Missing satellite feature on iPhone 16e with T-Mobile

I was able to get the service manager at my local apple store this week to look at it. He told me he had another person come through with the same problem recently, they had bought two 16e phones and the Satellite Messaging (SM) worked on one, but not the other. The condition for "working" being that the satellite messaging demo was available under settings -> apps -> messages, he did not actually go out into the woods with customers to test.

I've since been told that a few other recently purchased 16e phones in my fleet also do not have working SM, but not 100% of them.

Service Manager suggested turning wifi calling off and then on, then waiting 48 hours, but this did not make a difference for me. I have also cycled the carrier provided cellular option provided by Rogers, with no difference. I tested this phone in a no-reception area and it did not offer the option to connect to satellite, where my 16pro did at the same time.

At this point it sounds like apple is aware of the problem but does not have a fix for it. They also would not replace the problem phone for me, as they don't believe it's a hardware problem.

I also double checked the model # on my problem phone to make sure it wasn't somehow a unit from a market that does not have satellite messaging available.

The following is extracted from this link --> Connect to a satellite with your iPhone - Apple Support (IN)

"You'll need to be outside on relatively open terrain and with a clear view of the sky. Trees with light foliage may slow down the connection, and dense foliage may block it. Hills or mountains, canyons, and tall structures can also block the connection.

If you don’t have Location Services turned on for Satellite Connection, you’ll be prompted to turn it on before you start the demo.

Satellite connectivity for Apple satellite features isn’t offered on iPhone models purchased in Armenia, Belarus, China mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia."

There’ve been a few reports here of that satellite messaging feature being missing.

Here are some questions to verify whether you’re in a country or region where the satellite communications feature is available, and if that is all as required, I’d then check with Apple:

No satellite option or Satellite Connecti… - Apple Community

In that thread, Apple has reportedly swapped the iPhone.

jimmysu888 wrote:

The satellite feature is completely missing from my iPhone 16e.

I got it new from T-Mobile and I am in the continental US.

Any other ideas? Everyone I've talked to from Apple and T-Mobile are confused.

note: If you have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, the Satellite option in Settings won't appear

leroydouglas wrote:

jimmysu888 wrote:

The satellite feature is completely missing from my iPhone 16e.

I got it new from T-Mobile and I am in the continental US.

Any other ideas? Everyone I've talked to from Apple and T-Mobile are confused.

note: If you have cellular or Wi-Fi coverage, the Satellite option in Settings won't appear

The satellite demo appears on my iPhone in Control Center and SOS Settings and I have both Wifi and Cellular coverage.

I too have no satellite option. 16e purchased direct from Apple Store.

Where are you? It's supported only in a few countries.

same issue, I spent 15 minutes explaining what satellite messaging was to the tech at the genius bar. I'll go back later to try to get them to replace the phone.