Starlink

[Avenger]

I've had Starlink for a long while now. Loved it! Made my old satellite internet look like dialup... wait, that exactly what I was getting after a few weeks. The latency is not the greatest, but again, better than anything else I could get at my location... at my former location.

I recently moved. The property I have now, which is still very rural, has gigabit fiber for about $40 less per month! I'd be a fool not to switch. So now, I have a Starlink dish and router, with no plan. I'm not sure if I can sell that dish or what I should do with it? If anyone knows, I'd all ears.

 

[ponytug]

I've had Starlink for a long while now. Loved it! Made my old satellite internet look like dialup... wait, that exactly what I was getting after a few weeks. The latency is not the greatest, but again, better than anything else I could get at my location... at my former location.

I recently moved. The property I have now, which is still very rural, has gigabit fiber for about $40 less per month! I'd be a fool not to switch. So now, I have a Starlink dish and router, with no plan. I'm not sure if I can sell that dish or what I should do with it? If anyone knows, I'd all ears.

I would try to sell it, unless you want to switch it to an RV (mobile)service, then suspend the service, and keep it for backup if and when your fiber goes down due to "stuff happens".

All the best, Peter

 

[bdhsfz6]

For all of those complaining about slow Starlink speeds. Starlink here seldom delivers more than 50Mbps, yet I can stream video and keep up with most other internet chores without any problems.

Now here's a revelation: I just had Xfinity (Comcast) cable internet installed at a new-to-me house, and it's a gigabit connection. I've seen first hop speeds roughly 30% faster than that. But in regular day-to-day use, it's not that much faster than the Starlink connection. That's because the the rest of the network, and the servers doling out the media, are so overloaded they can't even begin to keep up with the gigabit connection.

So Starlink, even if it's you're only real choice for internet service, is still a pretty phenominal deal, even if you're "only" getting 50 Mbps.

Whether you're happy with Starlink or not depends largely on your usage.

My family uses zoom, streams video, (sometimes two or more at a time), surfs the net and exchange a lot of video files with friends & family. We replaced our 50mb Verizon wireless internet service with Starlink thinking that it would speed things up.

When we finally got Starlink, we were initially getting 200+mb speeds at first. We saw absolutely NO improvement in the performance of any of our devices. As you say, this is likely due to other factors, and not the internet provider.

We've had Starlink for almost 2 years and the speeds now range between 50 and 100mb, depending on the time of day. Again, we notice no performance difference. Starlink is more than twice the price of the old Verizon service and if it weren't for Verizon's throttling, we would switch back.

The big question here is how much bandwidth do you really need?

 

[LittleBill21]

The big question here is how much bandwidth do you really need?

Hate to tell most people this, but we actually tested this several times. its 1mbit, yea i said it right, most people won't notice until speeds start dropping below it. Most don't even notice the quality degradation on their tv's from the streaming services dropping the quality to keep up with the connection

 

[Oaktree]

When we finally got Starlink, we were initially getting 200+mb speeds at first. We saw absolutely NO improvement in the performance of any of our devices. As you say, this is likely due to other factors, and not the internet provider.

We've had Starlink for almost 2 years and the speeds now range between 50 and 100mb, depending on the time of day. Again, we notice no performance difference. Starlink is more than twice the price of the old Verizon service and if it weren't for Verizon's throttling, we would switch back.

The big question here is how much bandwidth do you really need?

Agreed. We have Spectrum here, and they "upgraded" me to 300mb service about a year ago (actual is ~97 according to a speed test...still roughly 3x what it was before). Much as you noted, I haven't noticed any real difference on anything we do, maybe downloading of a large file is a bit faster but that's it. Keep in mind that any ISP can only control the speed within their network, if there's a bottleneck outside their control upping your speed does nothing.

Unless you're running some sort of server farm, 40-50 mb should be more than adequate for most residential use.

