Galaxy S25 Series Can Help You In A No-Network Emergency, But Only If You Are On Verizon

Lanh Nguyen / Android Authority

TL;DR

The Galaxy S25 series supports satellite connectivity, but Samsung has been eerily silent about the feature.
This could be because the feature is absent despite the presence of hardware, as Samsung has seemingly left it to the carrier to figure out satellite SOS service.
Verizon has reached an agreement with Skylo to provide satellite SOS service on its network for the Galaxy S25 series.

Among the notable upgrades the Galaxy S25 series offers is hardware support for satellite connectivity through Snapdragon Satellite. Even though the hardware is finally available, Samsung has been mum on availability details for satellite connectivity, indicating that the feature itself is dormant. However, Verizon customers eyeing the Galaxy S25 series have an advantage, as satellite connectivity is present and active on the Verizon-based Galaxy S25 series.

Samsung didn’t discuss the Galaxy S25’s Direct-to-Device (D2D) messaging functionality through satellites during the Galaxy Unpacked event. It was Qualcomm that revealed that the phones in the Galaxy S25 series are the first commercially released devices to support Snapdragon Satellite.

As satellite consultant, Christian Frhr. von der Ropp points out (via LightReading) that Samsung is leaving it up to the telecom carrier to arrange satellite service on the Galaxy S25 series. Verizon is doing its part, reaching an agreement with Skylo to enable satellite messaging on the Galaxy S25 series in the US.

Verizon enables Satellite SOS on Galaxy S25 in the US with Skylo

Christian notes that Google did a better job with the Pixel 9 series by reaching a direct agreement with Skylo, the de facto monopolist in the 5G NTN satellite operator space. This bypasses the need for carriers to enter into separate agreements and brings the capability to the entire lineup in supported regions, irrespective of where you buy your phone or which carrier you use it on. That is the right approach for an emergency-oriented service, and it is the same approach that Apple follows.

To sum it up, the Galaxy S25 series does support satellite connectivity, but you can send SOS messages only if you are a Verizon customer. That’s good news for Verizon customers but not great news for the Android ecosystem at large.

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