Iridium 9555 - Frequently Asked Questions

DIALING ISSUES:

1. How do I make calls from my Iridium 9555 phone?
2. How do I access my Iridium voicemail?
3. How do I leave a voicemail message on an Iridium phone?
4. How do I call an Iridium phone from a landline?

OTHER ISSUES:

5. My Iridium phone has a lot of dropped calls. What should I do?
6. The Iridium 9555 phone won't charge. What is wrong?
7. How do I check for new text messages on my Iridium 9555 phone?
8. How do I send a text message to my Iridium 9555 phone?
9. How do I send a text message from my 9555 Iridium phone?
10. How do I send an e-mail from my Iridium 9555 phone?
11. How do I check my prepaid SIM card balance?
12. How do I upgrade the firmware version of the Iridium 9555?
13. Can you track an Iridium 9555's position?

1. How do I make calls from my Iridium 9555 phone?
On most plans, you should dial 00, the country code, and the number.   The country code of the U.S. and Canada is 1.   So, for example, to call Outfitter Satellite dial 00 1 615 889 8833.    If you are dialing another Iridium phone dial 00 8816xxxxxxxx (where 8816 is the country code of the Iridium network and xxxxxxxx is the balance of the 12-digit Iridium mobile number you are calling).

NOTE: An Iridium 9555 can be configured to automatically insert the 00 prefix.   To do this, press the "Menu" button, select "Setup", and then select "Number Entry". If you select "Do Not Prefix" then the dialing instructions provided here will apply. However, you can also select "Prefix with 00" automatically.

2. How do I access my Iridium voicemail?
From your Iridium, dial your own 12-digit Iridium phone number.   Be patient since it can take up to 30 seconds to connect the call. You will be prompted for your Iridium voicemail password.

NOTE: By default, your password is the the last 7 digits of your Iridium mobile number.    For security, we recommend that you undefault your Iridium voicemail password. If at some point you forget your voicemail password, it can be reset to the default value by Outfitter Satellite technical support.

3. How do I leave a voice mail message?
The easiest and most economical way to call an Iridium is the Two-Stage Dialing method (see below). When you call the Iridium phone, if no answers, the call will be forwarded to the Iridium voicemail system. The caller simply needs to follow the voice prompts and leave a message.

NOTE: Voicemail is a FREE service on most Iridium plans by Outfitter Satellite. However, some of our clients have requested that voicemail be disabled.

4. How do I call an Iridium phone from a landline?
There are three methods: 1) Two-Stage Dialing, 2) +1 Access Dialing, and 3) Direct Dialing.

TWO-STAGE DIALING: The most economical way to call an Iridium phone is to use two-stage dialing. To do this from a U.S. landline, dial 1 480 768 2500 and enter the 12-digit Iridium mobile number. The caller will hear "YOUR CALL IS BEING FORWARDED, PLEASE DO NOT HANG UP". Be patient as it can take 20 to 30 seconds to connect the call. The inbound call to your Iridium is charged to your Iridium account.

+1 ACCESS:   This is an optional service (currently the fee is $9.95/month) that assigns a dedicated U.S. phone number to your Iridium mobile phone.    Calls made to that number are automatically forwarded to the Iridium phone and billed to the Iridium phone's account at a rate found in your service agreement.

DIRECT DIALING FROM A LANDLINE:   You can dial an Iridium directly. From a U.S. landline this is done by dialing 011 (to make an international call) followed by the 12-digit Iridium mobile number.   The caller will be billed by their long distance carrier -- usually at a VERY high per minute rate.

5. My Iridium phone has a lot of dropped calls. What should I do?
The Iridium satellite network is made up of a large number of low earth orbiting satellites. As these satellite move, the direct line of sight between the satellite you are using and the phone can get obstructed by objects such as buildings, trees, and mountains.    It is also possible that the satellite moved over the horizon. When this happens, the Iridium phone attempts to continue the call over a new satellite. However, sometimes this fails and the call is dropped. Make sure you have a clear line of sight that is not blocked by nearby vertical obstructions and when you get a strong signal on your phone, try the call again.

6. The Iridium 9555 won't charge. What is wrong?
At room temperature, the standard battery should charge from 0% to 100% in about 4 hours.   The fully charged battery provides sufficient power for about 4 hours of talk time or 30 hours of standby (under normal operating conditions).

