Send an SMS
Additional Information on Sending SMS Messages to Iridium Phones
- For most Iridium phone models, there is a 160-character maximum length on SMS messages. Some phone models support long SMS messages of up to 1000 characters which are billed as a series of separate SMS messages of 160-character maximum length.
- There is no charge to receive an SMS message on an Iridium phone. There is a charge for outbound SMS messages sent from the Iridium phone (see your airtime contract for details).
- Undeliverable SMS messages sent from the Iridium phone that are undeliverable due to errors unrelated to the Iridium network such as problems with mail filters, mailbox overflows, or incorrect addresses remain billable.
- Outfitter Satellite recommends the use of the Iridium SMS web portal which can be accessed by clicking the above button, but you also can send an SMS message to an Iridium phone directly from your cellular or terrestrial email service by sending the email to mobile_number@msg.iridium.com (where mobile_number is the 12-digit 8816 mobile number of the Iridium satellite phone).
- Troubleshooting: If you are unable to send and receive SMS messages, one common problem is that the SMS Service Center number is to set to 00881662900005 or +881662900005. Typically, it can be done from the handset. For example, on the Iridium 9575 Extreme, starting from the main menu, look for Messages : Settings : Service Center. Instructions to update the Service Center number on other Iridium products can be found in the product's User Manual.