 

[Avenger]

For me, its not just the bandwidth. Its latency too. Starlink is better than other satellite ISPs only because they are closer to Earth. Bandwidth is important too, and that will depend on needs and uses. I occasionally remote into work, sometimes while the kids are streaming or playing games. I also host a plex server and upload content (so upload speed is important). I have home automations at my new home (yes, its a "smart home" and I love it!). All these things add up.

But I agree, your upload and download speeds are subjective. You'll probably only need a few Mbps to get through daily tasks for the 'normal' user. The majority of slow downs people see are because hardware is slow (old and slow hard drives) or their network interface cards are crap, their cables are from 2004, or the service they are connecting too is throttling the connection speed. Many variables play into 'fast internet.'

One thing is for sure though: Starlink has brought really good internet to those who either had no internet or crap internet before.

 

[newbury]

I would try to sell it, unless you want to switch it to an RV (mobile)service, then suspend the service, and keep it for backup if and when your fiber goes down due to "stuff happens".

All the best, Peter

Agree -
I've a $24/month Mobley I keep, primarily for when my main ISP goes down, which on my fiber system in Mississippi seems to be about once a month, on my Cox Cable system in Northern Virginia about once every three months.

 

[BigBlue1]

Very good thread!

We are in the process of building our retirement home and starting a little "hobby farm". The location of our property is rural, and cell service out there is non-existent. So I am looking at options for sure. My wife works from home, and is constantly on TEAMS calls, or Zoom meetings so connectivity is a must have for us.

I've been interested in Starlink since it first came out. I have no experience with it however, and I don't know anyone that has the service.

Now you do know folks with it. As long as you have a location for the dish without obstructions on the view of the sky it will be a great solution for you. I've used SL for 2 years for full time WFH (myself and my wife) and I'm on Teams/WebEx/Zoom calls 50% of the day. No issues.

 

[BigBlue1]

For all of those complaining about slow Starlink speeds. Starlink here seldom delivers more than 50Mbps, yet I can stream video and keep up with most other internet chores without any problems.

Now here's a revelation: I just had Xfinity (Comcast) cable internet installed at a new-to-me house, and it's a gigabit connection. I've seen first hop speeds roughly 30% faster than that. But in regular day-to-day use, it's not that much faster than the Starlink connection. That's because the the rest of the network, and the servers doling out the media, are so overloaded they can't even begin to keep up with the gigabit connection.

So Starlink, even if it's you're only real choice for internet service, is still a pretty phenominal deal, even if you're "only" getting 50 Mbps.

For sure. Connection speeds are only as fast as the weakest link in the path. And with a Gb ISP, that's going to move the weakest link elsewhere. Just because a user has a giant pipe at their house doesn't mean the remote server has a giant pipe or doesn't have a saturated NIC due to being very busy.

Back in 2016 when all we had for Internet at my house was a "5Mb" DSL connection that averaged 1.5-4 Mb/s I was able to WFH and stream Netflix. Online meetings were sometimes choppy and Netflix wouldn't stream 4K, obviously, but it all worked well enough. Having even 40Mb/s stable pipe should be able to allow a person to do anything streaming without problems.

 

[BigBlue1]

I've had Starlink for a long while now. Loved it! Made my old satellite internet look like dialup... wait, that exactly what I was getting after a few weeks. The latency is not the greatest, but again, better than anything else I could get at my location... at my former location.

I recently moved. The property I have now, which is still very rural, has gigabit fiber for about $40 less per month! I'd be a fool not to switch. So now, I have a Starlink dish and router, with no plan. I'm not sure if I can sell that dish or what I should do with it? If anyone knows, I'd all ears.

For sure if you have a better/cheaper terrestrial ISP option that is a smarter choice. SL still has some drawbacks like fade out in very heavy rain/snow that a landline won't have.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My latest issue is I have static IP's for many of my home devices. The Starlink router does not allow you to set a Static range, and it has been assigning DHCP IP's to devices that takes my static IP addresses causing IP conflicts.

 

[tfuller]

For sure if you have a better/cheaper terrestrial ISP option that is a smarter choice. SL still has some drawbacks like fade out in very heavy rain/snow that a landline won't have.

