Greetings fellow star gazers! ;-) I just received and installed my Gen 3 package and thought I'd make a comment or two and share a tip I learned.
If you've ever setup your own home network and dealt with the routers/switches/extenders/etc you will greatly appreciate the design of the Starlink system.
I unboxed all the pieces (antenna, a power supply, router, cable) and within 5 minutes had the antenna sitting on its kickstand in the driveway. Since it will live there until I receive the roof mount, I ran the cable into my garage, stuck it into the router along with the power supply and plugged it in. I knew about the app features for checking for obstructions and positioning so that was a snap. Within 10-15 minutes the system was running. So, of course, I had to do a speed check (it's like candy to a kid). First check out of the box was 235 Mbps. 15 minutes later it was 265 Mbps. My current setup is 25Mbps (DSL dual line) so I was dancing in the driveway! I am considered a "heavy user" of the internet by my provider with a lot of home automation, communications, security cameras, NAS, etc., etc.
I let the system "vegetate" for a while since it can take some time to settle down and I won't be swapping this over to the main house network until the antenna is on the roof. In the meantime, I decided to add the "mesh" router (it's just another router) to the system after about 2 hours. Wow! The world came collapsing down and I had to unplug the system based on the messages I received from the app on my cell. Disconnected, lost signal, you name it, I think I got every message programmed into the system. I rebooted the main router and the system came up and ran fine. Then I tried the mesh router again. It's supposed to boot up and then you will be asked to pair this router to your system. Sounds simple..... But it went through the same fail sequence I just mentioned. Rebooted and left the main Starlink router alone for the rest of the day until it got dark and I pulled it all into the garage for the night.
Next morning, I was still puzzled as to why this system failed. Back in the stone age days of computers I worked in system support among other positions so "debugging" and the process involved wasn't new to me. I checked over the boxes involved to make sure there wasn't any obvious damage to cables, etc. Nothing was found. Then I started analyzing the process of adding this "mesh" router. The sequence is, you simply plug in this box (which is the same as the main router) and magically on your app you will be asked if you want to allow or "pair" this box as a mesh router. Then everything goes nuts, literally! OK, so my analysis was as follows; I was connected to the main router when I started the process (Starlink router). I walked into the another room (2 walls away) and plugged in this mesh router. I was only asked the very first time I did that if I wanted to pair this box. The app never indicated there was a mesh router on the network. So here's the logic path I followed to come to the cause/fix ..... When you set up your starlink router initially you provide the SSID and password you want to use. Then I connected my phone to that network to use the app. So far, piece of cake. To add a node, you just plug it in and the app will ask you if you want to pair this node to the system. Sounds fine except that you will then see the system fail, lose connectoin, etc. And, here's why. When I walked to the other side of the house I also had my cellphone (app running) with me. I suspect the very first time you can select "Pair" in the app except that causes the Starlink router (main router) to send the SSID and password info to this new node. At that point, your phone, always searching for the best signal on the network switches you to this new node which, I suspect, hasn't been fully setup as a node. So your app thinks you are on the main router (which now has NO antenna attached) and you get to ask yourself "WTF" many times as it appears your network and Starlink is crashing all around you.
Once I figured this out, I left my cellphone sitting near the Starlink router and, after a factory reset for the node, I walked into the other room and plugged it in and WALKED AWAY! Back to the other location where my phone was I read the message asking if I wanted to PAIR the node with the system. It's been running like gangbusters ever since..... AND a treat later that day was a speed test over 450Mbps! I plan to add another node in a shop that is 100 yards away and linked by a bridge with an access point to complete the network "Starlink Style". Couldn't be happier! Except for that little hang up adding the first node, no issues whatsoever. Rain, shine, nothing seems to slow it down. It does fluctuate in speed which is expected but it has never been slower than tice my original speed and that was for a very short period of time.
Thanks Elon for one of the simplest networks to used...... Now let's get that cellphone coverage added! ;-)
If you've ever setup your own home network and dealt with the routers/switches/extenders/etc you will greatly appreciate the design of the Starlink system.
I unboxed all the pieces (antenna, a power supply, router, cable) and within 5 minutes had the antenna sitting on its kickstand in the driveway. Since it will live there until I receive the roof mount, I ran the cable into my garage, stuck it into the router along with the power supply and plugged it in. I knew about the app features for checking for obstructions and positioning so that was a snap. Within 10-15 minutes the system was running. So, of course, I had to do a speed check (it's like candy to a kid). First check out of the box was 235 Mbps. 15 minutes later it was 265 Mbps. My current setup is 25Mbps (DSL dual line) so I was dancing in the driveway! I am considered a "heavy user" of the internet by my provider with a lot of home automation, communications, security cameras, NAS, etc., etc.
I let the system "vegetate" for a while since it can take some time to settle down and I won't be swapping this over to the main house network until the antenna is on the roof. In the meantime, I decided to add the "mesh" router (it's just another router) to the system after about 2 hours. Wow! The world came collapsing down and I had to unplug the system based on the messages I received from the app on my cell. Disconnected, lost signal, you name it, I think I got every message programmed into the system. I rebooted the main router and the system came up and ran fine. Then I tried the mesh router again. It's supposed to boot up and then you will be asked to pair this router to your system. Sounds simple..... But it went through the same fail sequence I just mentioned. Rebooted and left the main Starlink router alone for the rest of the day until it got dark and I pulled it all into the garage for the night.
Next morning, I was still puzzled as to why this system failed. Back in the stone age days of computers I worked in system support among other positions so "debugging" and the process involved wasn't new to me. I checked over the boxes involved to make sure there wasn't any obvious damage to cables, etc. Nothing was found. Then I started analyzing the process of adding this "mesh" router. The sequence is, you simply plug in this box (which is the same as the main router) and magically on your app you will be asked if you want to allow or "pair" this box as a mesh router. Then everything goes nuts, literally! OK, so my analysis was as follows; I was connected to the main router when I started the process (Starlink router). I walked into the another room (2 walls away) and plugged in this mesh router. I was only asked the very first time I did that if I wanted to pair this box. The app never indicated there was a mesh router on the network. So here's the logic path I followed to come to the cause/fix ..... When you set up your starlink router initially you provide the SSID and password you want to use. Then I connected my phone to that network to use the app. So far, piece of cake. To add a node, you just plug it in and the app will ask you if you want to pair this node to the system. Sounds fine except that you will then see the system fail, lose connectoin, etc. And, here's why. When I walked to the other side of the house I also had my cellphone (app running) with me. I suspect the very first time you can select "Pair" in the app except that causes the Starlink router (main router) to send the SSID and password info to this new node. At that point, your phone, always searching for the best signal on the network switches you to this new node which, I suspect, hasn't been fully setup as a node. So your app thinks you are on the main router (which now has NO antenna attached) and you get to ask yourself "WTF" many times as it appears your network and Starlink is crashing all around you.
Once I figured this out, I left my cellphone sitting near the Starlink router and, after a factory reset for the node, I walked into the other room and plugged it in and WALKED AWAY! Back to the other location where my phone was I read the message asking if I wanted to PAIR the node with the system. It's been running like gangbusters ever since..... AND a treat later that day was a speed test over 450Mbps! I plan to add another node in a shop that is 100 yards away and linked by a bridge with an access point to complete the network "Starlink Style". Couldn't be happier! Except for that little hang up adding the first node, no issues whatsoever. Rain, shine, nothing seems to slow it down. It does fluctuate in speed which is expected but it has never been slower than tice my original speed and that was for a very short period of time.
Thanks Elon for one of the simplest networks to used...... Now let's get that cellphone coverage added! ;-)
