We have been traveling for the last six months, sometimes moving daily and sometimes stationary for a few weeks at a time.
I really need Wi-Fi to write these articles and columns for RVtravel.com, so having Starlink has been a game-changer for us. I no longer need to rely on miserable, unsecured campground Wi-Fi or a phone hotspot to access the internet.
Starlink is easy to hook up and, even with an obstructed view, I can usually get at least some service. Only two times in the last six months were the trees so thick that the Starlink could not connect to a satellite.
New to us is the ability to stream Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Disney+, and a number of cable channels. We discontinued our ever-increasing cost of Dish satellite subscription last year and while Starlink is more expensive, the availability of internet is worth it.
My husband no longer complains about not having cell service when scrolling through Facebook or making phone calls. We have our phones set to internet calling when needed.
Elon Musk, owner of Starlink, is raising its monthly price for the RV Roam service to $165 a month from $150. (More on that here.) $165 is more than double what I pay at home.
But now that we are at our sticks-and-bricks house with 24/7 Wi-Fi, I realize that I miss the relatively consistent speed of Starlink. The advantage of the Roam service is that I can turn it off when not using it and don’t need to change locations when traveling somewhere new.
I got a little obsessed with speed tests on the road. This morning as I write this, our home internet is half the speed of what our Starlink was. Do I need more MBPS? No, and I’m not willing to pay for more, anyway.
All in all, even with the price increase, I love my Starlink!
Interested in different ways to set up Starlink? Here is an article on how we set it up.
##RVT1176
GREAT article on STARLINK !! Continue with your fantastic work and enjoyable travel.
We have had Starlink at home for a couple of years. We actually save money now because we got rid of our DirecTV and our hotspot. The only time we lose our signal is during a very heavy rain. Because we live in a rural area, satellite Internet is our only good option. We tried Hughes.net, which was awful. Starlink is reliable, super easy to use, and the most economical service for us.
I would not trade my $30 a month T-Mobile Internet service if Starlink was $40 per month.
I would. We boomdock 99% of the time and seem to always be in “dark territory” – absolutely no cell service. But, then again, it is nice to get away from all the BS on the news nowadays!
There has to be at least a little cell signal to have T-Mobile Internet. We have zero signal so we have starlink.
We also have star and where we live it is a must for internet…( north west montana ) rarely does it ever drop….have the travel one as well…pricey but we choose to go with it. Super easy to set up…Winter weather is some times brutal here but it is very reliable….not just an opinion it’s a fact..
We’ve been using StarLink in our RV for over a year now. We don’t have ours mounted since we like to park in the shade and obstructed views to the sky cause buffering. Compared to cellular, it’s a no brainer. We use Roku for streaming and live TV and it’s been great. The pricing is getting a bit annoying but the speeds beat most parks and is far more secure.
“Compared to cellular, it’s a no brainer” ??? T-Mobile’s $30-50 per month Home Internet works flawlessly.. 95% of the time.
Agree. I have Starlink for remote areas but 5G Comcast Now (Verizon network, but much cheaper) and other cell services are impressive.
Starlink consumes a lot of power because the satellites are 350 miles away. It’s miraculous but there are costs.
With 5G, all of the cell carriers have stepped up their game to compete with Starlink and each other. 5G is an urban technology, but in many areas it works well out in the country.
Until it doesn’t, and LTE is slow or non-existent, and I turn on the Starlink.
The decision comes down to how much bandwidth you need, where, and when. For example, if you have meetings where you have to show up from anywhere Starlink is cheap.
When you need internet everywhere and don’t know where you will be next, I think Starlink is the best bet. And you will use that to justify both the upfront equipment cost and the ongoing use fees.
We were one of the first subscribers to T-Mobile’s Home Internet. No equipment cost, no contract, and in our winter location the service was faster than Starlink and unlimited. We paid $50/month. After some changes to a Verizon family plan – and Verizon refused to budge (until we cancelled, still try to get us back) we switched phones to T-Mobile and the internet dropped to $30/month. Bottom line, it pays to look at alternatives before a knee-jerk purchase of Starlink.
I been using the T-Mobile Home Internet in my RV while we travel the southwest every month in a different location. My 1st 15 months of service was only $20 and now I pay $30 per month with no contract or hardware to buy. Most of the time I receiving 100-500mg download plenty fast for my TV streaming. I have unlimited data. I also have 2 iPhones with a senior plan from T-Mobile and the plan is unlimited data with 50mg of “HotSpot” on each phone. We haven’t use the “HotSpot” service since last year. So far we always had an excellent signal and speed. If I wanted to step it up more I would just add the Verizon system so I would have both T-Mobile and Verizon Internet service on the road.
