Latest news with #T-Satellite
Phone Arena
a day ago
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile has silently enabled a new feature for Samsung and Motorola users
A phone on T-Mobile's network connected to Starlink. | Image Credit - PCMag T-Mobile 's Starlink-powered T-Satellite feature isn't meant to replace terrestrial service. It's a good fallback option for when communication systems fail or when you veer out to an area with no cellular service. Until recently, only texting was supported, but now the company has also activated Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). T-Mobile 's T-Satellite service officially launched on July 23, after months of beta testing. Roughly a week later, the company has enabled support for MMS, allowing you to send more than just plain text messages to friends and family. This means you can now send images, audio, and video via satellite. PCMag tested out the service and came away mostly impressed. The outlet took the feature for a spin in Southern California. Connecting to the service is a seamless affair and happens automatically when you enter a dead zone. T-Mobile even sends you a text to let you know that you have established a satellite connection. You don't necessarily need to hold the phone up to the sky to maintain the connection. You may get service even inside you the moment, only Samsung and Motorola phones are supported. PCMag was able to send different multimedia items using a Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. The phone also managed to receive GIFs and audio clips, though it took a while to download is the case with texts sent over satellite, MMS sent via satellite are subject to delays, so the experience wasn't comparable to ground-based some instances, it took up to two minutes for a picture to go through. That's to be expected with satellite-based communication, though, and the bottom line is that every image was sent successfully. Videos took even longer to send, even though they were short clips of 5 seconds. It took more than 10 minutes for the first video to go through, and the second one took over 20 minutes. It took a long time to send videos using T-Satellite. | Image Credit - PCMag This was another demonstration of how far ahead T-Mobile is of not only its direct rivals but also the likes of Globalstar, which powers iPhone's satellite messaging. The MMS feature doesn't work on the iPhone right now, but given that T-Mobile is swift in expanding support, it shouldn't be long before Apple's smartphones and more Android handsets are supported. T-Mobile plans to introduce data services on October 1, and voice support is also expected in the future. T-Satellite is only free for T-Mobile customers on Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans. For everyone else, there's a monthly charge. The addition of MMS support might compel those with supported phones to give the service a try.
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
As the beta ends, T-Mobile forces some new T-Satillite subscribers to make a call or visit a store
As you might know, T-Mobile 's T-Satellite service allows a smartphone user in an area where there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity to stay connected via Starlink satellites. At first, users will be limited to sending and receiving text messages and sharing their location via their phone's messaging app. Picture and voice messaging via satellite is also being pushed out now by T-Mobile . The carrier says that next, satellite data from optimized apps will be available. Eventually, users will be able to make and take calls via satellite. T-Mobile users won't have to point their phones at the sky in order to connect to a signal from a satellite. When connected to a satellite, the phone owner will see a SAT icon in the upper right of the phone's screen. T-Mobile points out that there may be short gaps in service when satellites are moving. During one of these short gaps, messages might take longer than usual to send. Even if this is the case, your phone will keep trying to deliver the message, even if you leave your device in your pocket." With the free beta for T-Satellite coming to a close last week, T-Mobile subscribers on the pricier Experience Beyond and Go5G Next plans get T-Satellite as a free perk. Other T-Mobile subscribers on other qualified plans can add the service for $10 per month for a limited time. Eventually, T-Satellite will cost them $15 per month. Non- T-Mobile customers can also sign up for T-Satellite at a rate of $10 per month for a limited time. Eventually, T-Satellite will cost them $15 per month as well. Non-T-Mobile customers who want to subscribe to T-Satellite must now make a call or visit a T-Mobile store. | Image credit-T-Mobile Why did T-Mobile make this change? The carrier says, "Since T-Satellite is now commercially available, we wanted to ensure there wasn't any confusion around the setup or activation process which is why we are directing non T-Mobile customers to call or visit a retail store." Keep in mind that there are 60 eligible devices that work with T-Satellite right now: Apple iPhone 13 iPhone 14 iPhone 15 iPhone 16 (all models) Google Motorola moto edge 2025 moto g 5G 2025 moto g 2024 moto g power 5G 2025 moto razr 2024 moto razr+ 2024 moto razr 2025 moto razr+ 2025 moto razr ultra 2025 Samsung
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
T-Mobile launches a cheap new service amid customer struggles
