When Starlink keeps disconnecting, start with the Starlink app. It raises named alerts, such as Starlink Obstructed, Thermal Shutdown or Poor Cable Connection, and each one points at a different fix. Starlink’s own guide for intermittent internet runs in this order: Wi-Fi checks, app alerts, weather, obstructions, then cables.
Two patterns are easy to recognize. A drop around 3 AM can be a software update: once an update has downloaded, Starlink schedules the reboot for “3 AM local time +/- 30 minutes.” Short, repeating dropouts during the day can point to something blocking part of the dish’s view of the sky. Starlink’s enterprise dashboard guide says an obstruction above 0.2% is already hurting performance, and “Anything more than 0.27% obstruction will cause enough outages for the end user to notice.”
One thing that is not a fault: a sub-second stutter on a 15-second beat. A peer-reviewed 2024 study traced it to network-wide reconfigurations that happen every 15 seconds, and found them “likely independent of satellite handovers,” the usual explanation.
Why does Starlink keep disconnecting? The quick diagnosis
Match what you see to the likely cause, then jump to that section.
| What you notice | What the app or light says | Likely cause | First fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brief drops during calls or games, many times a day | Starlink Obstructed, or High Time Obstruction | Trees, buildings or poles blocking part of the sky | Run “Check for Obstructions,” move or raise the dish |
| One drop around 3 AM | Software Update Reboot Pending | Scheduled update reboot | Reboot manually at a better time |
| Drops on hot, sunny afternoons | Thermal Throttling, Thermal Shutdown or Starlink Overheated | Dish or power supply too hot | Shade and airflow |
| Drops, then “Starlink Disconnected” | Starlink Disconnected or Power Disconnect Detected | Loose cable, power loss or reboot | Reseat every cable, try another outlet |
| Dish online, but devices keep losing Wi-Fi | Poor WiFi Signal | Router placement or congested Wi-Fi | Move the router, split the bands, add mesh |
| Stuck on Booting or Searching | App status: Offline - Booting or Searching | Dish still starting, updating or away from its address | Power cycle, then wait at least 20 (Booting) or 30 (Searching) minutes |
First step: read the alert in the Starlink app
Connect to your Starlink Wi-Fi network and open the app. If you cannot join the network at all, Starlink’s suddenly-offline guide says to power cycle the router first. Starlink says an alert fires “if the specific condition occurs at least once within a 15-second window,” and that not every active alert affects service, because “some alerts are simply advisory.”
These are the alerts that line up with dropouts, with Starlink’s own definitions:
| Alert | What Starlink says it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Starlink Obstructed | “Your Starlink is partially obstructed.” Outages are “most noticeable during video calls and online gaming.” | Give the dish a completely clear view of the sky |
| High Time Obstruction | “significant obstructions, leading to frequent service interruptions” | Use Check for Obstructions; relocate or clear the blockage |
| Recent Interruptions | Healthy for the last minute, but “elevated packet loss in the last 15 minutes” | No immediate action; Starlink lists extreme weather, a temporary network issue or obstructions as causes |
| Starlink Disconnected | “Your Starlink is unplugged or rebooting.” | Make sure it is fully plugged in, or wait for the reboot |
| Power Disconnect Detected | Recovering “from an unexpected power disconnect” | Check the outlet and every power connection |
| Poor Cable Connection | Ethernet speed between dish and router “indicates poor cable connection” | Unplug and replug; keep connectors dry and clean |
| Thermal Throttling | Running at reduced performance “to prevent overheating” | Move it away from direct sun and heat |
| Thermal Shutdown | Reached “the maximum temperature threshold and has stopped service to cool down” | Ventilate; service resumes once it cools |
| Power Supply Thermal Throttling | The power supply “is exceeding its upper safety thermal threshold” | Move the power supply somewhere cooler and ventilated |
| Software Update Reboot Pending | Reboot scheduled for “3 AM local time +/- 30 minutes” | Reboot yourself if that time is bad |
| Service Outage | “Starlink services or starlink.com is experiencing an outage.” | Wait; the problem is on Starlink’s side |
| POP Change | New point of presence (PoP), so a “new IP address assignment for the region” | Reboot your Starlink or third-party router |
If drops persist after these steps, Starlink’s guidance is to note the pattern (time of day, weather, Wi-Fi setup) and include it when you open a support ticket.
