iPhone 14 emergency satellite SOS and text...

[cat in january]

Do we have position sharing on iPhone via satellite?

Edit Just found it is part of the find me app.

Yeah satellites are not 100%

[gavinski91]

Do we have position sharing on iPhone via satellite?

Edit Just found it is part of the find me app.

Yeah satellites are not 100%

Limited to sharing with other iPhone users. Can manually share your position once every 15 minutes (no auto-update option available).

[EWG]

Wait, you can share position via satellite on iPhone? I need to figure that out. Our group always just goes dark once out of LTE if they don't have a Garmin on them. Be nice to have tracking.

[gavinski91]

Wait, you can share position via satellite on iPhone? I need to figure that out. Our group always just goes dark once out of LTE if they don't have a Garmin on them. Be nice to have tracking.

In the FindMy app, under the "Me" tab:

Once you are out of cell range the option will become available.

[Thesystemsplit]

isnt "share my location" on iphone the same thing(based off gps/sat)?

[gavinski91]

isnt "share my location" on iphone the same thing(based off gps/sat)?

It gets your location via the iPhone's GPS chip, but shares it via LTE or WiFi. This feature allows you to share it by broadcasting to satellite when you don't have service.

[BCMtnHound]

Remember, the sats that provide GPS are not the same used for communication (at least for us public users). And the GPS Sat is not in 2-way communication with your device to provide the position.

[singlesline]

New inreach plans seem like a better deal for "on the fence" users--likely driven by iphone competition EDIT: worse deal, see below

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?fa...1v3zNcPXlBnlI8

For infrequent users who were on a "Freedom" plan this seems like a better deal. No more annual fee, more texts included, price is basically same for basic service, cheaper for higher tier service.

Now you can just pay for a month of service whenever you need it.

Or you can drop down to the new "Enabled" plan:
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?fa...4l3kG6vrZEpM8A

$7.99/mo gives you SOS access. All other features are pay-as-you go--10 cents for check-ins/tracking, 50 cents for custom texts, $1 for weather.

[singlesline]

Oh wait, maybe I'm reading this wrong.

Does this mean that you can't take a few months off without paying an activation fee?

If so, these plans got worse (with the exception of offering a cheap "SOS-only" plan). Instead of paying $35 for a year of access and then $15 per month you want to use it...you have to pay $39 every time you want to reactivate. That's a shit deal, especially if you only use it every couple months.

Edit: Yeah, definitely read it wrong. New plans are a worse deal with the exception of the "enabled" plan which is a nice low-frills plan for someone who just wants SOS turned on year-round.

Somebody who goes on 3-4 trips/excursions a year (in non-consecutive months) gets absolutely screwed by this change. Hardly seems like a way to compete with Apple...makes me more likely to get rid of my inreach now that I have an iphone 16,

[406]

I found it very confusing, but I think you now have to pay monthly. So likely more money per year for those of us that only activate for a few months per year. I think this is all for Garmin to have a predictable revenue stream.

[doebedoe]

I think Garmin is right with the expectation that people who can afford 3-4 significant excursions a year worth bumping up to the $15 plan aren't going to flinch at $8 a month of enabled service. It's a beer a month for keeping SOS active.

[dcpnz]

Agree that the options and changes are a bit confusing. But better or worse seems to depend on how you use it currently.

I have always considered my Inreach as potentially a lifesaver in an “oh f#ck“ moment and have just had it on the cheapest annual safety contract plan - it was pretty inexpensive and I never needed to worry about suspending or reactivating it or whether to pay extra to take it with me. Last time I compared everything I didn’t see the point of the freedom plans - annual fees, reactivation fees and higher monthly were as much/more than just keeping it active.

Now looks like I can either keep “safety” plan or drop down to “enabled” and still have the SOS functionality that I care about for even less $$.

[singlesline]

I think Garmin is right with the expectation that people who can afford 3-4 significant excursions a year worth bumping up to the $15 plan aren't going to flinch at $8 a month of enabled service. It's a beer a month for keeping SOS active.

At least for me, an excursion that warrants turning on the inreach isn't necessarily an expensive endeavour...just not something I do every day.

I last activated mine because I was going on a long solo bike ride in a place where I knew I wouldn't get cell service and where there's not likely to be a lot of other traffic. So I pay the $15 for a month for the SOS factor and mostly for comforting the wife.

When will I next activate it? Who knows, maybe for some backcountry skiing.

But with the iphone now being able to do 90% of what I want from the inreach, I'm certainly not going to pay $39 + $15 = $54 next time I have a long remote bike ride...I'll just hope for the best with the phone.

Or I keep it active, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of paying $8/mo into the ether for something I might only use on occasion. Maybe I'll still do it. It breaks even with the old plan if you have it active 4 months of the year and don't use messaging...but I'm not sure I would have bought the device if those were the plan options when I made the decision. Clearly a downgrade in service.

[John_B]

I just switched from the $13 buck a month option to 8 and its a no brainer. This way my Inreach lives in my first aid kit and tags along on any trip I do without making me think about it it's activated or not.

[summit]

Yea I"m going to the 8/mo because I've been leaving it on the $13/mo year round. So unless one is pulling doing more than 24 texts and 24 advanced weather forecasts a year, you won't lose money and might save by going to the Enabled plan from the previous monthly minimum plan.

[goldenboy]

Would it be correct to say that Garmin can find your inreach if it's turned on, no matter the plan? i.e. If you go ride your bike solo and knock yourself out, inreach can find your location if your partner/boss whatever says you're overdue and people start wondering where you are?

I'm only asking because the wife would turn on tracking which was nice sometimes. If the dot didn't move for hours, something might be wrong, but at least I knew a last location. Tracking counts as a text..

[Foggy_Goggles]

I'm not hundy P, but I think that your device neither established satellite communication nor pings you location unless tracking is on. And there is no additional charge for tracking, at least on my $23 plan. I track 10s of hours every month and I've never seen a fee.

The first part I know about because there was a paraglider lost (crashed and died) in the middle of the Nevada desert. Garmin wasn't able to provide any data beyond the last pin. And at 50mph and 10min intervals the search area was massive,

Sent from a 6 m/s face melting thermal

[goldenboy]

^^ It's always been my understanding that tracking costs money. From their website:

inReach® satellite communicators include a tracking feature that can share your location via satellite to your MapShare™ page at specified intervals so others can follow along with your progress.

With the inReach Consumer Safety1 and Essential plans, there is an additional cost2 per send/track point when tracking is enabled on the inReach device. Track points are sent every ten minutes by default. As an example, if you enable tracking for 8 hours while using the device's default ten minute tracking setting you could be charged for as many as 49 track points. If tracking is being used daily, these charges can add up quickly.

[Foggy_Goggles]

I asked the paragliding nerds and looked it up.

The Consumer Essential Plan is $14.95 and is $.10 a breadcrumb at 10min intervals

The Consumer Standard Plan is $29.99 and is unlimited included 10min interval breadcrumbs

I had a legacy Recreation Plan that is no longer available

I don't know how the tech works but Garmin claims they have no tracking data beyond what your mapshare shows.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461/pn/010-04016-SU

We use 3rd party apps like https://flyxc.app/ the use tracking data and agregate it in one place. I think something similar could be really helpful for backcountry skiing. You get ski skip then whole "watch me, here is my mapshare" and use turn your tracking on and send.