Starlink now charges $5 a month to pause its high-speed, low-latency internet service, a feature that used to be available for free. It affects Roam, Residential, and Priority subscribers in the US, most of Europe, and Canada with lots of exceptions.
SpaceX hilariously calls it an upgrade, but I call it a bait and switch for anyone that bought a Starlink Mini with that “pay as you go” promise.
The free pause feature has been replaced with a $5/month (or €5/month) Standby Mode that comes with “unlimited low-speed data” that’s “perfect for backup connectivity and emergency use,” according to the email sent to subscribers. Some early testing I’ve seen on Reddit suggests speeds of about 0.5Mbps down when Standby is active, compared to over 100Mbps I usually see on the Roam service.
SpaceX has always positioned the Starlink Mini on Roam subscriptions as a “pay as you go” service, ideal for “infrequent and individual travel” and “RVers, campers, travelers, and working on the go.” These are activities that typically have start and end dates. The updated landing page still calls it “pay as you go” with the inclusion of “a small monthly fee.” Come on.
The best thing about owning a $499 / €299 Starlink Mini is having space internet in a battery-powered device that slips into a backpack. The second best thing was being able to pause it and pay nothing when you return home. Even the paused subscription could be reactivated in just a few minutes in case the broadband connection at home went down. If you — like many — bought a Starlink Mini just for summer travels, it’ll now cost you an extra $45 a year for zero added value.
We recently upgraded pause to include Standby Mode. Previously, the pause feature offered zero data at no cost. If pausing with Standby Mode does not meet your needs, you are able to cancel at no cost and restart service on an available plan whenever you’re ready.
Canceling adds more friction to the process by requiring a visit to the website and answering a bunch of questions while SpaceX tries to dissuade you from cancelling. Standby, like pause before it, can be activated and deactivated in the app with just a few clicks. Nevertheless, I just canceled my Roam subscription rather than paying €5/mth for a Mini I won’t be using again until November. In doing so I received a message stating, “You may not be allowed to reactivate in the future if your area is at capacity.” Sigh.
Fingers crossed I can actually restart it when I do need it again. Or better yet, maybe Amazon’s Kuiper Internet service will be live — SpaceX clearly needs some competition for relatively cheap and fast consumer internet that can be quickly deployed into data dead spots.
