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Apple's Free Satellite Features on iPhone Available in These Countries

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In a statement shared with 9to5Mac this week, Apple announced that it will be launching its Emergency SOS via satellite feature in Mexico later this year.

Emergency-SOS-via-Satellite-iPhone-YT.jpg

Apple's satellite features are available on all iPhone 14 models and newer. The features include Emergency SOS via satellite, Find My via satellite, Messages via satellite, and Roadside Assistance via satellite, with availability of each varying by country.

  • Emergency SOS via satellite: Text emergency services via satellite.
  • Find My via satellite: Update your location in the Find My app via satellite.
  • Messages via satellite: Send and receive iMessage and SMS messages via satellite.
  • Roadside Assistance via satellite: Text select roadside service providers via satellite.

The features are powered by Globalstar's network of satellites in low Earth orbit.

The features are available to use when you are in an area without Wi-Fi or cellular coverage — otherwise, there is only a demo mode. To access the features, open Control Center and scroll down to the page with "Satellite." Tap on that to open Apple's Connection Assistant, which lists all of the satellite features available in your country.

Apple has yet to charge a fee for any of its satellite features. Last month, the company announced it is providing existing iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users with an additional year of free access to the entire suite of satellite features on those devices.

Below, we have outlined where the satellite features are available.

Emergency SOS via satellite
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico (Later this year)
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • U.K.
  • U.S.
Find My via satellite
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico
  • The Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Portugal
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • U.K.
  • U.S.
Messages via satellite
  • Canada
  • Mexico
  • U.S.
Roadside Assistance via satellite
  • Australia
  • U.K.
  • U.S.
The minimum iOS version required for each feature varies by country.

International travelers who visit a country where the features are available can use the feature while visiting, except if they bought their iPhone in Armenia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Russia, according to Apple.

iOS 26 beta code included references to Weather via satellite, but Apple has yet to announce such a feature, and it is unclear if it remains in development.

Article Link: Apple's Free Satellite Features on iPhone Available in These Countries
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/10/10/apple-satellite-features-which-countries/
Last edited:
The satellite feature was introduced back in 2022 with the iPhone 14 series and it's already 3 years since then. Is it still free?
 
winxmac said:
The satellite feature was introduced back in 2022 with the iPhone 14 series and it's already 3 years since then. Is it still free?
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Yes. They keep extending the offer. Likely until there are more features on top of the SOS they can monetise, like Messaging when there is more countries supported
 
I was expecting/hoping that the Messages via satellite would have become available in the UK by now as we have all the other services - living in the Scottish highlands this would be a really useful feature as I still visit a lot of places with zero mobile signal.
 
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T-Mobile just announced that they have their own free emergency satellite service that they’re providing to their customers. I wonder which one takes precedence.
 
johannnn said:
Anyone knows why it's not supported in more countries? Isn't it the same satellites for US and Europe? For example Scandinavia is missing. I live in Sweden and would love this when hiking.
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They don't care about most of the Europe unfortunately and we still pay more for less. I feel like in Poland the major "feature" is Apple Pay and that's it. We barely got autocorrection and swipe to type.
 
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matthew12 said:
I honestly wonder if they'll ever charge for the satellite access. It would be horrendous PR if someone was stranded and Apple tried to charge them to get help. They should probably just make it permanently free at this point.
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But if the person had an android and they were stuck without communication, there wouldn’t be any uproar?
 
cigz said:
They don't care about most of the Europe unfortunately and we still pay more for less. I feel like in Poland the major "feature" is Apple Pay and that's it. We barely got autocorrection and swipe to type.
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With iPadOS 26, we have finally got handwritten text recognition. So, considering Ink from OS X Jaguar, the first handwriting recognition technology from Apple, we're like 23 years behind.

We pay more because of VAT. But it would be so cool if the price was based on how many features are actually supported in each country.
 
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Globalstar offers its service in 120 countries around the world. Why is Apples Emergency Service then only available in such a limited number of countries? It does not seem to be a problem of coverage?
 
g-7 said:
With iPadOS 26, we have finally got handwritten text recognition. So, considering Ink from OS X Jaguar, the first handwriting recognition technology from Apple, we're like 23 years behind.

We pay more because of VAT. But it would be so cool if the price was based on how many features are actually supported in each country.
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We still pay way more than just "because of VAT". They overcharge the iPhone 17 Pro for around 200USD.
It's so much overpriced to the point that people are selling the US version of 17 Pro for the same price as iPhone Air or sometimes it keeps popping even cheaper.
I've already seen some offers for less than 5000PLN which converted to USD is literally almost the price of 1099 USD + 23% VAT.
 
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MilaM said:
Globalstar offers its service in 120 countries around the world. Why is Apples Emergency Service then only available in such a limited number of countries? It does not seem to be a problem of coverage?
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At a guess, it's dependent on each country's emergency service integrating with Apple's systems.
 
lapstags said:
Didn’t musk buy the satellite provider? I hate that guy.
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This is the guy who eliminated 10’s of thousands of jobs, went on stage with a chain saw celebrating it, threw a few nazi salutes. He has all your info. Yeah, he’s not a good person at all. But hey, I need to get on line so bring on the fourth reich.
 
s
Moi Ici said:
This is the guy who eliminated 10’s of thousands of jobs, went on stage with a chain saw celebrating it, threw a few nazi salutes. He has all your info. Yeah, he’s not a good person at all. But hey, I need to get on line so bring on the fourth reich.
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lol. stupid
 
This is a very informative post and it explains why the satellite option on my 14PM disappeared when I flew from the Netherlands to Namibia
 
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