I'm looking at purchasing an Inreach of some sort but the majority of the time I will not require the satcom functionality. In "standby subscription mode", will it still function as a bluetooth GPS for my ipad?
I acquired an InReach 1.5 (aka original, without a screen). This unit does function as a standalone bluetooth GPS even without subscription. Additionally, I was concerned about powering the unit in the car (because it requires two AA batteries) however it turns out that works fine via micro-usb firmware upgrade port. I just turned it on (power+message button which puts it in firmware upgrade mode) and it works fine without batteries.
I'm looking at purchasing an Inreach of some sort but the majority of the time I will not require the satcom functionality. In "standby subscription mode", will it still function as a bluetooth GPS for my ipad?
Send a call or email to Garmin. They should be able to answer your question. I have a continual subscription plan, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the device will still have GPS functionality even when you've deactivated your plan (the messaging and SOS gets deactivated)....not 100% on that so Garmin customer support would be a good source for that info.