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GO exec Web/App Profiles for data sessions (Advanced)
GO exec Web/App Profiles for data sessions (Advanced)

How to use Iridium GO! exec - Web/App Profiles

Jude Eades avatar
Written by Jude Eades
Updated today

Please update your GO exec to the latest Firmware and consider switching your GO exec plan to the Unlimited plan before using Web/App profiles to ensure you do not experience bill shock or data overages.

Overview Web/App Profiles

The Iridium GO exec has a range of built-in Web/App profiles to minimize your data usage and quickly complete your Internet tasks. There are profiles for many popular activities and applications such as WhatsApp and web browsing.

Important Note: You can use a lot of data quickly by having any Apps or websites open on your devices or settings that are not optimised for satellite connections. Please exercise caution! We recommend you disable automatic device backups such as iCloud while offshore.

We highly recommend that you primarily use apps optimized for data usage on a satellite connection and leave your GO exec Web/App profile set to All Blocked.

If you do not, high data usage may cause overages, resulting in bill shock.

Satellite data is more expensive than cellular data, so it’s important only to allow the data you want to go over the satellite network. Web/App profiles set the rules to allow or block traffic over the satellite network, so choosing the right profile for your data connection is important. These profiles can be accessed from the GO exec device touchscreen or in the GO exec App:

  • Tap the Internet menu icon.

  • Tap the Web/App Profile box to see the list of available profiles.

  • Touchscreen: Drag down or up the list to your desired profile and tap on it.

  • App: Tap on your desired Web/App Profile to select it.

  • Touchscreen & App: Tap the Connect button to start the data session.

Below the Connect Button on the GO exec Touchscreen and App, the Data Usage is displayed. Please carefully monitor this usage to ensure you do not experience bill shock.

NOTE: When connected, the active profile can be changed at any time from the GO exec device touchscreen or in the App. From experience, if you wish to change profiles, you may need to disconnect first, close the App on your device, and then connect again on the correct Web/App profile before reopening it.

Default Web/App profiles

WhatsApp Text

This profile allows text messages, emoticons, and audio calls. It does not support sending photos, media attachments, voice notes or stickers. When using this Web/App profile, sending your first text message may take around 45 seconds. After that, it will be near real-time.

WhatsApp Full

This profile allows full access to most WhatsApp features, including sending photos, media attachments, voice notes and stickers.

For sharing photos, your GO exec will upload 22Kbps and download 88Kbps. Sending large images, even when compressed, may be slow. We recommend sending photos via PredictMail or downloading an App to resize and compress images before sending.

Before you use WhatsApp, please read the article GO exec how to use WhatsApp.

WhatsApp (old Firmware up to 1.0.6)

Important Note: This profile also opens up your connection to all Apps created by Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. These devices may consume a large amount of data, even if only open in the background.

We do not recommend using this OLD profile; please update your Firmware first.

All Open

We recommend you do not use this profile. This profile allows all your devices and all their app full, unrestricted Internet access. You will likely use a large amount of data quickly, incur overages and experience bill shock.

Browsing

We advise caution using this profile and careful monitoring of data use. This profile opens TCP ports 80 and 443 and blocks all others. It will allow web browsing with Apps such as Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Opera.

Facebook

We advise caution using this profile and careful monitoring of data use. This profile allows access in a web browser to https://mbasic.facebook.com. Set your PC or mobile browser to this URL for efficient access to Facebook content.

Gmail

We advise caution using this profile and careful monitoring of data use. This profile also allows other services from Google. If you have any other Google Apps open when using the Gmail App, all these Google Apps may use a large amount of data quickly.

Gmail is not optimised for a Satellite connection. Sending a 1,500-word email with Gmail transfers approximately 0.2MB on the Iridium network. With satellite overages of up to US$5MB, this could cost US$1 per email.

We recommend the best way to send email through your GO exec is to buy a DataHub, subscribe to PredictMail and switch to the GO exec Unlimited PredictWind Data plan. PredictWind designed this plan and suite of products to offer the best value unlimited email worldwide.

Teams

We recommend you do not use this profile. Teams is a Microsoft Office App which allows chat, desktop sharing and video calling. Teams is not optimized for a Satellite connection. This profile may quickly use a large amount of data as it opens Internet ports 80 and 443 to all devices and Apps. Web browsers and many other Apps use these ports, even in the background.

Outlook

We advise caution using this profile and careful monitoring of data use. This profile also allows other services from Microsoft. If you have any other Microsoft Apps open when using Outlook, these Apps may use a large amount of data quickly.

Outlook, like Gmail, is not optimized for a Satellite connection. For the reasons mentioned for Gmail above, for email, we recommend you buy a DataHub, subscribe to PredictMail and switch to the GO exec Unlimited PredictWind Data plan.

WeChat

We advise caution using this profile and careful monitoring of data use. This profile allows limited access to WeChat messaging features. Many secondary features and mini-programs may not work. WeChat is not optimized for a satellite connection.

Apple iMessage

We recommend you do not use this profile. Our testing has shown you will use a large amount of data quickly using this profile and the iMessage app.

This profile allows all connected Apple devices full access to all Apple servers, including services such as iCloud backups. iMessage is not optimized for a satellite connection.

All Blocked

We recommend setting the All Blocked profile as the Web/App profile if you are not actively using another profile on the device.

This profile blocks all Internet data transfer through the GO exec to the Internet unless temporarily modified by an App designed to use it, e.g. the PredictWind Offshore App and DataHub services such as GPS tracking, AIS and PredictMail.

Creating and Managing Custom Web/App Profiles

If the App or service you wish to use does not have a default profile, you can create a Custom Web/App profile for the GO exec to use when desired to allow your App to connect to the Internet. Once made, a custom profile will appear at the end of the list of Web/App profiles to select before connecting.

To create a custom Web/App profile in the GO exec App:

  • Tap on the Settings wheel.

  • Tap Device Settings and then Admin Settings.

  • Under the Routing menu, tap Web/App Profiles.

  • Tap the + button in the top right corner to create a new profile.

  • Tap to enter a Profile Name and Description.

  • Device whether to tap to enable DNS blocking, the default is disabled.

    If disabled, DNS queries from LAN clients will be passed to the satellite network. DNS queries from LAN clients will not be passed to the satellite network if enabled.

  • Tap to set the Rule Policy.

    Allow All Except Filters will all Internet traffic to pass through the GO exec except the defined filters.

    Block All Except Filters will block all Internet traffic except the defined filters.

    We recommend that you tap Block All Except Filters.

  • Under Profile Rules, tap the + button.

  • Add the IP Address, IP range or domain you wish to Allow or Block.

    A single IP address, IP range or domain can be entered, including wildcards. eg 201.130.12.220, 3.33.0.0/16, 201.130.12.* or *.facebook.com.

  • Under Port, tap to select whether the defined rule is for a Single port, port Range or All ports.

  • Tap to enter the Port Number or Port Range. Any port (or range) within the standard ports 0-65535 is allowed.

  • Tap to select the defined port protocol, either TCP, UDP or Both.

  • Tap Save.

  • On the Web/App Profile creation page, tap the + button again to continue to add and Save all required IP addresses and port rules until finished.

  • Tap to Save and set your Custom Web/App profile, which writes it to the GO exec.

  • On the GO exec Internet connection manager page, your Custom Web/App profile will be available to select and connect with under User-Defined Profiles.

Web/App rules can be deleted and copied. Drag left on the Web/App profile or Profile Rule to show the ‘Delete’ and ‘Copy’ commands.

Important Note: User-defined Web/App Profiles are deleted when the GO exec is factory reset. We recommend taking a screenshot or photo as a backup.

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