T-Mobile (TMUS) , one of the largest phone carriers in the U.S., is struggling to reverse a concerning pattern of customer behavior after issuing a series of price increases over the past few months. During the second quarter of 2025, T-Mobile attracted 830,000 new postpaid phone customers. However, its postpaid phone churn (the number of customers who cut their phone service) increased by 10 basis points year-over-year. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The increased customer loss comes after T-Mobile hiked the prices of its older phone plans (One, Magenta, Simple Choice, and Go5G 55) by $2 or $5 per line last year. Then, in April, it issued another price hike for select legacy plans, raising monthly prices by $5. It also increased its monthly Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery fee. Related: T-Mobile's free perk for customers will soon disappear Recently, T-Mobile has been launching new deals and perks to prevent more customers from switching to other providers. Last month, it launched three new low-priced prepaid plans and offered customers a free DoorDash subscription (DashPass) through the T-Life app. During an earnings call on July 23, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the company is operating in a "highly competitive environment" where competitors are unveiling "unprecedented device promotions." The company expected churn to be elevated this quarter due to recent price increases. Now, it anticipates churn decreasing year-over-year, remaining flat, or slightly increasing during the third quarter of this year. Image source:Amid this major shift in customer behavior, T-Mobile has launched a cheap new service to attract and retain customers. In partnership with Starlink, T-Mobile is now offering a new direct-to-cell satellite messaging service called T-Satellite. Through over 650 Starlink satellites orbiting in space, the service provides extended coverage to more than "500,000 square miles of U.S. territory that traditional cell towers can't reach, including Verizon and AT&T," according to a recent press release. Related: Verizon hopes a new tactic will fix fleeing customer problem Non-T-Mobile customers can subscribe to the service for $10 a month for a "limited time" before it increases to $15 a month. For T-Mobile customers who have Experience or Go5G Next plans, the service is already included for free. T-Satellite automatically allows customers to send and receive text messages and share their location in areas where cell towers fail to provide coverage. However, T-Mobile warns on its website that satellite messaging "may take longer, depending on availability and connection conditions." T-Mobile plans to add picture and voice messaging to T-Satellite, among other features, over the next few months. T-Satellite currently works with over 60 phones; customers can find the full list of compatible devices here. During the July 23 earnings call, T-Mobile Business Group President Callie Field said that T-Satellite will especially benefit first responders. "We're also seeing the opportunities in our beta to use T-Satellite with first responders," said Field. "Also with state and local municipalities, you think of a bus driver that couldn't get in touch with parents when there was an emergency on the bus, and this really unlocks value for both the public sector as well as in enterprises where we start to see people use cases like oil and gas when they're out doing operations that require connectivity in places that are in that 500,000 square miles that are untouched by any carrier." More Telecom News: Verizon's push to make switching harder for customers hits a snagT-Mobile announces generous offer for conflicted customersAmazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers T-Satellite was also used during the deadly Texas floods, which took place a few weeks ago. T-Mobile was able to transmit emergency messaging to customers through this service, which was in beta testing. "Over a quarter of a million text messages went out over satellite during the most critical moments of this emergency," said Sievert during the call. "And people were able to be connected when it mattered." The official launch of T-Satellite comes after Verizon introduced its free satellite messaging service in March; however, it is only compatible with select Android phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S25 or the Google Pixel 9. AT&T is also working with AST SpaceMobile on a satellite service that offers "broadband connectivity: voice, data, and text in remote, off-grid locations," according to AT&T's website. Related: Amazon quietly plans to offer customers a convenient new service The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Apple's Surprise Free Offer To iPhone 13 Users Is Now Live For iPhones
Updated July 26 with more details of T-Satellite. When Apple made the surprise announcement that its iPhone 13 series was suddenly compatible with carrier-supported satellite connectivity, it was ushering in a new way to stay connected. The first network to support this, T-Mobile, has just gone live with its new T-Satellite service for iPhones and other handsets. And even a temporary outage hasn't stopped the new service from arriving. More on that below. Apple iPhone 13 Pro T-Satellite works by connecting your phone to Starlink satellites (though, please note, it doesn't install Starlink on your phone as rumor-mongers previously claimed). T-Mobile's CEO Mike Sievert said in a post on X, 'Today marks a huge step in @TMobile's mission to end dead zones. T-Satellite is officially out of beta and available to anyone who wants it — including Verizon and AT&T customers,' he exclaimed. That's an important point: subscribers on other networks can sign up to T-Satellite by paying a monthly fee. Note that Verizon and AT&T are expected to offer their own versions of this service, but for now, T-Mobile has first-mover advantage. 