Starlink, is it a good option.

[AntonyA]

This June, we're planning to travel extensively around Europe for about five months. Fortunately, we're not restricted by the 90-day Schengen limit. Our main concern is reliable internet access while on the road.


We're considering two options: Starlink or a SIM card setup with a router. We've seen some attractive eSIM data deals, but we're unsure whether there are routers that support eSIMs—or if it might be better to use a spare mobile phone with a data-only SIM and hotspot it to our laptops and TV. Starlink seems reliable but expensive.


Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We will be traveling to France, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Thanks in advance!

 

[lorger]

There’s quite a large informative thread on here, just search Starlink and you’ll find it.

 

[Ridgeway]

In simple terms, Starlink is:

• very reliable
• pause-able meaning you only pay for the months you need = in the end the actual cost isn’t too bad
• speeds can be quite amazing but rarely less than very good
• upgradeable if you want to upgrade the router or roof install etc

Enjoyed using ours during last year and it was one of the best things we bought for the van

 

[AladinsaneUK]

trouble is.....

I have an issue with its owner..... so even though it looks great etc, nope, will not feed the fascist

 

[gus-lopez]

The main problem for the Op is that starlink now only allows 2 months,60days ,out of the country that you pay the subscription in.So not a lot of use for 5months

pause-able meaning you only pay for the months you need = in the end the actual cost isn’t too bad

Only if you have roaming.

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[Ernesto]

And its also pretty costly for the months you are active. I decided against it for the van as I dont trust Musk not to throttle it or jack the costs up once I bought the hardware.
When he has some competition to keep his pricing “honest” I might reconsider

 

[pampam]

I fancy starlink to run our dojo when at events,are they very expensive?

 

[Fragle]

trouble is.....

I have an issue with its owner..... so even though it looks great etc, nope, will not feed the fascist

The OP never asked your opinion on the owner and it’s totally irrelevant to the thread.
So just to balance it out. I think he’s just fine and doing a great job. This is also totally irrelevant to the thread.

for the OP consider buying the Starlink in France and register there.
You could do a search for the Starlink thread that towards the end explains how.
You still have the 60 days restriction but that would not start till you leave France maybe giving you more time into your trip. Also it’s only €72 so will save you £35 ish per month the dish is also cheaper in France. I bought at a shop called Darty. Just remember you reset your 60 days by using the Starlink in the registered country again.
Hope this is helpful

 

[AladinsaneUK]

Oooo

Yes you are right and I respect your thought and opinion

But I will not support or condone a misogynistic racist fascist who admits to be addicted to ketamine - nor will I add to his personal fortune by endorsing his businesses

That’s my choice that I am quite happy to share with all

(It’s not personal btw - I just won’t accept people like Elon musk)

 

[AntonyA]

In simple terms, Starlink is:

• very reliable
• pause-able meaning you only pay for the months you need = in the end the actual cost isn’t too bad
• speeds can be quite amazing but rarely less than very good
• upgradeable if you want to upgrade the router or roof install etc

Enjoyed using ours during last year and it was one of the best things we bought for the van

Thanks for getting back to me, when you say upgradable what do you mean. Also any advice on if we should have the receiver attached to the roof or leave it unattached so you can use it anywhere in case the MH if under tress?

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[AntonyA]

The main problem for the Op is that starlink now only allows 2 months,60days ,out of the country that you pay the subscription in.So not a lot of use for 5months

Only if you have roaming.

Thats a big issues, thought you could go anywhere and for over 2 months away from home..... Thanks for the info

 

[AntonyA]

The main problem for the Op is that starlink now only allows 2 months,60days ,out of the country that you pay the subscription in.So not a lot of use for 5months

Only if you have roaming.

? sorry dont quite understand, only if you have roaming, you would be roaming anytime out of you your country?

 

[Coolcats]

trouble is.....

I have an issue with its owner..... so even though it looks great etc, nope, will not feed the fascist

Top man, here is a photo from private eye, it also reminds me of an episode of Father Ted

 

[MisterB]

re using starlink 'out of country' ... some of us have succesfully registered a starlink in a country other than the UK. some have used Spain whilst others, inc me, have used France. The fees are then applicable to that country, so there is a saving to be made.

as pointed out though, you only get two months out of the country it is registered in, which if you are able to get back into the registered country for one day and use it there, then the two month sequence starts again. so if you went through France, registered it there, went touring for a couple of months but were able to get back to France, then you would be ok.
taking two stralinks is also an option - you just need two dishes (not two lots of kit) - we carried two with us recently as we wanted to register one in France

as for the comments re the owner of the company, i find it hard to take those comments seriously on the basis that most things are now manufactured in China and I may be completely wrong but do those who hate musk also boycott Chinese goods or anything made in china, who as a nation don't have a great record in the treatment of some of its citizens ...

