Starlink review (hands on): How good is Elon Musk's satellite internet service?

Our Verdict

Fifty-fifty in its current beta form, Elon Musk's Starlink largely delivers on its hope of bringing high-speed net access to those living in rural areas.

For

• High-speed service
• Simple setup
• Solid Wi-Fi router included

Confronting

• High monthly fee
• Sporadic connection (so far)

Tom's Guide Verdict

Fifty-fifty in its current beta form, Elon Musk's Starlink largely delivers on its promise of bringing high-speed internet admission to those living in rural areas.

Pros

• +

  Loftier-speed service

• +

  Simple setup

• +

  Solid Wi-Fi router included

Cons

• -

  High monthly fee

• -

  Sporadic connection (so far)

Starlink delivers on a promise that's been made for decades: getting broadband net access in rural parts of the country. None has been able to deliver the goods. Until at present. Elon Musk'southward rather audacious proposal to put thousands of satellites in the air to achieve remote customers is already paying off co-ordinate to our tests of the still-in-beta Starlink service.

In our initial Starlink review, we found it unproblematic to ready upwardly and faster non only than DSL lines just also quicker than what many basic cable packages are actually able to evangelize. Certainly as the only option for sparsely populated areas, Starlink could testify to be a godsend, admitting an expensive ane. The basic hardware package is $499, plus $99 a month for service. (Shipping and taxes put the initial full at $581.94). Notation, this is split from Starlink Premium, which is a new $500 monthly service for those requiring much faster speeds.

Based on several weeks of testing, hither is what we like about Starlink so far — and what needs improvement.

What is Starlink and how does information technology piece of work?

Starlink updates

Update Sept. two: Starlink was expected to exit beta sometime this summer, co-ordinate to Elon Musk, but is still in its trial phase. SpaceX was to take launched at least two more than rockets with Starlink satellites in Baronial, but paused so information technology could install lasers in its latest batch of satellites. Flights are expected to resume in September.

So why is Starlink such a savior? Considering in many areas of the United states of america — let alone parts of the developing world — there is either no or very poor high-speed internet options. In our bucolic Vermont testing spot, for case, there is no jail cell service, no cable service and no optical fiber. And 5G won't help. The towers accept to exist besides numerous to bounce signals effectually the mountains, and the lower frequency version of 5G that gives you more distance simply isn't fast enough. Enter Starlink'south service.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

Starlink uses a network of satellites in low earth orbit to bring the signal down to yous. Equally of May 2021, there are more than than 1,700 tiny Starlink satellites aloft, but thousands more than are needed before the organisation is complete (each SpaceX Falcon nine launch carries 60 satellites).

(Prototype credit: Yuri Smityuk/Getty)

Unlike Dish or DirecTV birds, these are non geosynchronous or geostationary satellites, so the Starlink dish consumers use has to exist able to move automatically should it demand to realign itself to selection up a new satellite. But the big advantage Starlink has is that the lower world orbit satellites, which are about 340 miles higher up the world, essentially reduce the signal filibuster or latency, especially compared to DirecTV satellites, which are sitting over 22,000 miles above the planet.

Starlink review: Price and plans

There are no official Starlink data plans notwithstanding announced. Starlink only offers the flat $99-a-month service at the moment during the beta flow. Whether that volition alter when the service goes live is unknown.

Starlink review: Coverage and availability

In that location is no official coverage map, simply Starlink plans to eventually offer its service around the earth. In an FCC filing, the company revealed that it would initially offer "commercial service in the northern United States and southern Canada, and then will rapidly aggrandize to near global coverage of the populated world in 2021." Our tests were conducted in southern Vermont.

In that location are reportedly 10,000 Starlink users thus far and counting. In late Feb, published Starlink coverage maps from Ookla Speedtest and PCMag found the higest concentration of Starlink users in the Northwest United States, California and upper Midwest, likewise as Vermont.

SpaceX continues to launch new satellites into orbit for the Starlink service, topping over one,300 as of the beginning of Apr. This should assist aggrandize and improve coverage. Furthermore, in a recent bulletin sent to beta testers, Starlink said information technology was working on ground-based gateways and software to reduce the number of dropouts, every bit well as make changes in the way the dish systems connect to the satellites themselves.

Today, the dishes typical lock into a unmarried assigned satellite and tin can just connect with one satellite at a time. In the hereafter, Starlink plans to allow systems to automatically and "seamlessly" switch to a different satellite in the event of a service interruption.

Starlink review: What'southward included

Everything you demand to get Starlink upwards and running comes in a single package: the apartment, big pizza box-sized dish, a temporary tripod stand for the dish, 100-foot connecting cablevision, and a Wi-Fi router/controller that connects to the dish. Yous don't even accept to plug things in; everything is already connected. At that place'south no user manual or instructions, just a slice of affiche board with a large three-step graphic setup guide.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

The dish is motorized to automatically adjust its aim, and heated to go along information technology clear of snow and ice. To perform these tricks information technology uses a special cable that is permanently attached to the dish and carries not but the signal to the router but also ability to the dish. Then if the cable gets damaged, you cannot but disconnect it from the antenna and get a new one or apply a basic coaxial cablevision.

Starlink review: Installation

Different installing and aiming a Idiot box satellite dish, getting the Starlink system running is a relative breeze. Just push button the dish stanchion into the tripod and put it on the lawn outside where there's an unobstructed view of the heaven. Plug in the Wi-Fi router inside and then you simply run the Starlink app to go online. (Note: If y'all have no internet connection where you alive, remember to go into boondocks offset so you can download the Starlink app.) If you're quick, it can all be accomplished in 10 minutes.

