Iridium - Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I make calls with my Iridium phone?
2. How do I access the voice mail to leave or retrieve messages?
3. How do I leave an Iridium voice mail?
4. How do I retrieve a voice mail message?
5. Can I force registering the phone on the network?
6. Why do I get disconnected while in the middle of a call?
7. What is voice mail password?
8. Why can’t I dial a US number from the phone?
9. Why can’t I get a signal in my office?
10. Why won’t the phone charge?
11. I can’t dial the Iridium phone from a landline or cell phone?
12. What is two-stage dialing?
13. How do I send an SMS message to my Iridium phone?
14. How do I send an SMS message from my Iridium phone?

1. How do I make calls with my Iridium phone?
To call out from an Iridium phone, you will always dial 00, the country code, and the number. The 00 accesses the international calling and the country code for the United States is 1.
Example: To call Outfitter Satellite 00 1 615 889 8833

2. How do I access the voice mail to leave or retrieve messages?
A. From a land-line
Two-Stage: Dial 1 480 768 2500. Enter your 12-digit Iridium phone number.
Direct Dial: Dial 011 then the 12-digit Iridium phone number (From the United States)

B. From the Iridium Phone
Press the envelope key then press the “OK” key, which will automatically dial 00881662990000 (Iridium Message Center)

3. How do I leave an Iridium voice mail?
The phone will beep a few times, then you will hear the message “Your call is being forwarded, please do not hang up”. When you hear the automated voice, listen to the recording.
If you hear “you have now reached the Iridium messaging center”, you will be prompted to enter your 12 digit satellite number. If you hear “You have reached mailbox number”. Simply follow the voice prompts.

4. How do I retrieve a voice mail message?
Repeat the steps from question 3. When you hear “You have reached mailbox number,” press the asterisk key (*). There will be a pause, and then a voice will say, “Please enter your password”. Then enter the last 7 digits of the Iridium phone number, as this is your password. (Must have good signal quality and enter it slowly and accurately.) There will be a pause, and then you will here the main menu options of the voice mail system.

5. Can I force registering the phone on the network?
Yes, you can try to force the phone to register on the network. Press the menu button on the right side of the phone keypad. Press the down arrow four times to get to Network Selection and then press ok button. Register now should show on your screen press the OK button. Now the phone should be trying to register on the network.

6. Why do I get disconnected while in the middle of a call?
The Iridium satellite network is made up of 66 low orbiting satellites that are constantly moving orbit around the earth. As the satellite moves over the horizon the call may be dropped because there is a brief moment that your phone was not able to get a signal lock from the other satellite moving across the horizon.

7. What is voice mail password?
The voice mail password is set to the last seven digits of your iridium phone number.

8. Why can’t I dial a US number from the phone?
To call out from an Iridium phone, you will always dial 00, the country code, and the number.
Example: To call Outfitter Satellite 00 1 615 889 8833

9. Why can’t I get a signal in my office?
For the phone to be able to connect to the network the antenna on the phone should have a clear line of sight with the sky. This would mean that you couldn’t have obstacles in the way that could be blocking the signal to the satellite. For example, trees, buildings, ceiling of a sunroom, and large glass windows have a UV coating that blocks the signal of the satellite.

10. Why won’t the phone charge?
If the phone is a rental you should receive the phone with a battery that is fully charged. If you do receive a battery that needs to be charged there should be an AC charger that you can use that came with the phone. You would just need to find the correct plug for the country that you are in and attach the plug to the AC brick. Plug the AC brick into a powered socket and connect the other end of the AC charger to the bottom left side of the phone. When the charger is connected the phone the screen will show “Charging Battery”. If you were to use the DC charger you would receive the same message and connect the phone to the DC charger in the same way. We also have solar chargers; if you would like more info on the solar chargers please call our Sales Department they will be more than happy to help you choose the correct solar charger for your phone and other equipment.

11. I can’t dial the Iridium phone from a landline or cell phone?
» Dialing Direct: To call the Iridium phone from a land-based phone in the U.S. you would dial 011 and then the 12-digit Iridium number.
Example: 011 8816 6299 0000
This type of call does not apply to your satellite minutes but may cost international long-distance. Contact your landline service provider for rates and info.

12. Save money by calling your Iridium using Two-Stage Dialing: To save on international calling charges dial +1 480 768 2500. Enter the 12-digit Iridium phone number.
In most cases, two-stage dialing is much more cost effective than direct dialing the Iridium phone. The two-stage call will be billed to the Iridium phone account.

13. Sending Short Text Messages (SMS) to your Iridium Phone from the Web: The Iridium 9505A and 9505 support sending and receiving 160 character text messages directly from the Iridium phone. The older Iridium 9500 only supports receiving SMS messages. Inbound SMS messages are free of charge. Outfitter Satellite's SMS Message Center can be used to send your SMS to the phone if you have web access and know the Iridium phone's 8816 number.

14. Sending SMS Messages from your Iridium 9505/9505A to an email address or another Iridium phone: From the Iridium 9505/9505A phone, select "Message Editor". Start the SMS with the email address followed by a space, e.g. fred@example.com Hello, Fred. Then, select "Send Message" and enter “+*2”, or “00*2”, or “*2” followed by the command "Send Message". To send an SMS to another Iridium phone from your Iridium 9505/9505A do the following. Select "Message Editor". Enter the message and select "OK". Select menu option "Send Message". Enter either; 00 or + . Then select "Send Message".