I can work my IT job from our camper. We tried a multi-sim cellular modem, but we burned through the data caps pretty quick. For our high bandwidth family Starlink has worked very well. It has been more reliable than the Googe fiber we use at home. I would use it for our home, but we live in a tree-filled area that disrupts the signal.
Starlink for me, is only an over-priced backup solution. As a disabled, Vietnam Vet, I admittedly spend too much time in front of my laptop, or watching Streaming services. I own Starlink, but have not used the service in more than 12 months! My service of choice is T-Mobile’s Home Internet (which can be use anywhere). My Ex, myself and the two grown children are on T-Mobile’s Magenta Max military family plan. I added the home internet service about a year ago, for $30 per month. In the past year, I’ve yet to be in a location where the service did not work exceptionally well.
I was recently ( before the storms)in the Myrtle Beach area and T Mobile was very unreliable. Some days no service at all. Very disappointed.
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 I am pleased that it is working so well for you. 🙂 We no longer do work that makes internet access crucial. We have accounts with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. If none has enough coverage for internet access, then we read or watch DVDs for entertainment. Have a great week! 🙂
Thank you Nancy for this thorough and honest report on Starlink. So many reviews or opinions seem skewed for reasons unrelated to the actual service from Starlink and more to do with Musk’s political leanings of late.
I do not yet have Starlink but it is on my to-do list as of 10 minutes ago.
As usual, your efforts to bring politics into every article ever written in this group, shows you’re a 1 trick pony. Was there a single response here that was negative about Elon or his product? Not yet. Don’t let that stop you from your delusions of persecution. Fear is your only God.
OMG that’s funny. Kind of a hair trigger huh?
This is the first article about Starlink that has garnered no “Musk Trashing” which was the point I was making as a part of my compliment to Nanci. It was soooo refreshing to see that finally no Musk Trashing politics in an RV article related to Starlink, which again was my point. Until you piped in to broadside me with a wide brush surmising that a comment about NO Politics was in fact in itself a comment about politics.
What triggered you? Was it simply the name Musk that set you off?
You must be a ‘words are violence’ kinda guy huh? You know, the “hate speech is not protected speech” type?
I should have clarified as follows in my earlier post. “In the past”, ….So many reviews….. blah blah blah….
We have had ours two months now. I am sorry I waited so long. We went with residential service as we are workampers moving about every three months now. I just change the address to the park we are working in. We will see how it is when we get back home to our Florida state park with lots of super tall pines. 🙏🏻🤞🏻
Despite the cost, we are satisfied with Starlink service, and recently, have not bothered to even try to connect to the campground wifi. We manage the cost by pausing for the roughly 1/2 year we are not on the road. Started using it January 2024 on a trip out west where it worked great except near population areas El Paso and New Braunfuls TX. Paused in Feb and activated again in August. It seemed to work better the 2nd time, even with a relatively small hole in the trees at a couple of campgrounds. I attribute this to more satellites and better management software (just guessing). We tried ATT and then Verizon internet before Starlink and had no, or poor, service at many locations.
I understand the cost up front and monthly for Starlink. What additional apps and costs do you incur to get various services? Can you watch local channels in the area (for sports and weather) you are located in? Can you get additional cable if your dish is placed some distance away from the rig? I’d like to get a better understanding of the total cost. TY.
Nanci, why don’t you just use StarLink at home too, and cancel your slow home service?
It’s being put to the ultimate test as the Cajun Navy is bringing it to the area ravaged by Helene in large trucks (I assume with generators) to bring communication there. We should hear shortly as folks get the word out to their friends and families about their condition. I have a friend that heard from her son once in these 4 days.
I’m using the roam the last three weeks as I traveled through the Carolinas in my RV. It was horrible about 70% of the time. Constant buffering and freezing. The least bit of obstruction and I got sloooooow Service. My iPhone hotspot was faster most of the time and that’s just pitiful. I’m searching for a different system now.
“ I really need Wi-Fi to write these articles and columns for RVtravel.com, so…”. No you don’t. I write, send and receive all kinds of stuff without Starlink. If stationary take the TV or tag and find two bars of cell coverage. That’s plenty.
Hi Larry, RVtravel.com uses WordPress to manage the site and the entire backend of a site as large as RVtravel.com can be a little slow (says the guy who manages the site). So yeah, you really do need a faster connection.
Hi. We are just learning about Starlink. From a comment in your article, do you have both Starlink and a cell service or just Starlink? How does it work using your cell through Starlink? Appreciate any input. Thank you