Is The Starlink System Completely Mobile? If not how far can it be moved?
Starlink has just updated there Portability Option as of May 4th 2022, please check out the new article by clicking on the image beside this text
We have been asked many times "is the Starlink system portable/movable" to a whole new location (camping, vacation home, etc). The answer at this time is that the system can be moved within a very limited range, (Our system tested1.5Kilometer Radius). If you happened to have a guest house with access to power and the outbuilding is on the same property, there is a high chance that you could relocate the Dishy and have no issues. Packing it up and taking it down the road is a whole other question that is a little more complicated to answer.
There have been claims of Starlink being completely mobile by a few YouTubers who show they have a roaming featured turned on. . I'll link the videos below.
Their claim is that the "Roaming" feature found in the app under advanced support Debug Data is set to true. They give a clear demonstration of how the mobile system is working for them.
Elon opens up Starlink Mobility, as of March 3rd 2021 Elon has allowed mobility of the system to the recently added Starlink network in Ukraine. Thus proving that it is possible and will be something that will happen in time. But we don't know when, so for now we work with what we have. The system, for the time being, is geo fenced. This means that when you sign up for Starlink and input your land location it essentially locks you to that area. Basically meaning that once you move the dish out of the service area it loses connectivity. In order to get the signal back you have to try and change your service address location in your Starlink account, be warned hear though if you're lucky and they can activate you in your new area, great! But when you go back to your original area you have to reapply again to get your Starlink internet reactivated. If your spot has been taken you're going to have to wait until there is an opening...and we know how that has been going so far with long wait times for many customers trying to get their own. So is it worth the risk? You decide. If I lived a nomadic style life in an RV I would definitely be trying everywhere I go, matter of fact, the area with reception might even be the place I stop when work is required for sure. But as it settles right now I don't have an RV to siesta in, and the Starlink system is much to valuable as we use it for work full time.
I don't know of any other rural provider that can deliver the bandwidth that Starlink does, we've tried many (have worked for some), and to be honest they are not even playing the same game. Starlink in some cases has delivered 100X the speed! It is a no brainer for now, but the future does remain to be seen. 5G will definitely change the internet landscape in some rural areas.. but enough of my rant.. With our testing so far our range has only been about 1.5 KM, keep in mind that this will change with satellite movement and where you're located in the beam bandwidth. Those who are directly below the Satellites might have a little larger circle to move around in, while those on the edge of the beam might find a lot less mobility. So unless all your plans for bringing dishy around are in your service radius then plan on turning off the connection.
AMS installed a Starlink system for a customer recently where the wireless internet connection (coming off of Starlinks provided router) kept dropping connection every minute or so upon initial testing , after a fair bit of trouble shooting we found out that the shipping address was correct, but not the service address on the customers account. Long story short, as soon as we changed the service address to the correct location, within 10 minutes the Starlink internet started working flawlessly(after a soft reset on the router). A quick fix, but an important step in the functionality of the current non-portable version of the Starlink Dishy.
Although we are locked to a single location with Dishy at this time, Elon Musk and SpaceX have hinted at making this system portable. This could mean high speed internet service almost anywhere (in theory). Although the idea of having Internet be that portable is very exciting, we also have to wonder if they will have a portable sized Dishy. The current system can be rather cumbersome especially when your situation would involve relocating it fairly regularly. If you have the dish mounted to the roof of your main property with the pre attached 100' cable... taking it down, and taking it with you camping, or on vacation is not ideal.
All that being said, Elon if you are reading this (and I am sure you aren't), please make the portable option for Dishy - FREE, approximately the size of a dinner plate, and experience zero down time no matter the location.. thanks.
May be to much to ask.
Whatever the case may be, I am sure we will have the answers soon, and I for one am looking forward to the continued advancements from Elon Musk and SpaceX!
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