Iridium 9505 & 9505A - Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I make calls with my Iridium phone?
2. How do I access my Iridium voicemail to retrieve messages?
3. How do I leave an Iridium voicemail?
4. How do I call my Iridium phone?
5. How do I force register the phone on the Iridium network?
6. Why do I have a lot of call drops?
7. What is my voicemail password?
8. How do I dial a US number from the Iridium phone?
9. Why can’t I get a signal in my office?
10. Why won’t the phone charge?
11. How do I dial an Iridium phone from a landline in the U.S.?
12. How do I check for new text messages on my Iridium 9505A phone?
13. How do I send a text message to my Iridium phone?
14. How do I send a text message from my Iridium phone?
15. How do I change out the SIM card in my Iridium 9505 or 9505A?

1. How do I make calls with my Iridium phone?
To call out from an Iridium phone, dial 00, the country code, and the number. For example, to call Outfitter Satellite 00 1 615 889 8833. The 00 accesses international calling and the country code for the United States is 1. If you are dialing another Iridium phone dial 00 8816xxxxxxxx (where 8816xxxxxxxx is the Iridium mobile number).

2. How do I access my Iridium voicemail to retrieve messages?
A. From a US land-line dial 1 480 768 2500. Enter your 12-digit Iridium phone number.
B. From your Iridium phone, press the envelope key from the phone and then press the “OK” key, which will automatically dial 00881662990000 (Iridium Message Center)

You will hear an autoattendant message: "YOU HAVE NOW ACCESSED THE IRIDIUM MESSAGING CENTER. PLEASE REENTER THE NUMBER THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH.". When you hear your own voicemail greeting, press the asterisk * key and then enter your password when prompted. (The default password is the the last 7 digits of your Iridium mobile number).

3. How do I leave an Iridium voice mail?
We recommend that the caller use the Two-Stage Dialing method, e.g. from the U.S., dial 1 480 768 2500 and then enter the 12-digit Iridium mobile number. If no one answers the Iridium phone, the caller will hear a few "beep" sounds and then hear an autoattendant say, "YOUR CALL IS BEING FORWARDED, PLEASE DO NOT HANG UP" followed by your voicemail greeting. The caller simply needs to follow the voice prompts and leave a message.

4. How do I call my Iridium phone?
The most economical way to call an Iridium phone is to use two-stage dialing. If the person calling your Iridium phone, is dialing from a U.S. landline, he/she dials 1-480-768-2500. When the autoattendant answers, the caller needs to enter your 12-digit Iridium mobile number. The inbound call to your Iridium is charged to your Iridium account.

Alternatively, the person calling you can dial the Iridium phone directly. From the U.S., they would dial 011 followed by the 12-digit Iridium mobile number. This type of call will not be billed to your Iridium account. Instead, the caller will be billed by their landline long distance carrier. Be warned that the cost of direct dialing is usually many times the expense of using two-stage dialing.

5. How do I force register the phone on the Iridium network?
To do this, 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 the OK button. Press the OK button again when "Register" shows on your screen. Now the phone should attempt to register on the network.

6. Why do I have a lot of call drops?
The Iridium satellite network is made up of a large number of low earth orbiting satellites. As these satellite move, it is possible that the direct line of sight between the satellite and the phone becomes lost. This could be because a near by vertical obstruction (such as a mountain, tree, or building) blocks the signal. It is also possible that the satellite moves over the horizon. When this happens, the Iridium phone attempts to continue the call over another satellite that is better positioned. 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.

7. What is my voicemail password?
The default voicemail password is the last seven digits of your iridium phone number. If you reset your password and then forget, please call Outfitter Satellite and we will reset it to the default password.

8. How do I dial a U.S. number from the Iridium phone?
To call a U.S. landline number from an Iridium phone, you will always dial 00, the country code which will be 1 for the US or Canada, 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. Vertical obstructions can block the signal to the satellite. For example, trees, mountains, and buildings. Often you can make calls from inside while you are near a window but we recommend that you go outside where you have a 360 degree view of the sky. Solar treated windows can also block the signal.

10. Why won’t the Iridium 9505A battery charge?
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 will light up. The AC charger has a jack that plugs into the bottom left side of the phone. When the charger is connected to the phone the screen will show “Charging Battery”.

Check the electrical contacts on the battery and make sure there is no dirt or corrosion on them. If the battery still does not charge, it may need to be replaced.

11. How do I call the Iridium phone from a landline in the U.S.?
A. Two-Stage Dialing: From the U.S., dial 1-480-768-2500 and enter the 12-digit Iridium mobile 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.

B. Dialing Direct: To call the Iridium phone from a landline phone in the U.S. you would dial 011 and then the 12-digit Iridium number. For example: 011 8816 6299 0000. This type of call is not billed to your Iridium account. The caller will be billed by their landline long distance company.

12. How do I check for new text messages on my Iridium 9505A 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 "envelope" key followed by the "down arrow" key until you see "Received Messages" on the screen. Then press "OK" to display your first 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 Iridium screen by pressing the red "C" twice. To reply to the text message, press "OK" and scroll down to "Reply to Sender" and press "OK".

13. How do I send a text message to my Iridium phone? The Iridium 9505A and 9505 support sending/receiving 160 character text messages directly from/to 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. How do I send a text message from my 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 a text message 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".

15. How do I change out the SIM card in my Iridium 9505 or 9505A? Here is a short movie showing how to change out the SIM card in an Iridium 9505 or 9505A phone. (see movie)