I was looking for something to swap with my Garmin mini that could send and receive texts and this fit the bill nicely. So far I've been very satisfied with the quality, battery life and ease of set up. Weighing less than the Garmin, it works out nicely for lightening my pack.

The Motorola Defy works well for two-way text communication when you are in the back country away from cell phone coverage. I found that cloud cover does not adversely affect the satellite access. Sparse trees will affect the signal but messages will get through and the Bullitt app will display the signal strength. It will not have signal in dense woods or when the satellite is obscured by a ridge or building which is to be expected. I discovered a bug that I hope the manufacturer will fix in a subsequent software release. The system seamlessly transitions to cell service for messaging if it becomes available however transitioning back to satellite after losing cell service the satellite signal strength indicators of bother the app and the device remain green even when there is no satellite access. The work-around is simple, just turn the unit off and then on. I still knocked off one star for this reason.

It works great, I kept it on for many days and it's a solid satellite signal 24/7 even better than other satellite messangers. It's a must have for anyone who enjoys the outdoors.

Comes with 3 month activation to test out. Do not know if it is possible to pause the service or not. But this will be handy for those times we find ourselves without a mobile phone signal and have no other way to make contact.

One note. To pair the device to your bluetooth turn the device on by holding the power button until it lights up. Then click the power button again to go into pairing mode. You can easily see the "Motorola Defy Satellite Link" in the bluetooth listings to pair to.

Once that is done it will do a firmware update that takes about 4-5 mins. Let that finish then use the satellite coordinates to point the device roughly in that direction to make satellite contact. The unit itself will buzz on successful satellite connect and the icon in the app shows the green satellite connection. It also handily provides the battery charge of the device so you will know when you need to give it more juice.

Interestingly, once the device gets a connection it seems to hold that connection pretty well. I moved mine from the window to my desk and it continues to stay green. So not bad at all.

I wish I had this device back in February 2023 where I was in parts of Arizona, Utah, Colorado that had zero cell signal. Would have given me more piece of mind that at least someone would know where I was last located had my car broken down. Or to even send an SOS to get help to tow it out.

I am using it with my Pixel 7 Pro Android phone. Until satellite gets built into phones this will have to be the stopgap solution.

I got this device for the backcountry trips where mobile phone coverage doesn't exist. I used this extensively during a backpacking trip recently and was very impressed with it. I'll break it down in terms of the functions:

- Battery life - I used this for 3 days and 2 nights and had enough battery life to leave it on for most of that time (I shut it off in the evenings). I sent and received about 50 messages including about 2 hours of SOS usage. The battery was low at the end but I'm really happy with that performance

- Satellite acquisition: pretty quick, within 5 minutes or less.

- Message performance: Each message took about 1 to 2 minutes to get received and a message back, I was impressed with this as I was expecting 5 minutes per message or more.

- SOS function: The difference here was the call center and ability to describe your exact situation. Unfortunately one of the backpackers we were with was having trouble breathing and couldn't make it back out on his own. I pushed and held the SOS button on the phone and answered a few questions. Within a few minutes I was chatting with an agent. The agent was very helpful and figured out who to contact for the fastest rescue in the area. All this took less than 10 minutes and the rescuers were on their way. Great service and professionalism from the call center.

The whole group of backpackers from this trip went out and bought the same device as they were as impressed with it as I was. the Motorola Defy will always be with me when I think I'll be out of cellular coverage.