When Apple released iOS 18.3 late last month, it's doubtful the tech giant thought the uneventful update would be a source of conspiracy theories and confusion — and not even because it automatically enabled Apple Intelligence on your iPhone.
Instead, denizens of TikTok and the internet are claiming there's something more insidious in the update. And it all ties back to Elon Musk and the satellite internet company Starlink.
Among the changes to iOS 18.3 is the addition of Starlink satellite connectivity for T-Mobile customers. That addition allows T-Mobile subscribers to sign up for a beta program to test out the satellite connectivity offered by Starlink as part of a partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced three years ago.
That's created some confusion, with some corners of the internet claiming that Starlink is being forced onto the iPhones of everyone, not just T-Mobile customers. Some are even drawing parallels to Apple's ill-fated attempt to automatically download a new U2 album onto every iPhone a decade ago whether customers wanted it or not.
So what's really going on? Here's what we've been able to find out.
Starlink on T-Mobile iPhones: Why are people concerned?
On a basic level, no one wants things shoved on their devices that they didn't ask for. The iOS 18.3 update is also arriving at a time when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken on a major role in the new Trump administration with his DOGE project. That may have have raised suspicions about this Musk-adjacent product.
As understandable as those reservations may be, it's worth noting that iOS 18.3 does not download or install anything Starlink-related on your phone. T-Mobile subscribers who opt in to the beta are connecting to spectrum on T-Mobile's network through which they can send messages when other connectivity is unavailable.
What is T-Mobile doing?
T-Mobile and SpaceX, which operates Starlink, launched a partnership in August 2022. Dubbed "Coverage Above and Beyond," the team-up aims to give T-Mobile subscribers "a crucial additional layer of connectivity in areas previously unreachable by cell signals from any provider."
SpaceX launched a Falcon9 rocket in January 2024 with the first batch of Starlink satellites that featured "Direct to Cell" service. At the time, those satellites were only capable of SMS messaging with voice support promised by 2025. Since then, T-Mobile claims that 330 satellites have launched.
Basically, the Starlink satellites use T-Mobile's 1900MHz mid-band spectrum to broadcast a new network that is both 4G and 5G capable.
In mid-December of 2024, T-Mobile opened up a beta Starlink messaging program for some Samsung Galaxy users. "T-Mobile Starlink is the first major low-earth orbit constellation in the world paired with terrestrial cellular spectrum," said Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, in a press release at the time.
So it's important to note that this beta is open to both iPhone and Android users.
What about AT&T and Verizon connected devices?
Apple and T-Mobile have both stated that this Starlink beta only applies to compatible devices that are specifically on the T-Mobile network.
AT&T and Verizon both have partnerships with other satellite service provides. Last year, both companies teamed up with their partners to launch or enable satellite services for phones on their networks.
AT&T utilizes satellites from a company called AST SpaceMobile, which launched satellites in last September. The plan is to eventually offer data, text, video and voice services via this partnership. It's unclear how far along that process is now. Like T-Mobile, AT&T will likely charge for this service when it's up.
AT&T did get in trouble before that September launch when it ran ads that seemed to depict satellite calling that was not available.
Verizon, meanwhile, is partnered with a company called Skylo. A press release from last August announced that "starting this fall, customers on certain smartphones have access to emergency messaging and location sharing even when a terrestrial cellular network is not available."
Verizon expects to launch texting via satellite this year, with a beta program getting underway at the end of January.
Independent of all that, the Emergency SOS feature that's been a part of iPhones since the iPhone 14 uses Globalstar satellites, which is separate from these different carrier partnerships.
So what does iOS 18.3 actually do?
Simply, with the iOS 18.3 update, Apple is enabling anyone with an iPhone 14 or newer to connect to the T-Mobile beta. You do need to be on a T-Mobile customer to access that feature.
For those who don't want to bother with satellite communication at all, you can turn off satellite connectivity in your iPhone. To do so, open the Settings app go to Cellular and then your carrier or phone number. From there tap Satellite to turn it off. Apple notes on a support page that if your carrier does not support satellite features then the setting won't be available.
What we don't know
While the T-Mobile/Starlink beta is free, T-Mobile's sign-up page reads, "T-Mobile Starlink is free during the beta test. We will provide more details about the commercial service at launch."
It's unclear when how long T-Mobile plans to run the beta program.
T-Mobile will probably charge a fee to access the service when it goes commercial, though we don't know if there will be a data cap.
Will the list of compatible phones expand? Right now, it's only available to some Samsung Galaxy devices, Pixel devices and iPhone 14 or newer models from Apple.
If you try signing up with an older device, you might receive this T-Mobile message: "Thanks for your interest in T-Mobile Starlink beta. To ensure the best possible experience and service reliability, we're optimizing T-Mobile Starlink beta for newer smartphones (majority released in the last two years). More devices will be optimized over time so please stay tuned. Find out more: https://sms.t-mobile.com/z3iPTYsK"."
Once it goes live will you be able to opt out like you currently can via the Settings app? That's all unclear for now.
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