Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and others get free inReach satellite SOS, with restrictions

While smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 17 ($759 on Amazon) have been offering free satellite SOS features for years, users of a Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, a Quatix 8 Pro or even a dedicated inReach satellite communication device have to take out a paid subscription to be able to use this function. This is now changing, at least partially, as users with a "suspended" inReach subscription can now also access the SOS functions.

Until now, pausing a subscription was mainly practical in order to save the activation fee of $39.99 if the subscription was to be continued at some point. A subscription can be paused for a maximum of twelve months at a time and is then automatically reactivated. The new arrangement means that it is effectively possible to pay $7.99 once a year for the cheapest inReach subscription and use Garmin inReach emergency call features all year round. However, as this requires a firmware update, emergency calls are only available on the following products during a paused subscription:

• Garmin Fenix 8 Pro
• Garmin Quatix 8 Pro
• Garmin D2 Mach 2 Pro
   
• Alpha 300i
• GPSMAP 67i
   
• inReach Messenger
• inReach Messenger Plus
• inReach Mini 2
• inReach Mini 3

All other inReach features, such as sending check-in messages to friends, transferring photos and voice messages via the satellite network, and LiveTrack location requests are still only available if a paid subscription has been taken out. Voice calls, text messages and voice messages via the mobile network also require at least the cheapest "Enablded" subscription