 

[AntonyA]

re using starlink 'out of country' ... some of us have succesfully registered a starlink in a country other than the UK. some have used Spain whilst others, inc me, have used France. The fees are then applicable to that country, so there is a saving to be made.

as pointed out though, you only get two months out of the country it is registered in, which if you are able to get back into the registered country for one day and use it there, then the two month sequence starts again. so if you went through France, registered it there, went touring for a couple of months but were able to get back to France, then you would be ok.
taking two stralinks is also an option - you just need two dishes (not two lots of kit) - we carried two with us recently as we wanted to register one in France

as for the comments re the owner of the company, i find it hard to take those comments seriously on the basis that most things are now manufactured in China and I may be completely wrong but do those who hate musk also boycott Chinese goods or anything made in china, who as a nation don't have a great record in the treatment of some of its citizens ...

Thanks for the info Mister B, very helpful. I think having two starlinks is an option, something I had not thought of. May I also if you have it mounted on the roof, do you have any issues when parked near trees, can you install whereby you can easily remove and place where a better signal is available. I just dont understand why anyone needs to mention Musk in a forum where we look to help each other. I think most know Musk and if he bothered me that much the post wouldn't have been posted. Thanks..

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[MisterB]

Thanks for the info Mister B, very helpful. I think having two starlinks is an option, something I had not thought of. May I also if you have it mounted on the roof, do you have any issues when parked near trees, can you install whereby you can easily remove and place where a better signal is available. I just dont understand why anyone needs to mention Musk in a forum where we look to help each other. I think most know Musk and if he bothered me that much the post wouldn't have been posted. Thanks..

we have our starlink placed up against the rear skylight, its internal - if it was fixed then you would need two fixed to your roof. I converted one to run purely on 12v - with just one 12v cable feed with internal router which makes it so much easier. That one is up for sale at the moment and the one i re registered in France will also be converted identically.

it can just be moved simply if there is an obstruction and just using one 12v cable allows us to use the external Anderson connector to power it.

take a look at the one for sale in the classifieds to get an idea and come back and ask me anything in relation. the steps i took are all contained within the main starlink thread (do a search with my user name) and if you watch you tube videos from off grid power solutions, you will see how its done (though i took it one step further by incorporating the router)

you can pick up Gen2 starlinks for around £150 so buying two would cost the same as one of the minis.

a couple of major advantages are the power use is around 2.5-3A per hour so a lot less than 'standard' and the Gen2 is supposed to be able to get better download speeds, however ive found that anything over 50Mbs is enough to stream tv via the firestick. the other big advantage of ours is we can use it when driving!

depending on where you are, you can see my conversion working as its still 'subscribed' until April 18th and either buy it or i can take it apart to show you what you need to do.

 

[Coolcats]

. I just dont understand why anyone needs to mention Musk in a forum where we look to help each other. I think most know Musk and if he bothered me that much the post wouldn't have been posted. Thanks..

Don’t forget the Tarrifs may significantly increase the cost of Star link but then Again may not. People are entitled to spend their £ where every they wish but the reason not to spend it on any Muskovite toys for me and others is a personal choice and aligns with personal values.

To inform and lighten the mood here is the front page of the private eye which for me is another reason not to buy starlinky.

 

[MisterB]

and how does the private eye cover 'inform' this discussion ....... can we get back to trying to help the OP and not question their ability to decide how best to spend their money?

 

[Jim]

Can the usual suspects keep politics out of a useful thread. You never know, you might find you enjoy posting more when you are not trying to wedge your politics into each and every post. It will certainly make for easier reading for the rest of us too. Thank You.

 

[zac]

Fixed my Starlink on the roof when it first came out last year or was it the year before cant remember now, but it's permanently fixed up there in a 3D printed bracket i printed (i did not design it). My intention was to use it when travelling mainly in the Europe as at that time there were no restrictions. Then they raised the subs so now i transferred my ownership to Spain where i can get it for approx £50 per month when over there as i don't really need it in the UK anyway. This works for me but i would not pay the £95 in the UK, but that's a personal choice and everybody's needs are different. When using it though it has been very good and i have now also converted it to 12v which i did so that I can leave it on when not on EHU or when the sites EHU is so flaky as leaving it on my inverter which will run it no problem is an issue overnight as it makes a noise where it is which is right next to the bed so keeps me awake.
All in all its a good piece of kit but expensive, the starlink mini will be better for most as that can run off 12v very easily where as the v2/v3 dishes need converting again not hard though.

