Verizon is providing free satellite texting to select Android phones, including models from Google and Samsung.

Verizon is expanding the satellite texting service it launched last fall, the company announced today. The carrier is claiming that its customers will be the first in the U.S. to be able to send texts to any other Verizon customer's device via satellite starting with the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9 series phones.

Satellite texting has recently gained popularity, and the carriers have started using it. Unlike other competitors who started it off in the beta version, Verizon has started with the full version. The upgrades start today and will extend over the next two weeks with the help of Skylo, which is the same company that enabled Pixel satellite texting.

This feature enables one to converse through text when there is no cell tower signal which is useful for people who find themselves in remote areas whether hiking, camping or simply traveling. At first, it was restricted to use for emergencies and sharing location only, but now it can be used for any text message. However, the satellite mode is only triggered when the device is out of cellular service; if there is the slightest signal, your phone will use the conventional texting method instead.

Verizon is also getting ready to launch satellite-based voice calls, but this is not expected to happen until the latter half of this year or early the next year. Some of its rivals have started charging $20 every month for satellite texting, while Verizon has announced that it will maintain the service for free, just as Google has promised to offer Pixels for free for two years and Apple will give away iMessages for free for the first time.

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