Verizon is giving these Android phones a free connectivity upgrade - here's how it works

Kerry Wan/ZDNET After introducing satellite texting last fall, Verizon is expanding the service again. In an announcement this week, Verizon says its customers will be the first in the US to send text messages to any other Verizon customer's device using satellite texting -- starting with the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9 series smartphones. Also: I thought the budget phone market was in shambles - then I held Google's latest Pixel Satellite texting is all the rage now, with virtually every carrier scrambling to support it. Unlike other providers that rolled out satellite texting through beta or test programs, Verizon is introducing it all at once. Upgrades enabling this service will begin today and continue over the next two weeks. The service will be powered by Skylo, the same company that handles satellite texting for Pixel phones. Satellite texting lets you send a message when you're out of reach of traditional cell towers. It's a convenient and potentially life-saving ... Read full article.