Contrary to what you may have heard on TikTok, Apple did not just “install” Elon Musk’s Starlink on every iPhone.
The short explanation is that the iPhone is capable of using Starlink, just like any mobile service provider. More specifically, though, Starlink support on iPhone is limited to a single carrier for customers in the United States for now.
It’s not a direct partnership between Apple and Starlink. Instead, T-Mobile is using its 1900MHz (band 25) spectrum to provide additional coverage using Starlink, and the iPhone supports band 25. There’s nothing special in iOS 18.3 beyond supporting the latest version of T-Mobile’s network. Apple itself has not partnered with Starlink in any capacity.
However, if T-Mobile customers want to opt out of using Starlink on iPhone, there’s a way to disable using the functionality.
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