The Iridium transponder was not disabled. That was the source of the pings. The satellite cannot be controlled or disabled by a user. The ACARS would only tell us that the gear came down.
So ACARS never reported gear down, but the aircraft apparently pinged the Iridium network for some time after the aircraft disappeared? That’s definitely strange. I still think they’re going to find out she crashed into the ocean, but I hope for the passengers that they are somehow still alive somewhere.