Anyone using Starlink at home?

[Bruce]

I have been on the waiting list since March of 2021 and was able to order at the end of June. My dish is supposed to ship around the end of July.

I have been pretty excited by the 200 Mbps speed tests reported by many users although a neighbor who paid to get on the waiting list after I did was provided a dish about a month before me and is reporting ~70 Mbps speed tests. His dish reports no obstructions but I believe it is mounted too low where it will not be able to access satellites to the south and likely has tree issues to the west and east.

I am thinking I will mount the dish on a 2" pipe 40' up bracketed to my deck around 15' up with a tilt base. The alternative would be on my roof around 40' up. The pole will make it much easier to access as I do not have a ladder that is tall enough to reach the roof.

I am wondering what others experiences with Starlink are like.

 

[jcyamaharider]

We have it with the RV plan. It doesn't have to be mounted high and will auto adjust to find the satellites. I did test up low and high and didn't see any speed difference. We use it at home as well. I purchased an extra cable and pole mount as well as a flag pole mount for the rv. I have seen speed test in the range of 1 mbps to 150 mbps, it depends on the time of day. Morning is always better. Pings very a lot also 20 - 200. So far I like it

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I have one sitting in boxes waiting for me to install it. Using it for critical backup in times of natural disaster and hopefully never need for civil unrest.

 

[adrianp89]

I have one sitting in boxes waiting for me to install it. Using it for critical backup in times of natural disaster and hopefully never need for civil unrest.

Seems pretty expensive to have sitting around. $500 up front plus $100 a month.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Seems pretty expensive to have sitting around. $500 up front plus $100 a month.

If you knew where I worked, you'd understand.

It also provides as a failover ISP when Comcast has an outage which is often around these parts.

 

[Tbarbe]

If you knew where I worked, you'd understand.

It also provides as a failover ISP when Comcast has an outage which is often around these parts.

I also have mine for backup plan… it works well in my area so far… but i have solid wired line and this one for fail over…and I was considering swapping it to RV version so I can take it with me.

 

[BrandonG]

I live in a rural area so all we have now is satellite, it has a 2.5 mbps download and 1 mbps upload speed. I would finally be able to play online video games without an a lag and watch things on my tv in better than 480p lol.

Although I'm not sure those things are the initial cost and 60$ month additional toward my internet bill. If the service comes down to around 70-80$ month I'd consider it though

 

[Bruce]

I live in a rural area so all we have now is satellite, it has a 2.5 mbps download and 1 mbps upload speed. I would finally be able to play online video games without an a lag and watch things on my tv in better than 480p lol.

Although I'm not sure those things are the initial cost and 60$ month additional toward my internet bill. If the service comes down to around 70-80$ month I'd consider it though

The service price increased from the initial $100 a month to $110. Equipment prices increased as well. I doubt the prices will decrease unless terrestrial broadband reach increases. If it does Starlink may not remain viable.

 

[TimW451]

If you’re like me, you cellphone signal probably sucks too, (I only have two bars in and around my house.) but have you looked at internet for the home through any of those service providers.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

I also have mine for backup plan… it works well in my area so far… but i have solid wired line and this one for fail over…and I was considering swapping it to RV version so I can take it with me.

Is the RV account just an increase in monthly cost? I skimmed through it a while back and seemed like it was the same equipment but they must use GPS to ensure its being used at that location. So the RV account just gets rid of your GPS location usage area.

 

[Tbarbe]

Is the RV account just an increase in monthly cost? I skimmed through it a while back and seemed like it was the same equipment but they must use GPS to ensure its being used at that location. So the RV account just gets rid of your GPS location usage area.

I didnt find out all details yet of RV plan..I think its same kit but they turn the data into a lower tier… so RV data rate would possibly be slower or longer latency… I saw they are introducing a marine plan.. i saw it was 5k a month?? Not sure… hopefully thats not true…. But yes RV lets you roam… but its less thruput from my understanding so far.

 

[Bruce]

Starlink sells into sectors based on how much capacity they have there from orbiting satellites and ground stations. The standard home service is only available in sectors that have capacity and I believe they prioritize customers for whom they will receive government CAF funding on top of their monthly fees.

RV version sales does not follow the capacity requirements as they are expected to move around but you pay more for less. The standard home dish can be converted to an RV plan to roam.

The $5K a month marine plan is disappointing. I hope they will later offer more reasonable plans for live aboards.

 

[Bruce]

Have you guys used https://satellitemap.space/ ?

It is fun to see where the satellites are and which you might connect to.

 

[marcham]

We've had it since about 6 months after it came out. In our area, it was a game changer. We went from 12mbps adsl to 150-300 mbps starlink. We loose coverage 3 to 5 times a week, for up to 2 minutes, but usually during the middle of the night. Latency is very low, we use wifi calling on all our phones due to poor cell coverage.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Well.....this little video just saved my butt! Been racking my brain on how I am going to pull this giant ass plug end through conduit.

 

[SantaFeTrailer]

I was on the wait list for almost a year and a half. I finally got the notice to order, which I did, and installed it. Right at the same time T-Mobile home internet became available so I got that too. Starlink was running about 60, T-Mobile 200 (we are about 1/4 mile from the tower). So, while the Starlink worked fine, since the T-Mobile is $50 a month I returned the Starlink within the return window. This is TX Gulf coast. I do think it's a game changer for when you have no other options or mobile.

 

[2kwik4u]

Any contracts associated with Starlink? Was talking with a friend that does remote work and was considering buying a camper for the summer months. He has fiber at home, but wants to travel and needs a reliable signal. Sat makes perfect sense for him, but he doesn't want to spend $100/mo for the 4-6mo a year he's not using it.

 

[BlkGS]

I have one sitting in boxes waiting for me to install it. Using it for critical backup in times of natural disaster and hopefully never need for civil unrest.

In times of civil unrest, they're gonna get shut right down. If there was any sort of large scale "stuff going tonshit", communications infrastructure would be target 1, and is easily shut down.

 

[BlkGS]

My parents got it for where they live in rural NC. They didn't have normal high speed where they live, as it was woods recently split up and sold in a land sale.

They had ATT wireless internet before and it was spotty due to them being in a forest. It was also 4g based at best. They didn't want to pay for conventional satellite internet, somehow starlink with its constant new expensive launches of satellites is cheaper. I suspect that they're operating at massive loss initially and will raise prices as they need to return a profit after their VC funded growth phase ends. At that point, outside of mobile things, you'll probably be able to get high speed internet in most placed via a fixed line

 

[Bruce]

Installed on the peak of the roof this morning. Have seen speeds as high as 167 Mbps but seeing a lot more 40 to 50 Mbps than I would like.

3D printed a bushing to adapt the Starlink Gen 3 pole to a 1 5/8” J pole.