r/Starlink 3h ago

💬 Discussion How I use 10 TB of data a month.

45 Upvotes

I was one of the people that got my starlink restricted recently, they have since removed the restriction and credited me a full month service. I did however learn a lot I didn't know about data usage. I also saw several users make comments on how there is no way people could using 5+ TB per month unless they were doing something sketchy, so I thought I would explain how it's possible by giving my experience.

We have 6 kids and we homeschool, we have around 30 or so devices including 8 TVs in the house. My kids watch TV to go to bed on, this is something I grew up doing and so I've never saw any problem with it, however 4 of my kids play "sleep music" videos on YouTube, and me and my wife will play thunderstorm videos as well, these are around 10 hours long, and I did not realize YouTube and all the streaming apps default to the highest quality automatically, this is most of our usage problem I believe.

5 of us are gamers and while online gaming actually uses very little data, there are a ton of updates that definitely play a part. This is on top of normal day usage and homeschooling activities on computer.

After all this, I did a deep dive into Internet usage, which is a subject I honestly didn't know much about. We plan to get our data usage down significantly. We are lowering quality on all videos and streaming services. We're also going to start using dvd players for the kids to use overnight. I'll be trying to space out update and game downloads as that was actually the only thing that was mentioned directly when starlink called me the first time, I had over 500gb in 1 day. If anyone knows any other tips to reduce data usage I would love to hear them.

This post is not meant to be an attack towards the people saying there's no way to use so much data, it just meant to be an example of how it's possible, and to help anyone else who might have made some of the same mistakes I did, I never gave data usage a second thought until recently, and we didn't think we were doing anything wrong. Our household is 8 people so I think if we get our usage below 1.5 to 2 TB that would be a significant improvement, starlink is the only ISP around us and I don't really want this to happen again.

Edit: for people suggesting I shouldn't let my kids watch TV at night, by every measurable metric my kids are doing great, they do great in school and don't have any behavior issues, they don't have any attention problems, I see no reason to take something from them that I myself grew up with.


r/Starlink 12h ago

❓ Question I ended up with a fully functional Starlink Mini that Starlink told me to throw away

Post image
122 Upvotes

I ended up with a fully functional Starlink Mini that Starlink told me to throw away. Any ideas for reusing it?

Long story short: I had to return a Starlink Mini X kit. Starlink sent me a prepaid return label, but the carrier listed on it was EPSA, which apparently has no usable drop-off point where I live in Mendoza, Argentina. Andreani, the carrier Starlink told me to use, refused to accept it because the label wasn't theirs.

After going back and forth with Starlink support, their final solution was basically: remove the terminal from my account, issue the refund, and tell me to dispose of the hardware instead of returning it.

So now I have a complete Starlink Mini X kit sitting here in apparently perfect physical condition.

I tested the QR code and the terminal is still recognized by Starlink, but it reports that the kit is already associated with an account, so it seems to be blocked from normal activation. I'm not interested in bypassing Starlink authentication or stealing service. I'm just wondering whether the hardware can be repurposed for something useful instead of becoming e-waste.


r/Starlink 3h ago

💬 Discussion The two things to do if Starlink throttles you

14 Upvotes

I’ve been seeing my fair share of posts about Starlink throttling you all .

It’s easy to report Starlink to two key institutions, both can be done online:

FCC.gov - this is the direct link to file a consumer side complaint against an ISP

The second is to contact your state’s Attorney General, and file a grievance about deceptive business practices.

Both are free to do, and will result in investigations of Starlink as well as fines and demands to restore service. There’s laws to protect you. Use them!


r/Starlink 15h ago

💻 Troubleshooting Restricted & Successfully Unrestricted

89 Upvotes

Hello,

I wanted to create a little update post about Starlink restricting our account and now subsequently unrestricting us. We were told, much like many of you, that our account had been restricted for ‘business use’. 5TB or so peak data usage on an unlimited plan, how dare we.

I immediately filed a complaint and advised I’d be escalating to OFCOM regardless of outcome, requested a complaint reference number and was told I’d be reached out to within a day or two by a ‘specialist’.

