly the same as me. Almost no OneNZ coverage at home, but go to a few areas with no Spark so have OneNZ as a prepay. No coverage on prepay, and even the OneNZ people say that their plans will be way more expensive for my use and not offer anything extra as it would seem that most if not all of the current dual sim phones are not compatible with txt-to-sat. Sucks balls...

Originally Posted by Bagheera

One NZ do say upfront you should always carry a PLB even with this Spacey capability on your phone. So they have someone there whos onto it.
@HNTMAD ive been thinking of changing providers . Which would you say is better overall in the hills ?

My thing is in most of the better hunting areas there isn't any coverage from any of the telcos. Just working on Starlink Mini haha. Cutting out the middle man.

I’m starting to think Garmin and zoleo will be around for awhile yet. Someone pointed out if you have one bar of cell coverage ( and can’t send text or call) the phone won’t switch to satellite mode.

If you have one bar you should not need sat? When you have no bars but the signal indicator is not greyed out that is when I've had the issue...

Originally Posted by stug

I’m starting to think Garmin and zoleo will be around for awhile yet. Someone pointed out if you have one bar of cell coverage ( and can’t send text or call) the phone won’t switch to satellite mode.

You can just turn off mobile data and phone (if capable) will use sattelite texting even if it has cellular coverage

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

You can just turn off mobile data and phone (if capable) will use sattelite texting even if it has cellular coverage

Even in spark mate?

Originally Posted by HNTMAD

Even in spark mate?

No. Only on satt capable OneNZ phones

Don't need service just clear sky works well but sometimes needs a while to aquire.

Originally Posted by HNTMAD

Even in spark mate?

Spark is apparently 2-3 years out, they and 2Deg have gone with a Starlink competitor whos name I can't remember. A lot more lead time involved, although to be fair I am thinking that OneNZ will be the crash test dummies so the tech will be a lot more mature once Spark and 2Deg launch it.

Lets hope OneNZ have improved customer service since the rebrand otherwise they won't have any customers left to use the service. Or perhaps they will since it takes roughly 5 years to disconnect from them