Starlink drops every few minutes: obstructions
The enterprise dashboard guide says “Any obstruction level is bad for performance,” says anything above 0.2% means your install location or surroundings are hurting performance, and says a dish “should have a clear view above 20 degrees elevation, in ALL directions 360 degrees around the azimuth.” Those percentages come from Starlink’s enterprise dashboard guide. In the consumer app, the signs are the Starlink Obstructed alert and the visibility map that the Check for Obstructions tool draws.
The fix, in Starlink’s words, is to use the “Check for Obstructions” tool “to find a location on your property that does not contain obstructions, and relocate your Starlink.” Unplug and reboot it when you relocate it. If moving it is not possible, you can clear the blockage (branch removal, for example) or raise the dish on a longer cable, pole or tower. Starlink’s own caution: if you cannot do that safely, “do not proceed and seek professional assistance.”
Why an alert can appear after a long stretch without one: Starlink names new leaves in spring, debris sitting on the dish, and blizzard snow the heater has not melted yet. It also says the alert “may be more common shortly after clearing the obstruction map, while Starlink is still learning about nearby obstructions.” For snow specifically, see how Starlink’s Snow Melt setting works.
Is it normal for Starlink to glitch every 15 seconds?
A small hiccup on a 15-second beat has been measured on the network. In a peer-reviewed study published in 2024, researchers at the Technical University of Munich and the University of Edinburgh measured Starlink terminals in Germany and Scotland and confirmed that “Starlink performs network reconfigurations every 15 s, leading to noticeable latency and throughput degradations at sub-second granularity.”
The same study found those reconfigurations “are globally synchronized and likely independent of satellite handovers.” The paper notes that “Previous works have suggested satellite or beam changes at reconfiguration interval boundaries to be the root-cause of network degradation.” To test that idea, the team shielded one dish in Scotland with metal sheeting so it could reach only about 13% of the satellites it normally could, then looked at windows when a single satellite was in view, so no handoff was possible. They still saw latency and throughput shifts at interval boundaries. Their working explanation, which they present as a hypothesis, is a scheduler: “Starlink assigns its terminals new satellites (or frequencies) every 15s.”
The paper’s conditions matter for reading your own connection. In its video-call tests the dish was unobstructed and the weather was favorable, and the researchers reported that “we did not experience second-long outages.” The shielded dish was another story: blocking its view left it with “intermittent connectivity,” and its connection windows tended to end at a 15-second boundary. The lab shield is not a tree, but the practical reading is the same one Starlink gives: a sub-second stutter on a clear dish is expected, while drops that last seconds and repeat all day call for the obstruction checks above.
Starlink disconnects in the middle of the night
If the drop lands around 3 AM, check for the Software Update Reboot Pending alert. Starlink downloads updates within 24 hours of an Update Required alert, and “If the download finishes before 3am, your Starlink will reboot automatically to apply this update.” The scheduled reboot happens at “3 AM local time +/- 30 minutes,” and you can reboot from the app sooner if a night shift or an overnight download makes that window a bad one.
Two alerts mean the dish cannot get back online until it updates. Unsupported Software Version updates over the air, so keep the dish powered with a clear view of the sky; Manual Update Required asks you to run the update yourself.
Starlink keeps rebooting, booting or searching
Each status message has its own wait time before you should worry:
- Booting: “This indicates the Starlink is rebooting or completing initialization.” Power cycle and “wait at least 20 minutes while the dish initializes and acquires position.”
- Searching: the dish “is looking for satellites to connect to.” For home plans, check you are at your service address, then power cycle and wait at least 30 minutes, because “The dish may be downloading an update.”