Unless the heavy rain/snow includes heavy wind or ice that takes out the cable lines. I have actually had very little issue with dropping service due to weather particularly compared when I was using Viasat internet.

 

[tfuller]

My latest issue is I have static IP's for many of my home devices. The Starlink router does not allow you to set a Static range, and it has been assigning DHCP IP's to devices that takes my static IP addresses causing IP conflicts.

You can order an Ethernet adapter and then just use your own router to connect everything so you can set it up as you need.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You can order an Ethernet adapter and then just use your own router to connect everything so you can set it up as you need.

Already have the adapter, most of my devices are wired with static IP. was hoping the Starlink router was actually a real router, but it looks pretty limited. It had been working ok in the past, but suddenly Starlink has been duplicating dhcp with my static’s and causing issues.

 

[ponytug]

My latest issue is I have static IP's for many of my home devices. The Starlink router does not allow you to set a Static range, and it has been assigning DHCP IP's to devices that takes my static IP addresses causing IP conflicts.

I think that you have been very lucky. The Starlink router just does 128 addresses in DHCP, so it would have been potentially shuffling addresses every 24 hours or when something powered on/off. I think that it is ok at what it does, but lots of "options" are locked down. I am sure things are locked down to simplify the configuration and reduce customer service calls, and possibly to reduce exposure to bad actors.

Musk run companies remind me of the supposed Henry Ford line about optional colors for Ford vehicles; "you can have any color you want as long as it is black". Options seem to be generally pretty limited in Musk run companies.

To use static IP addresses you need to add your own router. It is easy to do, and probably a good idea on general IT security grounds.

All the best,

Peter

 

[BigBlue1]

Unless the heavy rain/snow includes heavy wind or ice that takes out the cable lines. I have actually had very little issue with dropping service due to weather particularly compared when I was using Viasat internet.

The rain/snow fade is rare with SL, for sure. But it has happened 2 or 3 times in the 2.5 years I've had SL.

Weather isn't a conflict for cable here in MN... It is always buried.

 

[BigBlue1]

Already have the adapter, most of my devices are wired with static IP. was hoping the Starlink router was actually a real router, but it looks pretty limited. It had been working ok in the past, but suddenly Starlink has been duplicating dhcp with my static’s and causing issues.

I am not too familiar with the rectangle dish systems that require the add-on ethernet adapter, but I thought you could put those systems into 'bypass' mode and run it entirely on your own router? You've tried that and it still interferes with LAN DHCP IPs?

 

[ponytug]

I am not too familiar with the rectangle dish systems that require the add-on ethernet adapter, but I thought you could put those systems into 'bypass' mode and run it entirely on your own router? You've tried that and it still interferes with LAN DHCP IPs?

You can put the newer Starlink routers into bypass mode, or you can have your router be a DHCP node to Starlink router (adds a "double NAT" which may or may not be an issue for some users/use cases). The former kills the Starlink WiFi completely, while the later preserves it. The latter may assist for troubleshooting, or may not depending on the problem.

If you never have issues with the Starlink router, and don't want a second WiFi network, bypass is probably the optimal way to go.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

SAT tv is free in many parts of Europe and much better in reaching those in the mountain valleys.

One thing I noticed in the typical heavy thunderstorm downpours or heavy blizzard winter conditions or even snow covered the signal is bad.

Is Starlink similar?

 

[plowhog]

Already have the adapter, most of my devices are wired with static IP.

One of my SL locations is quite rural and I visit infrequently. So I have IP cameras and a Synology NAS running surveillance station to keep an eye on things remotely.

I wanted to use the SL router at that location. Except the Synology NAS wants each camera at a fixed IP. It became a confusing mess to try to do that with the SL router. Adding the ethernet adapter and 3rd party router gave me the control I needed to keep everything straight.

It adds another device to manage (3rd party router) but wasn't that big of a deal.

btw, speed this morning is 12mbps. And it's just before 4am. Have not seen speed like that for a long time-- usually 25-40.