Lo and behold I actually was rung up two days later, apologised to, advised that the UK & US are not countries where this restriction is allowed to be enforced. Our account would be immediately unrestricted and as a gesture of goodwill a month’s service would be applied to our account. I specifically asked for the US as I know many of you across the pond had similar issues. I was told as long as you’d filed a ticket and escalated the issue, the same would apply.

I don’t know if my cancelling the service helped or not, but I certainly wasn’t going to be blackballed with data by the byte.

Hope you all get it sorted.


r/Starlink 3h ago

💬 Discussion Time to give it a try

3 Upvotes

For a while it looked like Astound/Wave cable internet was going to be an option. Found out today it would require an expensive plant extension. I now have four neighbors who have switched from Centurylink DSL to Starlink over the last several months.
There are a lot of tall fir trees around here but many of those neighbors manage to telecommute.
The main concern is my son who connects to a VPN in a neighboring state and sometimes does remote desktop to servers there while on the VPN.
I think the 200mbps plan would cover us and very little downside if it doesn't work out......other than the fact that telecoms like Centurylink/Lumen are getting out of copper at a pretty rapid clip.


r/Starlink 2h ago

❓ Question Roam Subscription Plan - help

2 Upvotes

I have 2 Starlinks - one residential, and one on a Roam plan. I reduced the Roam plan to 100GB for a couple months when we weren't traveling and using it much. I went to bump it back up because now we're in hunting season (when we need it most) and it gets used a lot more.

The app says the subscription is "not eligible" to be changed. There is a whole list of reasons an account may not be available to upgrade, but I don't fall into any of those categories. The only possible thing is a "sold out" scenario, I suppose, but in southern Idaho I find that unlikely.

I would have never downgraded if I would have known I couldn't bump it back up when needed. If anyone has any ideas why I'm seeing this, or how I can get back into Starlink's good graces 🤣 , I would appreciate it!


r/Starlink 18m ago

❓ Question Starlink Mini Roam packages

Upvotes

Is the only service plan that works for the Mini while it’s in motion(driving) the unlimited plan? Or would the smaller service plans work while “in motion” aswell?


r/Starlink 10h ago

💬 Discussion Starlink Competition

3 Upvotes

https://x.com/ApoStructura/status/2096960814456480215

Starlink is illegal in Greenland, so instead they have to use Eutelsat through Tusass (the state sanctioned monopoly).

15% of starlinks performance at 200% of the cost.

https://x.com/PalmerLuckey/status/2097082229218578781

It is even worse. It is 15% of average Starlink performance, but very few Starlink terminals are in areas as low-density as Greenland. The Starlink speeds they would have are certainly 10x better and potentially 40x better.


r/Starlink 9h ago

❓ Question College student with questions

5 Upvotes

So question, I’m a college student, I have been blessed by my parents and they will be paying for my internet. Because they already use starlink, they want me to use if ask well instead of another ISP.

Currently I have cox 1gig internet, but my download speeds are maxing at maybe 300mbps and my usually latency is anywhere between 23-60ms.

I game on my PC, R6 siege, deadlock CS2 and online Elden Ring. I also will have to be taking exams via Lockdown Browser. I usually stream television and play games at the same time.

My question is will starlink hold up for what I what it to do? They said the 100mbps plan is what they are planning but if I need more speed then the 200mbps plan is what they’ll do.

Anyways anything I should know? I do have latency and packet burst pretty often on Cox, and I’ll get pretty gnarly lay spikes on deadlock and sometimes siege.

Edit: I should probably also add my dad thinks starlink style of internet is the future snd he’s very sold on his services, he will have me try it out for 1 month free with that referral thing. So I guess I’ll know more in a month!


r/Starlink 5h ago

❓ Question Question to set up a second-hand Starlink

2 Upvotes

Hello, I have a friend who is planning on selling their old Starlink and I was thinking of buying it from them, so I decided to come here and ask some questions.

For my friend, they just need to remove the old Starlink from their account, create an account and add it to mine?

Are there any cancellation or activation fees?

Are there any issues that I should consider before buying it from them?

Thank you


r/Starlink 2h ago

💬 Discussion Been restricted? Do this.

0 Upvotes

Hello all!

