Starlink reports DISCONNECTED no support for 7 days

[RickAB4GS]

While streaming a movie the Starlink system lost internet.  App says disconnected, but have checked all cable connections on router and rectangular dish.  Multiple reboots and connection checks.  No response from support for 7 days now “nothing but a ticket number.   Anyone having same issue with connections or support?

 

[StarlinkLeader]

Have you booted the unit off for 30 minutes then turned back on?

Is your account active within the app?

 

[RickAB4GS]

Account shows active … will try long reboot … have rebooted several times and tried factory reset … allowed me to setup said but app still reports disconnected … is your Starlink plugged in,,, 

[RickAB4GS]

Tried leaving unplugged for 30 minutes … no change … I would really like to hear from someone in support … it has been 8 days since I created the ticket.

[ProDishy]

Hi @RickAB4GS

 

Apologies for inconvenience on behalf of the community forum.

I'd recommend submitting a new ticket titled faulty unit replacement - Request a replacement as your unit is faulty.

 

They will request a troubleshooting process - Follow through and report your unit isn't booting at all.

[Webpirate]

Same issues here. Truid all the typical reboot procedures. Dish responds properly to stow and unstow commands. Shows "cause 4" in Debug data. All dish faults are "false". 

No reply from tech support 7 days. 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Webpirate
Spelling error

[Linda]

On 6/11/2022 at 8:14 AM, Webpirate said:

Same issues here. Truid all the typical reboot procedures. Dish responds properly to stow and unstow commands. Shows "cause 4" in Debug data. All dish faults are "false". 

No reply from tech support 7 days. 

I also have the identical issue.  I have great connection, no internet. I have submitted 2 tickets, no response. I hate having spent this amount of money to be without service. And I imagine if I suspend my billing, I won’t get support!  Could I buy( even though I hate to) the new mesh router to replace the non working one? 

[StarlinkLeader]

On 6/12/2022 at 12:14 AM, Webpirate said:

Same issues here. Truid all the typical reboot procedures. Dish responds properly to stow and unstow commands. Shows "cause 4" in Debug data. All dish faults are "false". 

No reply from tech support 7 days. 

 

On 6/19/2022 at 1:25 PM, Linda said:

I also have the identical issue.  I have great connection, no internet. I have submitted 2 tickets, no response. I hate having spent this amount of money to be without service. And I imagine if I suspend my billing, I won’t get support!  Could I buy( even though I hate to) the new mesh router to replace the non working one? 

Performed a factory reset?

[Linda]

Yes, I did, plus the 30 minute unplug. Shows good signal strength, but no network connection. 

[StarlinkLeader]

13 minutes ago, Linda said:

Yes, I did, plus the 30 minute unplug. Shows good signal strength, but no network connection. 

No network connection:

Can you connect to the WiFi all ok but no internet?

or

No connection at all via WiFi/Ethernet?

What is your starlink app saying on outages list etc?

[Silentblade]

On 6/2/2022 at 4:09 PM, RickAB4GS said:

While streaming a movie the Starlink system lost internet.  App says disconnected, but have checked all cable connections on router and rectangular dish.  Multiple reboots and connection checks.  No response from support for 7 days now “nothing but a ticket number.   Anyone having same issue with connections or support?

 

did you solve the problem?

[Oznemol]

As others have reported everything seems to be working but the connection to the internet. Not clear how a speed test can work but just no access to the internet. This fills like the old days of calling the cable company and having them directly hit the device to get it registered. Like this is some sort of security check. No response from support yet. 1 day. I see others waited over 7 days. I tried to call spaced office but just voice mail. 

[Darren]

Has anybody ever successfully resolved this issue?  I just got my new Starlink setup, hooked it up the first time and it worked great, then it just stopped working.  Factory reset, 30 minute unplug, etc and it still says "OFFLINE.  Starlink disconnected, ensure your Starlink is plugged in".  Support replied quickly, and gave us canned response and then they totally disappeared.

[RicochetStarlink]

On 7/28/2022 at 4:20 PM, Oznemol said:

As others have reported everything seems to be working but the connection to the internet. Not clear how a speed test can work but just no access to the internet. This fills like the old days of calling the cable company and having them directly hit the device to get it registered. Like this is some sort of security check. No response from support yet. 1 day. I see others waited over 7 days. I tried to call spaced office but just voice mail. 

