Starlink Mini Dish Buyers Weigh In: Small and Speedy, But Data Caps Need to Go

A conveyable model of Starlink is right here with SpaceX’s new Mini dish. However is it value paying $599? 

To search out out, PCMag spoke to Starlink subscribers who had been invited by SpaceX to purchase the Mini dish, and the early verdict is that consumers are happy with its portability and ease of use. However clients are hoping that SpaceX raises the product’s month-to-month information cap and contains a straightforward method to pair the dish with a conveyable power bank or a automotive’s auxiliary energy outlet.

“It’s superb how far the [Starlink] expertise has come,” says Ryan Slinger, a Mini dish purchaser primarily based in Oregon. “I had it aligned and up and operating in lower than three minutes out of the field.”

Certainly, the two.5-pound Mini mannequin stands out by packing the Starlink antenna right into a dish that’s in regards to the measurement of a laptop computer, making it simple to hold. However regardless of its small measurement, the dish can ship obtain charges round 100Mbps or greater. 

(Credit score: Ryan Slinger)

Slinger posted photos of his Mini dish getting used along with his Tesla Cybertruck. “The Mini is sturdy, however not the premium construct of one thing like an Apple product,” he says. “Very plastic, however construct high quality appears excellent, simply not premium. Which is okay with me, I’d relatively save weight if I needed to carry it in a backpack.”

Slinger additionally likes how the Wi-Fi router is constructed into {hardware}, making the dish even simpler to set up over the usual V4 Starlink dish, which incorporates the Wi-Fi router as a separate machine. 

On the draw back, the built-in router is barely able to Wi-Fi 5 speeds. However customers say the Mini dish can nonetheless broadcast a Wi-Fi sign to a consumer’s machine over 50 toes away. Matthew Williams, one other Starlink subscriber who purchased the Mini dish, says he obtained a Wi-Fi sign so far as 400 toes when he had a transparent line of sight. 

(Credit score: Matthew Williams)

Williams, who is predicated in north Idaho, additionally confirms that the dish can simply slot in a backpack. However sarcastically, the 49-foot energy cable isn’t as moveable. “The twine is excessively lengthy, however I can see why they did that for individuals who would do a extra semi everlasting set up and would want the space,” he says. 

Thus far, Williams has been utilizing the Mini dish along with his camper automobile and to reside stream baseball and softball video games. “It actually is useful, particularly as most locations that we’re right here the cell web will get a little bit sluggish as a consequence of saturation,” he says.

The community congestion means Williams receives about 50Mbps in obtain speeds via his Mini dish, “but it surely works extraordinarily effectively for my wants as a developer and streaming to a max of three TVs at a time,” he says. “The connection speeds have been considerably higher too. My final take a look at was 90Mbps down and 18 up.”

‘Manner Too Limiting for Most Individuals’

That mentioned, the dish has one key limitation that may stop long-term use. Within the US, SpaceX caps information at 50GB monthly for Mini dish customers. If you happen to run out, it’s $1 per further GB used.

“It might be manner too limiting for most individuals,” William says of the present information plan. “To provide you an thought, we use about 300GB monthly for our important Starlink dish. I believe the Mini is designed for infrequent use.”

(Credit score: Starlink.com )

The opposite drawback is that the product doesn’t include a port or cable to hook up the Mini dish to a USB-C connection or to a automotive’s plug. As an alternative, the {hardware} is designed by default to hook up with an ordinary electrical outlet, though SpaceX plans on promoting a “USB-C to Barrel Jack Cable Accent” with the Mini dish. Within the meantime, Starlink consumer Nick Jamieson tells PCMag he searched on-line for a third-party adapter to attach his Mini Dish to an influence financial institution. 

“Customers are going to take this on tenting journeys. So [SpaceX knows] that is going for use with an influence financial institution or one thing beside a daily plug. Why didn’t they make it extra of a common connection proper from the get go?” he asks. 

(Credit score: Nicholas Jamieson)

Jamieson, who lives in California, additionally worries about wear-and-tear to his Mini dish. “I don’t know the way a lot influence in your backpack it may well take while you’re bouncing up and down,” he says. However on the plus facet, the Mini dish has delivered obtain speeds at about the identical fee as his normal Starlink dish. As well as, the router can beam a Wi-Fi sign effectively previous 250 toes in outside circumstances, in accordance with his own tests. 

Nonetheless, the $599 price ticket is a considerable enhance from the usual V4 Starlink dish, which is offered for as little as $299 in choose US states and delivers even sooner web speeds. 

SpaceX signifies it’ll finally decrease the Mini dish’s worth as soon as it ramps up manufacturing and improves community capability. The corporate is already selling the Mini dish for $200, however solely in sure Latin American nations the place SpaceX has extra community capability to serve customers. 

In Latin America, the corporate can be providing the Starlink Mini dish with a month-to-month web plan that solely prices $35 monthly with no information cap. Within the US, Jamieson says SpaceX presents an choice to obtain limitless information with a Starlink Mini dish, but it surely prices $250 monthly.

Others, like Slinger, additionally tested the Mini dish whereas in a shifting automobile. Slinger obtained obtain charges between 25 to 35Mbps whereas driving 80 miles per hour on a freeway. Nevertheless, SpaceX’s help web page says in-motion use is technically prohibited with the Mini roam plan.