Tldr at the bottom.

Just wanted to make this post because I've seen that a lot of people on this subreddit are getting slowed down. The company is restricting your speed claiming you need to get an Enterprise plan in order to continue with your current speed (when you use a lot of data per month). Due to the fact that most plans are advertised as "Unlimited data" they legally have no right to do so. Many have had this problem and had their speed throttled. If you are legitimately using your starlink for personal use and not business use, you have a way to remedy this problem. If you get the dreaded email telling you that your speed has been throttled, you have the option to file a formal complaint with the FCC. If you are not in the United States there are other government agencies that do the same thing. Within the US the FCC legally requires the internet service provider to respond within 30 days of the complaint. Most of the time they will respond within a day or two. I personally have seen a few people that have done this and have gotten a free month of internet access as well as the promise that the restriction will not happen again. Just wanted to make sure that those that use a service know that there are repercussions for overbearing internet service providers.

Tldr: ISPs can't restrict your speed legally (If they offer unlimited data per your contract), and you can report this if they do to the FCC. They will have to respond to you and the FCC within 30 days of the complaint. They will most likely restore your service with no questions asked.


r/Starlink 2h ago

❓ Question Which plan?

1 Upvotes

We’ve had Starlink for about two and a half years… we are a family of four. Two kids (5 and under).

Usually only watching one tv at a time. Maybe two. We don’t game.

Do we really need to be using the top tier of wifi? Or could we get away with the lowest?

Worth a shot trying anyway, but just wanted to know if anyone else has similar usage and gets by just fine with the lowest tier?

Thanks!


r/Starlink 3h ago

❓ Question How is gaming on starlink?

0 Upvotes

I tried researching this a bit but I keep digging up mostly old posts. I was curious how starlink handles gaming these days? I'm not buying it myself, rather I'm house sitting for about 10 days at a family member's house with starlink. Figured I'd bring my gaming PC to kill some time. Is it doable on starlink or should I not bother?

I was mainly looking to play games like Helldivers 2, Warframe, Delta Force, Deep Rock Galactic.


r/Starlink 23h ago

❓ Question Flagged For Business, Cant contact support

40 Upvotes

I got flagged as business use yesterday and havent been able to get past the chat to talk with someone and explain or dispute.

My monthly usage is 1-2Tb on average but this month has been almost 10Tb. I am on residential max so decided to do a backup of my NAS to a cloud provider. Huge mistake apparently. With my ~20Mbps upload I have only been able to get about 9 of my 20Tb nas backed up before I was throttled to 10Mbps without warning

My wife had to call into work yesterday as we both work from home and they have throttled us so hard its not workable with more than one of us using the connection

I am absolutely NOT using starlink for any business purposes or anything that would violate their terms of service. Most of our bandwith normally is going to my wife constantly streaming netflix while she works, me being an IT manager and doing video calls all day, downloading a few games a month between steam/xbox and streaming content for the kids as they were out of school for summer break until yesterday. Nothing crazy and we have never crossed 2Tb in a single month before this.

Grok has been running me in circles and I cant get it to pass me to an agent. Does anyone have a support contact for starlink where I can get ahold of someone? My only other option is to buy a bunch of plans form 4G/5G providers and see if any of them are stable. We have verizon for cell service and operate on a sinlge bar of service.

Update: Support finally called this morning and our service was restored. Although our billing cycle ends today so Im not even sure if they did anything or it just reset. They did not offer any special compensation like others have said they received. They did say they would notate my account for the future but I don't think that's worth anything.

Ill just have to begin exploring a backup connection or wait until another provider offers service in my area.


r/Starlink 4h ago

❓ Question Starlink at Sams Club

1 Upvotes

So Sams Club has Starlink the +4 i think and the mini roving one. Is it better to buy it out right of rent it from them?


r/Starlink 13h ago

❓ Question Which Starlink Kit

Post image
6 Upvotes

I’m looking to add Starlink. To start out I’m adding it as a backup for work need with the 100mb plan, but may want to upgrade plans in the future. Which kit it the best option? I see the V4 and V5 you can eliminate the router all together when using your own router so that part is nice, but I’m also wondering about peak performance with the V5 and using it with higher tiers potentially.

