Thinking about getting Starlink - does anyone here use it?

[Yourangduckie]

We’re considering switching to Starlink as our broadband is pretty rubbish where we live. From what I understand it’s satellite internet so you install a dish and it connects directly to satellites rather than using the normal phone line.

I’ve read mixed things online – some people say it’s brilliant if you’re in a rural area and can get decent speeds, but others say it can be expensive and not always that reliable.

If you have it:
• Is it actually good in real life?
• What sort of speeds do you get?
• Any issues with dropouts or bad weather?
• Is it worth the cost?

Would love to hear real experiences before we commit as the equipment isn’t cheap. Thanks!

A friend has it. They find it very expensive and a bit shit/unreliable!

We looked at it for my mum who lives rurally, with limited broadband provider options. We have ended up getting a 5G router: https://amzn.eu/d/0cDXoKR0 and a prepay SIM card which averaged about £15/month. She gets full fibre speed because she can get a 5G signal and we put a mesh in the house to ensure coverage throughout as it has thick walls. So far, so good, she gets about 500 Mbps, more than enough for an old lady living alone not doing video calls or gaming very often!

Didn't know such a thing existed @PersimmonsAreNotTheOnlyFruit thanks for that. Can you just buy any sim?

Starlink puts more money into Musk's pocket, if you care about supporting (or not supporting) openly Nazi pieces of shit.

Very rural here and it was really our only option (both wfh).

It's fast and reliable. Fine in bad weather but obviously not in power cuts and I imagine we get them more frequently than city folk.

Though if you CAN avoid I would, pp having educated me about Musk association (thank you).

It's saying on the Starlink site 100mbps £35 per month. Would 100mbps be enough?

Sadly can't avoid 😕 both wfh and need good WiFi.

It depends what you want it for.

Generally- speeds quite good. Residential gets between 40-150mbps for £75/month.

connection is stable and for ordinary household tasks it’s fine- browsing, streaming, emails, work etc it’s fine. It is weak for gaming due to high latency (often 100-200ms), and the lack of a fixed IP and carrier grade NAT WiFi calling often fails.

business Starlink much better- speeds from 100-350mbps, fixed IP and generally lower latency (40-100ms) which is still not great but generally ok for gaming. Fixed IP means WiFi calling is consistent and the connection is prioritised so the speeds are more consistently higher. That said, the price is steep £180/month for 1TB (this is combined upload and download).

If you don’t have the option of a fixed line, it’s an acceptable substitute, however a fixed line will generally give better speeds, latency and other network benefits for a lower price.

if price is no object, business starlink is much better as a standalone service. However where possible I would generally always recommend a fixed line.

We live in a small town but many of our friends and family nearby have it and think it's great.
We're moving soon and will need it at the new house we can WFH.
When it's the only option it's a good one.

Nah, Musk has enough money and I wouldn’t trust any of his products.

We have it 2 years now. Rural Ireland with no other decent option at the time. We bought the gear and got someone to fit it. So it was expensive to get going. €50 a month now. Best thing we ever did. No one ever complains about the wifi now. No more wails of ‘I’m lagging’ while playing Fortnite. We can download movies etc in seconds.
There’s fibre in our area now but we are sticking with starlink.

We use and despite being allergic to musk, it's been great. Really reliable and miles faster than what we had previously .

You need a data only SIM from a provider that you get good 5G coverage from. We went with EE, as you can buy prepay cards from Amazon too. But you can also do pay monthly direct with EE. Other companies do the same, but mum can't get a strong signal from them. Her service is now faster than my sibling who is on full fibre in London!

100Mbps was not enough for us with 2 WFH and 2 gaming teenagers. But would have been for mum. They only had the £75/month option then, which she was not willing to pay. Especially not to Musk!

Exactly why I wouldn't want it. You are also subject to his whims and fancies.

As is your data...

I would avoid if possible, he is a prick. I am stuck with it for the time being as I live rurally and there are no other options. However, I am moving in a few week and look forward to not using it anymore. It is also expensive. It is really reliable though

for those that are anti musk, i presume your happy with money going to china for all the tech you use ?

Thanks everyone, will go ahead and get Starlink to try.

We are rural with no mobile signal and I bought a dish last year. As much as I don't like Musk, the starlink is brilliant. Very easy to set up, there is an app which directs you, and we have about 70mbs through a mesh in a very large house. It's sat on the flat roof of our kitchen so it's easy to get at. It's been very reliable for us. We run our mobiles through it and no longer need a landline. After years of crap service from BT it is a joy.

Yes. The download speed is excellent. Upload speed less good but a million times better than our alternatives.

Rural 4G Broadband do a good service (around 100megs) without the massive setup costs of starlink.

This.

I was going to say something similar to this (although in more toned-down way!).

We have it and I do not want to give money to Musk we had no other option. Very rural, no fibre and with both wfh it was becoming impossible without. It has made a massive difference and we now have no issues at all.

I would literally rather chew my own leg off than give that man my money. Why do people live with their heads up their arses?

beause otherwise we would be no tech folk

It's easy to say don't get a starlink if you have other options. We have tried two other satellite providers and starlink is the only reliable service we can get.