- Determining location: the dish is looking for a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal, which “may take up to 15 minutes.” Starlink’s instruction: “Don’t unplug your Starlink during this time.” It also warns that third-party metal mounts that wrap the base, or setting the dish directly on metal, “may impact GPS performance and are not supported.”
If it is still stuck after those waits, Starlink asks you to file the ticket from inside the app, because app tickets carry more diagnostic detail.
Rule out power and cabling too. Starlink’s router power cycle is to disconnect both ends of the power cable, leave everything unplugged “for at least 10 seconds,” then reconnect. On kits with separate cables (Starlink tells Mini owners to skip this step), check the cable and pins for kinks or weather damage, and stick to official equipment: Starlink says “You are not covered by our warranty policies if using 3rd party equipment.”
Starlink app says disconnected or unreachable
“Disconnected” in the app is often about your phone, not the dish. Starlink: “This means you are not connected to the Starlink Router.” Join the Starlink Wi-Fi network, turn off any VPN (virtual private network) on the phone, and remember that “Third-party routers and networking equipment can block the app from reaching Starlink hardware.” If the app shows a cloud icon next to the network name, tap the name and choose Local to talk to the router directly.
With your own router in front of a Performance (Gen 3) kit, the app can report “Starlink unreachable,” and Starlink’s fix is to “add a static route in your router settings.” The enterprise guide spells out the route: send all traffic for 192.168.100.1 to the WAN port the Starlink is connected to.
Starlink router blinking white, red or violet: the light decoder
The router light tells you which part of the system failed: power, the dish’s connection, or a setting.
| Light | Router 3 and Router Mini | Gen 1 router |
|---|---|---|
| Blinking white | Trying to connect; turns red after 20 minutes without internet | Connecting; red after 20 minutes without internet |
| Solid white | Connected; turns off after 1 hour | Good connection |
| Red | Not connected to the internet | Not connected to the internet |
| Violet | Bypass mode; a factory reset is required to exit | Not listed |
| Off | No power (or, on a good connection, the light has timed out after 1 hour) | No power |
The Gen 2 router is simpler: its light sits on the bottom, not the front, and a solid light just means it has power.
For a red light on a Router 3 or Router Mini, Starlink’s hardware guide says to reseat the cables, listen for the dish’s hum, and power cycle. A Starlink Mini dish uses different colors: solid blue for about 14 seconds while starting, fast blinking blue while resetting, and slow blinking blue when “Working and connected.” On the Universal Power Supply, solid red means overheating and flashing red means a hardware fault.
If the light is on but nothing works after a power cycle, factory reset the router (Starlink notes this guidance does not apply if you use a third-party router); if the light stays off after trying a different outlet, Starlink says the power supply or router may have failed and you should open a ticket. The app route is Settings > Router > Factory Reset, which “will clear your WiFi network name, password, and other settings,” but “Factory reset using the Starlink App is not available if your router is in bypass mode.” With a violet light, use the hardware reset instead: on a Router 3 or Router Mini, briefly push the reset button with a paper clip; on a Gen 2 router, power cycle it 6 times in a row about 2 to 3 seconds apart; on a Starlink Mini, press the reset button until it clicks and hold it for 3 seconds.
Starlink overheating: drops on hot afternoons
Heat produces four different alerts. Thermal Throttling slows the dish as it nears its limit, Thermal Shutdown and Starlink Overheated mean it has stopped until it cools, and Power Supply Thermal Throttling means the power brick, not the dish, is too hot.
On kits with a separate power supply, that brick matters too. At full load it “can dissipate 30-40W,” and it has internal safety features “that will shut off the power supply if the temperature gets too hot.” Starlink says proper ventilation “is key to preventing unintended network drops due to thermal limitations of the power supply.” Give it airflow; if it must go in an enclosure, Starlink recommends thermally tying it to the enclosure so heat conducts outside. For a Mini running from a car, a red light on the Mini Car Charger or USB-C cable means overheating; unplug it and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and use it in shade.