(Epitome credit: John R. Quain/Tom'due south Guide)

That's assuming everything goes smoothly. We ran into a few snags.

The first issue was the supplied cable's length.The ability over Ethernet cable is only 100 anxiety long, so if you have a large home (for a roof installation) or have to put the dish far from the firm to get a tree-free wait at the sky, you're going to see problem. And because it'south permanently attached to the dish, y'all can't simply swap information technology out for a longer cable.

(Image credit: John R. Quain/Tom's Guide)

The second issue was that checking for obstructions tin be a tricky process. We placed the dish in an open surface area only found the dish aiming at a northern portion of the sky (versus south, where satellite Boob tube dishes demand to be aimed). And then not surprisingly, nosotros received an "Obstructions are blocking your net connection around 9 hours each mean solar day" message. It was accompanied by a graphic showing the direction of the obstructions. The culprit: trees that are hundreds of feet away but manage to occlude the view.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

The Starlink smartphone app has an option for checking for obstructions equally you movement it around using the phone's camera. But placing the phone exactly in the proposed position of the dish and following the on-screen instructions for aiming the camera up or down is catchy, if not incommunicable because the photographic camera needs to be at knee height. We tried lying on the footing to get a better look.

One time you take institute the ideal position for the Starlink dish, the thought is to so permanently install it. Roof locations will crave additional brackets and hardware, which can be found online starting at about $15. If you lot demand a pole bracket adapter, Starlink sells 1 for $24.

Starlink review: Speeds and overall functioning

(Image credit: Future)

We tested Starlink for several weeks in all kinds of conditions and subjected information technology to typical Internet tasks, from streaming 4K movies and participating in Zoom conference calls to uploading and downloading voluminous videos

 In general, we witnessed some impressive speeds but found Starlink is still very much a beta piece of work in progress. Even so, anyone who has suffered through pokey country downloads of hundreds of emails or waited for an episode of Bridgerton to cease buffering will exist thrilled to run into Starlink handle such tasks in fractions of a 2d.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

Then far, in our tests, Starlink is definitely improving. While dropouts are still likewise frequent, speeds take steadily picked up. Initially, we saw top download rates of just under 90 Mbps. Equally of April 12, those numbers more than than doubled with pinnacle download speeds of 200 Mbps. In an before Tweet, Elon Musk promised speeds of over 300 Mbps by the stop of the year. Although, co-ordinate to Ooka, speeds accept started to flatten slightly. Then we'll go on testing.

Then why the variation in speeds? Some of the results depended on the fourth dimension of day. Nosotros checked and found that the number and location of Starlink'southward satellites varied. Most seem to be clustered over the northwest U.S. and the ones nosotros were aiming at were farther northward over southern Quebec.

For its part, Starlink does warn beta users to expect speeds anywhere from 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps — and to look some drop outs. Indeed, the greatest badgerer in this beta testing period is that the Starlink service volition drop out without warning —merely to reconnect milliseconds later.

In our Zoom-obsessed world, video calls nowadays an excellent test application. We did numerous Skype, Zoom, Facetime and Microsoft Teams sessions to see how Starlink did on such disquisitional applications. Skype calls, for case, initially looked abrupt and crystal clear — until they didn't and people on the other end couldn't hear half of what nosotros said.

We had the same experience with VoIP calls, and even encountered a few hiccups with streaming services. In one case. subsequently streaming a 4K motion picture for one-half an hour, it all of a sudden stopped and had to be reloaded. The aforementioned comments use to gaming: Starlink tin exist quite snappy, but the dropouts during the beta catamenia mean yous won't win whatever Call of Duty battles for now.

Given those provisos, Starlink shows tremendous potential and was still impressively fast, especially when comparing it to DSL in the same location. The best the stock-still DSL line could do on Fast.com was a 1.two Mbps downloads, 320 Kbps uploads, and a latency of 182 ms.

(Image credit: John R. Quain/Tom's Guide)

Lastly, satellite service tin be vulnerable to snow and rain. Starlink thwarts snowfall by actually heating the dish and melting the flakes as they state. During several heavy snow storms this worked well, particularly compared to a Idiot box satellite dish that we have to occasionally sweep clean. However, nosotros did experience a reduction in bandwidth during blizzards and heavy rain. Bandwidth would typically be cut in half during these periods to around 20 Mbps download speeds.

Starlink review: Early verdict

Anyone who has lived for whatsoever length of fourth dimension in an expanse that does not have fast Net access will find Starlink worth the cost. It is the only game in town until Amazon and others launch competing services (whenever that will be). Starlink is also bound to improve and eliminate its beta drop outs as the company puts thousands more satellites higher up the world.

Elon Musk has promised that Starlink volition reach speeds of approximately 300 Mbps after this twelvemonth when more satellites are in place. That may seem like nothing to urban center dwellers with fiber cables running downwardly the street, only to folks in the country it's an Internet dream come true.

John R. Quain has been reviewing and testing video and audio equipment for more than 20 years. For Tom'southward Guide, he has reviewed televisions, HDTV antennas, electric bikes, electric cars, too as other outdoor equipment. He is currently a contributor to The New York Times and the CBS News television program.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/starlink

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