 

On 8/17/2022 at 12:44 PM, Darren said:

Has anybody ever successfully resolved this issue?  I just got my new Starlink setup, hooked it up the first time and it worked great, then it just stopped working.  Factory reset, 30 minute unplug, etc and it still says "OFFLINE.  Starlink disconnected, ensure your Starlink is plugged in".  Support replied quickly, and gave us canned response and then they totally disappeared.

Welcome to the Sh!++y Starlink Support Club!

I got setup with Starlink sometime in May. At first, everything was great. Then, the service started to decay.

 

I opened my first ticket on 5/25/22. Support responded on 5/27/22 and then fell silent until 6/16/2022 when they informed me that they were sending a replacement cable and router (both "refurbished") and summarily closed the ticket. Three (3) weeks from start to finish for the ticket and another ten days for the equipment to arrive... and nothing changed. Nothing.

So, on 7/11/22, I opened the second ticket. Support responded the same day with a message restating all the diagnostic recommendations that are on the web site. I posted several times over the next few days.

Then, on 7/15/22, "Crystal" replied explaining, "We are experiencing higher than normal ticket volumes due to a rapid growth in our customer base. We are working on expanding our customer service as this is not the ideal response time. We appreciate your patience as we look into this." The reply ended with a request, "Could you please share photos of your installation?"

I saw this response and just went furious. I waiting until 7/20/22 to respond to give myself some time to cool down and collect my thoughts. At that point, I expressed my surprise and frustration with the described situation and asked for clarifications of what photos they needed. 

Then, silence... until 7/23/22 when "Andrew" replied.

Quote

Hi, I'm with Starlink technical support. We are seeing a few things that could potentially be having an effect on your performance. First in regards to the pictures of your installation. If getting a good picture of your dish is challenging, Can you confirm its orientation is correct (pointing North) and is mounted securely? We are seeing some movements that indicates your dish is moving ever so slightly causing disruptions with the satellites above. Our second thing we've noticed is higher than expected latency. The physics of our satellite constellation causes a percentage of customers to be served with a gateway site that is further than where the Internet is connected. This can occur multiple times throughout the day. Our engineering teams are working hard to ensure that latency remains consistent. Unfortunately, we do not have an estimated time frame on when this will happen. We are a new ISP, so there will be early pain points. However, we are creating and building technologies that has not been seen in the industry before. For example, once we have the laser links setup (lasers in space!), speeds, latency, and reliability will improve. In addition. we are continuously making new improvements, launching updated satellites, and pushing new updates to your dish regularly. We appreciate your patience while we continue to develop and improve Starlink. 3rdly regarding your speeds, We ran a health check on your dish and it looks to be performing as expected. When you are testing wifi speeds are you connected on 5ghz standing near the main router (not a mesh node)? This will give you the most accurate speed test results. You may have done that already but being in IT for the amount of time you have Im sure you understand these are the types of questions we have to ask to find the root of the issue. Starlink expects speeds between 50-150mbps we are observing that threshold being met. We would advise to check you local wifi network. Be sure the router is not in an enclosed space and centrally placed for optimum performance. Be sure wifi signal strength is green in the starlink app. A good rule of thumb, remember, the 2.4ghz band will broadcast further and is better at penetrating thicker walls but has a lower data rate. The 5ghz band has a higher data rate but doesnt broadcast as far. Ensure that the router is in a central location and away from any appliances. Thank you for your patience and we look forward to your reply.

I wrote a long, patient reply. Explaining exactly what was going on -- again -- and attached a screen shot of my Ookla Speedtest history.

On 7/24/22, I suddenly began to see download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps from Ookla Speedtest on my iPhone 13! I was stoked. Sadly, I was never able to reproduce those results from my Macbook Mini or Macbook Pro. However, I did start to see 35-50 Mbps on the Maccbook Pro and downloaded a 2.7GB macOS update. About 80% through the download, my download speed suddenly dropped below one (1) Mbps and remained below 10 Mbps for the remainder of the download. Needless to say, I added this info (with evidence) to the ticket the next day, 7/25/22.

On 7/29/22, "Andrew" replied again. He apologized for the issues, informed me that they had "...escalated this issue to our networking engineers for a deeper look...". He also credited my account $110.00 (one month's service fee) as a courtesy. 

