If your phone connects to a Starlink satellite instead of the usual antenna, you’ll see 1 to 2 bars of service, and the network name will be “T-Mobile SpaceX,” according to SpaceX. You might have to retry text messages if they don’t go through, and SpaceX says the service works “best outdoors” and “occasionally works indoors near a window.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – T-Mobile customers affected by Hurricane Milton will be able to send SMS texts over Starlink satellites, according to The Verge.

To support recovery efforts in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene, SpaceX, and T-Mobile have temporarily deployed Starlink Cellular, providing emergency alerts and limited texting services. The Federal

SpaceX’s direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, so all services will be delivered on a best-effort basis. The massive flooding from Hurricane Helene created swaths of “blackout zones,

Starlink's Direct to Cell satellites to fill in dead spots in T-Mobile network.

T-Mobile and SpaceX got emergency approval from the Federal Communications Commission this past weekend to use the latter's Starlink service to send emergency alerts to those affected by Hurricane Helene in areas where cell service remains down.