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[MisterB]

i transferred my ownership to Spain where i can get it for approx £50 per month when over there as i don't really need it in the UK anyway.

an issue overnight as it makes a noise where it is which is right next to the bed so keeps me awake.

As zac pointed out, I also don't use mine in the UK as we have unlimited phone data

Also, as I added two small computer fans to aid cooling, we turn ours off overnight so there is no additional noise, plus as we don't use it when asleep, why waste 20Ah of battery when off grid by leaving it running when it's not being used? It soon adds up after two or three nights.

It might be worth checking on power consumption for any of the starlinks you may be considering, especially if you intend spending time 'off grid'

 

[zac]

For me, it's not the Starlink that makes the noise but the darn inverter which is why I don't like leaving that on, I am not concerned about battery with 2 x 460amp batteries, but it's still a good point. With it converted to 12v i will now just leave it on if we are staying somewhere for a week or so as i would have EHU anyway but the EHU is so unreliable in Spain that the 12v is better for sure, also with own router the wifi is a lot better than the standard starlink router.

 

[VXman]

or if it might be better to use a spare mobile phone with a data-only SIM and hotspot it to our laptops and TV. Starlink seems reliable but expensive.

We are currently travelling in Spain and Portugal and use our hotspot on our phones for internet. It has worked brilliantly with streaming BBC, Channel 4 etc.

We did the same for Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia last year.

Currently we are using Lebara sims. 4 X 50gb (30 gb in EU) for £0.65 (yes 65 pence per month) per SIM.

Other times we have bought cheap sims locally but the down side is that if you want to stream UK TV you'll need a VPN.

 

[MisterB]

30gGb would last us 3 or 4 days BUT it still works out cheaper than our starlink on the French tariff of £60 per month or the Spanish one of £50 per month!

 

[Ernesto]

Thats another kick between the legs for me - half the UK price in Spain ? Ouch

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[matbic]

A few years ago I got a dual modem Pepwave (in a fit of “nothing but the best for me”) thinking I would get a Starlink to add to it. But I have found using two 4G modems bonded together to create one single combined link has been more than adequate for all our needs. Pepwave call this bonding service Speed Fusion it adds the bandwidth of each link together giving a faster and almost unbreakable internet with the right combination on SIM/eSIM cards.

As I read about all the hassles everyone has been having to try and get around the 2 month away from home limit on Starlink it adds to my impression that I don’t need Starlink at all!

Combined with the high power requirement and the inability of it to work under trees in the shade - Starlink is not a perfect solution - for me.

4G (and 5G in the very few places I have found it) works well enough. There is some hassle finding good value SIM cards or eSIMs but grabbing something from a local supermarket is now part of the - we have arrived in a new country procedure!

If you can’t be bothered with getting local SIM cards - look at ConnectPls SIM or chose from many eSIMs options.

 

[Ridgeway]

Thanks for getting back to me, when you say upgradable what do you mean. Also any advice on if we should have the receiver attached to the roof or leave it unattached so you can use it anywhere in case the MH if under tress?

Mainly as others have pointed out that you can upgrade the router or the PSU, then roof mount if needed.

 

[Ridgeway]

The main problem for the Op is that starlink now only allows 2 months,60days ,out of the country that you pay the subscription in.So not a lot of use for 5months

Only if you have roaming.

Must admit that so far mine quite likes trips across the various borders. It would be a shame if it’s as limited as you say but fingers crossed ours quite likes being in another country

 

[Fragle]

Thanks for the info Mister B, very helpful. I think having two starlinks is an option, something I had not thought of. May I also if you have it mounted on the roof, do you have any issues when parked near trees, can you install whereby you can easily remove and place where a better signal is available. I just dont understand why anyone needs to mention Musk in a forum where we look to help each other. I think most know Musk and if he bothered me that much the post wouldn't have been posted. Thanks..

I have 2. One registered in Spain one in France.

Both far cheaper than uk prices and this gives me a total of 4 months out of registered countries.
As we always travel through France that reset is easy. Use for one month and into Spain then swap to Spanish dish for reset of that.
Not hard to work out the best plan of use

 

[Guigsy]

The mobile network across Europe is generally pretty good and better than the UK. And a 4G/5G router is much lower power and perfectly happy to work on the move. So I don't bother turning mine off.