Over the next couple of days, "Andrew" and I exchanged some trivial, courteous notes. Then, on 8/4/22, Andrew posted the following.

Quote

...Can you try to cable a device to the main router and power off the other mesh nodes then run some 3rd party speedtests outside of busy peak hours (e.g. in the morning) and provide us results and precise timestamps? This will help us isolate where the issue lies. Thank you in advance and we look forward to hearing from you! 

I'd already sent them Speedtest results, including using a directly wired Mac mini. The results showed now difference. Why was I being asked to do the same again?  I told him I'd do what he'd asked... then I didn't. Just too much trouble and I'd already sent the data.

Between 8/5/22 and 8/16/22, service improved a bit... so much so that it seemed like things were on the mend. Then, on 8/16/22, the bottom dropped out again. I complained every day through 8/21/22 until Andrew replied saying they were waiting for the test results they had requested on 8/4/22.

So, on 8/22/22, I ran the speed tests they'd requested under the conditions they'd requested and posted the results on the ticket.

Today is 9/6/22. There has been no response from Starlink Support since the request from "Andrew" on 8/21/22.

This ticket has been open 8 weeks and 1 day without resolution.

Of course, there are others here -- 👀 @Oznemol and @Darren -- who have more serious issues and concerns. However, in the end, it would appear that Starlink has added more customers than they can handle -- both on the network and through support. Consequently, all of us who have joined Elon Musk's multi-billion-dollar ISP experiment are paying the price.

[RicochetStarlink]

So, today I got a response from support...

Then, "Melissa" closed the ticket. Guess they were tired of hearing from me... Way to go Starlink.

The embedded link is to this page: https://www.starlink.com/legal/documents/DOC-1002-69942-69?regionCode=US. The last section reads as follows.

Quote

GENERAL EXCLUSIONS

At the time of delivery, the Starlink Kit should be able to connect customers to the Services and to remain intact and operable for a minimum of 12 months after delivery if installation instructions are followed, the Kit is carefully maintained and not subjected to physical damage, extreme weather conditions, or connected to aged or faulty personal devices; and if Services are used within Starlink’s coverage map. Customers must follow installation directions and connect the Starlink dish directly to the mobile network equipment without any additional jumper cables, receptacles, or any other devices aimed at extending the reach of the link between the two components.

Various circumstances may affect the performance of Starlink Kits and Services, including, but not limited to: (a) failure to follow SpaceX instructions; (b) installation environment; (c) angle and/or field of view of the dish; (d) weather; (e) quality of your personal devices; (f) interference by other devices; (g) proximity of other Starlink Kits; (h) quality, condition and positioning of the cables; (i) reliability of power from the grid or problems with customer’s electrical power; (j) improper tower grounding; (k) proximity or location of the customer premise equipment; (l) too many active or parallel network connections (m) fire, flood, wind, lightning, hurricanes, earthquake, or other acts of nature or God; (n) spills of food or liquids on Starlink Kit; (o) misuse, abuse, accident, vandalism, alteration, or neglect; and (p) normal wear and tear or deterioration.

Like other novel technology products, the Starlink Kit will eventually become technologically obsolete. From time to time, customers may need to purchase a newer model for optimal Services. SpaceX may change these Starlink Specifications, the Starlink Kit (including delivered devices via software updates), Services, and Services plans from time to time. Stated speeds and uninterrupted use of Services are not guaranteed. Actual speeds will likely be lower than the maximum speeds during peak usage hours.

The Starlink Kit can and may be accessed by SpaceX to perform support actions, request limited diagnostic information, monitor performance, and provide research for improvement purposes.

So... basically... it seems that Starlink's message -- to me, at least -- is "F#$! off. We never promised you anything. You just THOUGHT we did. And, when service degrades, not only have we disavowed any responsibility for service levels to begin with, we've also told you that the problem could be anything else at your site from aging computers (really?) to weather conditions. And when we tell you in a year that the only way to fix your problem is to replace your equipment with a newer model, YOU WILL BE BUYING IT because... well, because you will. Something tells me I'm not the only person getting "attitude" from Musk's Minions...

This is starting to feel like the world's biggest game of Three Card Monty...

Oy vey!