What iPhone versions are necessary to send & receive satellite text messages between iPhones? Do both phones need to be running ios 18?
Specifically, can I send a satellite text msg from iPhone 16 (or 15) with ios 18 to an iPhone 11 w/ios 17 (with a cell/Wifi connection)? And the other way, i.e., from ios 17 with cell connection to ios 18 with only satellite connection?
iPhone 11, iOS 17
Yes, a satellite-connected iPhone 16 + ios 18 will be able to exchange text messages with another, older phone that is connected via cell or Wifi. I confirmed this with two Apple sales persons--phone and chat.
From what I've been able to learn, the requirements for satellite connection are the same as were previously given for emergency contacts. See:
Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone - Apple Support
The supported devices are listed there. I haven't seen details from Apple yet, but I believe that only the device that needs to use a satellite needs to have iOS 18, but I'm not at all certain. Perhaps someone else here will have found more information.
Regards.
Satellite texts between ios 18 and ios 17