'With 650+ satellites in orbit, the largest satellite-to-mobile constellation on the planet aims to connect you almost anywhere you can see the sky. It's already helping save lives during disasters and providing an extra level of safety for those who love to explore the great outdoors,' Sievert goes on. The service is available for compatible handsets, and that includes most current Android phones as well as all iPhones from iPhone 13 onwards. It went live on Wednesday, July 23, right on schedule — though had already been offered to customers impacted by the recent floods in Texas — and the new service has been called a game-changer because, unlike rival satellite options, including Apple's own Globalstar service, it doesn't require users to point their phone at the satellite. It works just like regular cell connections do, even in your pocket. The next day, Thursday, July 24, Starlink experienced an outage for more than two hours, with full service more or less restored by 5 p.m. Pacific the same day. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network," Starlink's VP of engineering Michael Nicolls said on X. Not much more is known now, though it's believed it affected tens of thousands of people, some of whom could have been T-Satellite users. By Friday, July 26, SpaceX, which runs Starlink, was searching for the root cause of the issue. Users in the U.S. and Europe were affected and Downdetector, the crowd-sourced outage tracker claims that as many as 61,000 people reported issues. It even affected Ukraine, where combat operations saw the service go down. The cause, it was speculated, could have been a botched software update, a cyberattack or some other kind of glitch. If T-Mobile is your carrier and you have the Experience Beyond service, you get this new capability included. Others, including AT&T and Verizon customers, can access the service for $10 per month. The T-Mobile satellite service is limited to texting with iMessage and SMS, and data is not supported, though more capabilities may follow. The T-Satellite service means that if you are outside the regular cellular network, your phone is able to remain connected via satellite, for text messages on compatible iPhones and Android handsets. More services will be added in due course but already other features are available to Android users, including multimedia messaging, picture messaging, and short audio clips. For now, this is the beginning of a new way to stay in touch wherever you are, even if your phone is in your pocket.
Economic Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
SpaceX Starlink Outage: Global users face issues, longest disruption yet, says expert
SpaceX Starlink Outage: Customers Report Issues Starlink Confirms Software Failure Live Events SpaceX Starlink Users Share Frustration SpaceX Starlink Outage Longest Service Disruption SpaceX Starlink Outage Expert and Institutional Response FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel SpaceX's satellite internet service, Starlink, went through a major disruption affecting users across the globe. The outage, which lasted for over two hours, left many customers without internet access. SpaceX confirmed the issue was linked to internal software problems and promised to prevent future from several countries experienced a loss of internet connection through their Starlink satellite dishes. The outage was reported by users across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Posts on platforms like Reddit, Facebook, and X revealed that many users were unable to access the user in Southern Italy reported trying different methods to troubleshoot the issue without success. US-based users from Virginia to Arkansas also said they were still offline. Some suggested trying a factory reset of the Starlink Nicolls, SpaceX's Vice President of Starlink Engineering, said the problem was caused by a failure in key internal software services These services control the core functions of the Starlink network. Although the issue was resolved for most users, some are still experiencing connectivity stated that the company is working to find the exact cause and will implement changes to avoid a repeat. On X, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk apologized and said the issue would be addressed users have started to regain access to the internet. Brian Westover of PCMag said he lost his connection for nearly two hours in rural Idaho. Initially, the Starlink app indicated that the dish was obstructed, though there were no visible noted the difficulty of knowing whether the issue was due to personal equipment or Starlink's system. This made it hard for users to know what actions to take to fix the Madory from Kentik, an internet analysis firm, described the outage as Starlink's longest since becoming a major provider. The outage lasted approximately 2.5 hours. This marks a significant event for a service with more than 6 million global a site that tracks online service disruptions, showed over 55,000 outage reports around noon PT. Even Starlink's website was affected and displayed a service outage notice before becoming Pan, a professor at the University of Victoria in Canada, also faced issues. He mentioned that their research team, which monitors 20 Starlink dishes worldwide, found all of them offline during the Starlink services were disrupted, T-Mobile confirmed that its new T-Satellite service operated normally with no impact. T-Mobile recently launched this messaging service to reach users in cellular dead outage was caused by a failure in internal software services that operate the core Starlink network, according to users have regained access, but some customers are still reporting connectivity issues in different regions.
