SpaceX is terminating a free feature for Starlink Roam and Priority subscribers: The ability to pause their monthly service at no extra cost.
Instead, the company is adding a $5-per-month “standby mode.” SpaceX is sending emails to customers who have used paused mode, telling them to opt in to standby mode or lose their paused service line. With standby mode, subscribers will receive “unlimited low-speed data,” keeping their dish connected throughout each month. However, internet speeds will be capped at 500kbps. The new policy is slated to take effect in 30 days.
(Credit: Starlink)
Although SpaceX is marketing standby mode as an “upgrade,” some customers view it as a rate hike, since the pause function had been free and it could halt the next billing cycle.
The move has irked Roam subscribers, many of whom use their Starlink dishes on the go, like on camping trips and on RVs. Previously, Roam subscribers could freely pause their monthly internet service, which costs $165 per month or $50 per month for 50GB of data. Now they’ll need to pay more.
“Looks like another rate hike, without calling it a rate hike. Now they get an extra $60/year,” wrote one Starlink user on Facebook.
“I only need the service for two months a year,” another user added on X. “The dish is in storage the remaining ten months. Now I should pay for a service that I don’t need or want? I will refuse.”
(Credit: Brian Westover/PCMag)
Many affected subscribers also purchased the $499 Starlink Mini dish, which is only available in the US with a Roam plan. One user on Reddit claims, “Starlink is pulling a classic bait-and-switch,” after revoking the free pause feature.
“Many people bought the Mini on the premise that the pause feature effectively makes it pay as you go,” wrote a separate user. “Now we have to pay a minimum of $60 a year just to own something we might not use??? How is this legal?”
The change also begs the question: What’s to stop a customer from simply letting their subscription lapse and re-subscribing later as a workaround for the lost free pause? As a result, some users are speculating SpaceX will start charging reactivation fees, which it already alluded to in a Starlink support page that discusses a “Roam activation charge.”
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“The additional charge depends on the service plan you choose and/or the Starlink kit you select. This charge will only apply if you are purchasing or activating a new service plan,” one of the support pages says.
(Credit: Starlink.com)
SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But the company has updated a support page about the pause function, which suggests it won’t be charging reactivation fees for affected users.
“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,” the company wrote.
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The policy change also comes as some Roam subscribers report losing access to Starlink’s $10-per-month plan, which gave them access to 10GB of data.
Other users are welcoming the new standby mode, pointing to how the 500Kbps download and upload rate works for their basic internet needs. “This new $5 plan is actually pretty good. Totally unlimited anywhere anytime at 2g speeds. I can text, run my navigation equipment, webcams and even browse the internet all fine. Speed is about 0.6mbps,” wrote one user on Reddit.
A Starlink support document notes that the company is keeping the free pause mode available in certain markets, including parts of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The same support document says the paid standby mode is available to subscribers on the Residential plan. But it adds: “Pausing with Standby Mode does not reserve your spot on a Residential plan. If your area is at capacity when you try to resume, you may not be able to reactivate your previous Residential plan.”
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.
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