Calling all internet nerds ✋ Wondering who has Starlink and what the experience has been like so far? We've seen lots of other RV accounts online say it's great, but then at campgrounds, we've also seen some wild Starlink satellite positioning we've seen a lot of them 50 feet+ from the rig itself or up on a ladder on top of a crate with a cinderblock holding it all down? We both work full-time and need STRONG internet. I'm on Zoom 5-6 hours a day (blecgh), and we also upload and download lots of content every day as content creators. Aside from work, we stream our workouts, meditations, entertainment, download books, etc. Bottom line - strong, reliable internet is a must for us. Right now, we use RV IT Guy on the T-Mobile SIM card. It worked great out East, but the Western half has not proven to be great. Our AT&T phones save us more often than not, tethering with unlimited data. We also have Verizon internet through our truck. Strongly considering Starlink though and just wanted to hear what ya'll think. Thanks!
The Starlink user terminal needs a fairy large clear patch of sky to give you reliable service, but unlike the stationary (geosynchronous orbit) satellite Internet services, Starlink is relatively direction insensitive and doesn't require precise aiming. Whether Starlink's reliability, speeds, and ease of setup are worth the initial and monthly costs is something that each of us would have to determine for our own situations. I don't recall what the maximum cable limit is for Starlink, but I've laid out as much as 300 feet of coax for our portable satellite TV dish to get clear signals.
I bought it for when we travel so we could stop using the phones as the internet, and for sure to stop trying to use the poorly set up rv park wifi. So far we only set it up at the house to give it a month trial. it is extremely fast, much faster than the internet cable we have at the house. It does seem expensive as compared to the cable, but we wanted it for one reason, that is good internet on the road. We travel for 4 -5 months at a time then go home. Have not yet set up in a rv park but expect i will find the open sky i need by moving the dish, as i bought a few various means of mounting to the motorhome if need be.. I used to own a Hughes Interent dish we set up years ago when we fulltimed and that worked very well as long as i could get a site that gave me the view i needed.
Update here: we ended up purchasing Starlink and have been using it for the past 3 days. So far, the upload speeds are much better than the T-Mobile and AT&T signals where we are right now (which seems to be pretty far from civilization). The 3 speed tests below with stars are Starlink (creative, I know). So definitely a stronger signal than we were getting. As far as using it - we can use all of our apps (social media, workouts, music, podcasts, entertainment, etc.) without any buffering or pauses. It's been wonderful The monthly cost ($135/mo) isn't much different than what we're paying now ($99/mo for hotspot, $27/mo for truck internet). The initial cost is steep, yes - but for us, my employer reimburses $500/year in tech costs so I'll get most of it back come January. I know that's not typical, but with so many working from home these days, might be worth asking an employer to pay for part of it ♀️ Anyway, just wanted to give an update for anybody else who finds this thread looking for the same answer of whether it's worth it or not I'll try to remember to update in a month as well so we know it's not just a honeymoon phase.
Has anyone ever used Starlink business for their RV park? We have had a nightmare trying to get our wifi right at our park
Thanks for the update! Agree Starlink is working better than our cable internet ever did at home. Hitting the road full time in June and hoping for the same as we travel.
Since we have been here in a rv park in Apache Junction, Az we have talked with at least 6 different couples that are working from home, I mean RV and are having a terrible time getting strong wifi strength with the phones. They are asking us about how easy to get on line, ease of use, costs and is it worth it? We are very pleased to say it has been wonderful, well worth the expense for us and would strongly recommend this system for those needing their own system. Life with Beth & Cort thanks for giving your report.
Personally, I was deterred from using Hughesnet and Starlink due to their expensive plans and some negative reviews but i've never experienced any issues with Homefi. I live in a rural area and have used both their router and portable hotspot and both have been great options. For the price I'm able to connect from my rural property and take it with my to travel in the RV anywhere I've been in the US. Thankfully it didn't have the same upfront costs as Starlink either. For me it's been the best option so far.
I am using Starlink at every campground we have visited for the last few months without a problem. Trees do slow it down, but it has never failed to provide streaming and internet for a couple of 68-year-old folks. We tired of iffy campground Wi-Fi and inability to make a phone call home to our families. It doesn't always work for Facetime chats with our grandkids, but I can't complain. We are headed to the west coast from NC in July, and we will see how it works in the wide-open west.
Hi, The transition to Starlink has greatly improved the quality of our internet. Now we can upload and download large files and stream videos. I can work remotely, my job allows it. I'm very pleased that we installed it
You hear good and then some bad, but I do think if your needing a fast reliable system this Starlink is the answer and we really enjoy ourselves when we have ours turned on.
Full-timer here, and we have had Starlink since April 2023. Spent last year on the East Coast and Went to TX in August 2023 (bad time to be in TX). East coast performance wasn't as great and their coverage map showed as much. Heading back East this weekend and hoping the deployment of more satellites has filled in the gaps. I work full time as an IT consultant and haven't had too much of an issue getting work done. I have lost internet during some bad storms (which usually occurs during meetings), but was able to limp along after tethering to my phone. State parks are usually heavily treed and because of that had very limited connection. Our rig isn't outfitted for a place to use a telescoping pole to mount the dish so it usually just sits on our roof. Since we have bought ours, it seems their newer hardware is much better, but not about to shell out the dough to upgrade... Al-in-all, pleased with it. I am able to work with no issues, while 4 others are either streaming or using the internet.
As the owner of a cybersecurity and forensics firm, we often have to fully test platforms for our clients before they purchase the product, both for operation and security. Starlink performed well in our cybersecurity tests, which is not surprising given its government use and affiliation. We purchased the advanced unit ($1500), which allows flat mounting on top of our Diesel Pusher. It works while traveling down the road, but the faster one drives, the less effectively it works. The advanced unit also has a wider angle of signal connectivity than the standard, or mobile, unit and works along the Alaska Highway and roads to Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay. The standard unit does not work along these desolate highways, or so I've heard. Finally, don't hesitate to use a different wireless router. You can get far better wireless coverage by using more powerful routers. I recommend Unifi equipment.
Thanks I was wondering about this subject with using some other router. I think that the Starlink routers are subpar. What is Unifi? Will the new Orbi's work as well? What do you plug the starlink dish into?
