Starlink working intermittently and wont open some websites

[Lakes]

Hi

Ordred my new Starlink and it arrived two days ago.

I set it all up and it took roughly 30 minutes to activate and align.

When it finally activated the user name appeared as Stinky which was a bit strange.

We managed to change the user name and get it working but we are constantly losing connection.

And when we use our Mac Computers connected via an unmanaged switch some website wont load, yet they will load via WiFi.

It finds the web address but cant load the page. Instagram, Facebook, Google etc all work but not a lot of others like Speedtest sites.

Is it possible that the Starlink was orginally installed in another part of the world, i am in Gisborne Victoria Australia, and isnt recognising my location in Australia

Do  i need to change some back ground settings.

All of my friends who have installed Starlink have had theirs appear with the Starlink user name and it aligns itself in under 5 minutes.

Should i return the equipment and ask for a new Starlink and not a re packaged one which it looks like i may have recieved.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[RicochetStarlink]

@Lakes,

Let me see if i can answer some of your questions.

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I set it all up and it took roughly 30 minutes to activate and align.

When it finally activated the user name appeared as Stinky which was a bit strange.

We managed to change the user name and get it working but we are constantly losing connection.

...

All of my friends who have installed Starlink have had theirs appear with the Starlink user name and it aligns itself in under 5 minutes.

Should i return the equipment and ask for a new Starlink and not a re packaged one which it looks like i may have recieved.

Firstly, a new Starlink antenna (aka, "Dishy") can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to activate and align. Why? The first thing Dishy does when powered on is look for software updates to download. The update process can take a while since multiple updates may be available and, often, each update has to be downloaded and installed in order.

Secondly, "Stinky" is not a user name. It is the name of the WiFi network (aka, "SSID") that you use to connect to the WiFI network from your devices. Starlink's support website (https://support.starlink.com/) has several support articles noting that the default SSID can be either "STARLINK" or "STINKY". As you discovered, you can easily change this from the Starlink mobile app. 

Thirdly, if your Starlink is a refurbished unit, it might have been installed somewhere else in the world. You cannot just return equipment for replacement. If you think you have defective equipment, open a ticket through the Starlink Mobile app or the Starlink Support web site.

Even it you have a refurbished router or antenna, you should get an IP address when Dishy connects and that IP address should be in Australia. However, note that those IP Addresses may not be as close as you'd expect. From https://support.starlink.com/topic?category=10&category=46...

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My IP geolocation is incorrect or too far away.

The Starlink team is working to provide closer internet geolocation so that you receive internet (search results, television shows, access to content) that is closer to your actual location. Currently our internet geolocation may be further than your actual location (several states, provinces, or sub-regions). Starlink today will assign an IP address to the same country of your service address however providing an IP address in your specific location is not guaranteed at this time.

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And when we use our Mac Computers connected via an unmanaged switch some website wont load, yet they will load via WiFi.

It finds the web address but cant load the page. Instagram, Facebook, Google etc all work but not a lot of others like Speedtest sites.

Do  i need to change some back ground settings.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I've had similar issues with hard-wired devices on my Starlink setup. I never figured out exactly what was going on. However, in my case, my "unmanaged switch" appeared to be limiting bandwidth to about 5-10Mbps for each connected device. I can't say why. In the end, I ditched the switch and went back to WiFi and I'm getting stellar speeds on multiple devices -- a Mac mini, a 16" Macbook Pro, two iPhones, and iPad, two streaming TVs, and a whole host of IoT devices.

The only "back ground setting" I can think of that might be affecting your hard-wired devices is the DNS server address in the network configuration. Starlink (the router?) should be assigning your devices an IP Address through DHCP. This process should also set the address of the DNS server(s) to be used to lookup domain names. Do you know what DNS Server(s) your hard-wired devices are using?

So, these are my thoughts and suggestions. I hope they are helpful. Feel free to reach out with further questions.