The phone comes with an AC charger and an international plug set. If the AC charger is getting power, the LED on the AC charger itself will light up. After you plug the AC charger into the Iridium 9555 using the power jack on the bottom left side of the phone, the screen should display “Charging Battery”. If this does not occur, here are some things to look at:

Check the electrical contacts on the battery and make sure there is no dirt or corrosion.
Never attempt to pickup the Iridium phone using the cable of the AC charger. Doing so puts stress on the charging port. If the phone no longer will charge, look carefully to see if the charging port has been damaged.
At room temperature, the standard battery should charge from 0% to 100% in about 4 hours. However, if the phone is hot it will take longer to charge. One common situation, is attempting to charge the phone while it is sitting in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can cause the phone to be quite hot to the touch. Try charging the phone in a shady location.
If the battery still does not charge, it may need to be replaced.
HIGH CAPACITY IRIDIUM 9555 BATTERY: In late 2011, Iridium developed a high capacity Iridium battery that provides up to 6.5 hours of talk time. If you are using this battery, be sure to upgrade the firmware to HT11001 or later so that the battery charge level will display correctly.

7. How do I check for new text messages on my Iridium 9555 phone? Text messages are referred to as SMS for Short Message Service. Inbound text messages are free. Outbound messages are charged according to your contractual rate. The maximum length of a text message is 160 characters. Press the Menu softkey, then scroll down using the arrow keys until "Messages" is highlighted on the screen. Then press "Select". Scroll down to "Inbox"then press "Select". You can now scroll through your messages. Press "Read"to read a highlighted message. Use the down arrow to scroll through the contents of the message. Once you have reached the bottom of the message, pressing the down arrow again will continue on to the next message. At any time, you can return to the previous screen by pressing the "Back" button. To reply to the text message, press "Options" while reading the message and scroll down to "Reply" and press "Select".

8. Sending Text Messages to your Iridium Phone from the Web: The Iridium 9555 supports sending and receiving 160 character text messages directly from the Iridium phone. 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.

9. How do I send a text message from my 9555 Iridium phone? You must be registered on the network and have a good signal before sending the text message. To send a text message from the Iridium 9555 phone, press "Menu". Using the arrow keys scroll to "Messages", then press "Select". "Create Message"should be highlighted, press "Select". Enter your message text, then press "Options". The "Send" option should be highlighted, press "Select". A "Send To" screen will now appear and "New Recipient" will be highlighted, press the "Add" softkey. "Enter Number" should be highlighted, press "Select". Enter the recipient's phone number, including country code after the "+" sign. Press "OK&quot. Press "Send" to send the message.

10. How do I send an e-mail from my 9555 Iridium phone?
Outfitter Satellite offers both SkyFile and Amos Connect email software for use via a Windows computer connected to the Iridium 9555 via a USB cable.

You must be registered on the network and have a good signal before sending the e-mail. Note that e-mail messages are also limited to 160 characters. To send an e-mail from the Iridium 9555 phone, press "Menu". Using the arrow keys scroll to "Messages", then press "Select". "Create Message"should be highlighted, press "Select". You must enter the recipient's e-mail address followed by a space before entering the message, then enter your e-mail message. When your e-mail message is complete, press "Options". The "Send" option should be highlighted, press "Select". A "Send To" screen will now appear and "New Recipient" will be highlighted, press the "Add" softkey. "Enter Number" should be highlighted, press "Select". Enter "*2" after the "+" sign. Press "OK". Press "Send" to send the e-mail.

11. How do I check my prepaid SIM card balance?
If you have a prepaid Iridium SIM card you can dial 2888 or send an SMS (short message service) message to 2888. If you dial the 2888 shortcode, you will hear an auto-attendant provide the remaining minutes on the account, the number of days until the account expires, and the date and time (GMT) of expiration in English. If you use the SMS method, you will receive the same information by reply SMS to your phone. There is no charge for checking your Iridium balance using either of these methods.

12. How do I upgrade the firmware version of the Iridium 9555?
First, determine what firmware version you are currently on. To do this, click the "Menu" button on the phone. Then select "Setup". Then select "Phone information". This page will show the current firmware on the phone. As of November 2011, the current firmware version is HT11001. For instructions on how to update your firmware click here.

13. Can you track an Iridium 9555's GPS position?
The Iridium 9555 can be docked in a BEAM PotsDOCK. This configuration supports a web portal based GPS tracking solution called BEAM LeoTRAK. In addition to the standard or prepaid voice service attached to your Iridium SIM card and provisioned through Outfitter Satellite, you will need to purchase LeoTRAK service bundled with Short Burst Data (SBD) service provisioned through BEAM. For more information on LeoTRAK, call Outfitter Satellite.

Outfitter Satellite also offers several small personal tracking systems such as the GeoPRO or Nano SHOUT that use the TracPlus web portal service. The Iridium 9575 EXTREME also supports GPS tracking services such as StratosTrax. Please call for more information.
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