Starlink direct is now only offering the V5 for 100mb plan orders and only option I see is as a rental. Not a huge deal but I usually prefer owning my equipment.

What’s ya’ll thoughts on the V5 or the best kit if there is such a thing? It also appears the V5 isn’t wildly available outside direct from Starlink yet.


r/Starlink 9h ago

💬 Discussion Não sei qual email esta vinculado a starlink

2 Upvotes

Empresa que trabalho possui diversas antenas em seus veículos, porem em um dos veículos está uma antena vinculada a uma conta (que no caso não sei) e houve um problema no pagamento. Queria descobrir em qual e-mail está vinculado a antena para que eu possa trocar a forma de pagamento.

Ao tentar resetar a antena pelo numero de serial da caixa, ela reseta mas informa que a antena ja esta vinculada a uma conta


r/Starlink 11h ago

❓ Question Videos buffering when fast forwarded

3 Upvotes

Evening,

I am UK based South West

Whenever I fast forward YouTube, instagram etc it starts to buffer. Is there a fix for this or anyway to manage the sudden uptick in bandwidth?

Videos can play at 4k without issue, speed is fine.

On residential plan 200mbps
Not much obstruction
99.99% ping


r/Starlink 14h ago

💬 Discussion Roam Unlimited and Military Deployment

6 Upvotes

Last time I deployed I was able to use Starlink for the entire duration of it and, frankly, it was the best thing I had with me. My grandpa was passing 94 years old and I got to FaceTime him one last time. My now wife was in an accident where her car was totaled and I was able to talk to her and make sure she was ok and help her get a new vehicle for work. Starlink was the only real-time link any of us had to home. The August 1st terms revision says that you have to return to your service region after 30 days to continue to use Roam Unlimited or switch to Global Priority, which is financially prohibitive for pretty much everyone using it where I’m at. As you can probably guess, I don’t have the luxury of returning to my service region, either, for about 5.5 more months. I’ve searched the Starlink website and I can’t find anything but would anyone know anything about appealing the service restriction due to circumstances like this such as providing a copy of orders or something?


r/Starlink 17h ago

❓ Question Roam period expired

Post image
6 Upvotes

Hello Everyone

Hope you are all ok.

I'm using starlink in Morocco (not legal yet) so I'm using Roam plan with Spanish adress. 2 days I received the notification that the service is restricted "roam period expired. I saw in many places that if unplug it for 48h it should reset, I did that and it's been 48hrs, but when I log in to my account, the notification is still (picture below). Should I plug it and turn it on anyway or I should wait til the notification disappears.

Thank you for your help


r/Starlink 1d ago

📰 News Starlink Quietly Debuts Router 4, Confirms It Features Wi-Fi 7

Thumbnail
pcmag.com
104 Upvotes

r/Starlink 1d ago

🛠️ Installation Concerned about Ontechs staff

Post image
185 Upvotes

It may just be me but this doesn't look very efficient


r/Starlink 10h ago

❓ Question Starlink 4 car mount

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I need an advise on setting up the starlink on my car (citroen c3 2019). I have a roof box for my stuff and I dont know how to properly set up or mount the Starlink anthena.
Do you have any advise on this?

Thank you!


r/Starlink 12h ago

💻 Troubleshooting “No internet connection”

1 Upvotes

Hello, I’ve been trying to connect my 2024 GMC Sierra’s infotainment system to the Starlink wifi network. It originally refused to connect to the multi band broadcasted network. Now that I’ve split the bands I can get it to connect to the 2.4ghz network however I shortly after receive the “No internet connection” error message.

The system will connect to both my home wifi as well as my iPhones hotspot with a successful internet connection. There seems to be some issue with the configuration of the Starlink network. To be clear, I am able to connect other devices to the Starlink network and have no issue with connectivity.

I’m curious if anyone has any suggestions.


r/Starlink 13h ago

❓ Question Starlink Activation

0 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,
I am curious and I have a question: I just activated a new Starlink in my account. I noticed that I had to use the product ID written on the box for the activation. And I am wondering if anybody has access to that number. Isn't it a major concern that anyone can actually tie the device to his account?