Starlink Ethernet keeps disconnecting, but Wi-Fi works
Two alerts point at the wired side. Poor Cable Connection means the negotiated Ethernet speed between the dish and router suggests cable damage, and Slow Ethernet asks for Cat5e or better cable with the port set to auto-negotiate at 1000 Mbps (megabits per second).
If several devices, or a network switch, connect straight to the Starlink terminal’s Ethernet with no single router in between, a 2026 network change applies to you. Starlink announced it was updating to “Layer 3 (L3) mode on June 10, 2026,” which “requires the Starlink terminal (UT) to connect directly to a single Layer 3 router, with no switches or multiple devices in between.” Setups with several devices behind one router are not affected.
Starlink internet keeps dropping but the dish says online
When the dish reports online and devices still lose the connection, the problem is likely inside the house. Starlink’s Wi-Fi checklist: split the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, put high-bandwidth devices such as TVs, consoles and computers on 5 GHz, place the router centrally away from walls and metal, and space mesh nodes about 30 feet apart.
The Starlink Mini’s built-in router has an expected maximum. Starlink expects coverage of up to 112 square meters (1,200 square feet) in a single-story home with the Mini centrally placed on the roof, and says metal roofs, concrete and brick walls cut range. Its Advanced Speed Test separates the two halves: if device-to-router speed is lower than router-to-internet speed, the fix is Wi-Fi: move the Mini to a more central spot, split the bands, then add a mesh node or a wired router. Running a Mini on a battery? Match the power source to its draw with the power station sizing guide.
Is Starlink down right now?
If the outage is on Starlink’s side, the app shows a Service Outage alert: “Starlink services or starlink.com is experiencing an outage.” Heavy rain, snow, storms and high winds can also cause brief outages, and Starlink says service “recovers quickly after weather improves.”
Residential customers who are offline can call 1-866-606-5103 in the US or 1-888-864-1321 in Canada; Starlink describes the line as open 24/7, in a trial phase, and only for connection issues. The call creates a call-back ticket, and support calls you back.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Starlink IP address keep changing?
The POP Change alert explains it for your internet protocol (IP) address: when your Starlink’s point of presence changes, it gets “a new IP address assignment for the region.” Starlink says you may need to reboot your Starlink or your third-party equipment.
Will a factory reset fix Starlink disconnecting?
Starlink offers the reset for router-side trouble: a forgotten password, a missing app, or setup issues that stop you connecting, and it clears your Wi-Fi network name, password and other settings. It cannot move a branch, cool a hot dish or repair a damaged cable, so try it after those checks.
Can I use Starlink while driving on a home plan?
No. Residential plans are “Stationary use only at fixed, registered addresses,” and the app raises Starlink Moving Too Fast or Starlink Disabled While Moving if you try; Roam and Priority plans support in-motion use up to 100 mph. The Starlink dish decoder covers which dishes are suited to it.
The fix order that saves the most time
Start with the alert, not the router: read the named alert, then the obstruction map, then the cables. Leave the factory reset until last. It wipes your Wi-Fi network name and password. It cannot touch an obstruction, heat or a bad cable. If you are choosing a dish rather than fixing one, the Starlink dish decoder and the Starlink picker cover the choice, and the Starlink Mini guide covers Mini plans and costs.
Sources (16)
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: What are the alerts on my Starlink App?
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Intermittent Internet - Troubleshooting
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Suddenly Offline - Troubleshooting
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: How to fix obstructions
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Using the Enterprise Dashboard to Monitor your Starlink Statistics
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: App Says Starlink is Offline - Booting
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: App Says Starlink is Offline - Searching
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: App Says Disconnected - Connect to your Starlink WiFi
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: What do the lights on my WiFi router / power supply mean?
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: What do the lights on my Starlink hardware mean?
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: How do I factory reset my router?
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: How do I install my power supply unit to prevent overheating?
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Starlink Mini - WiFi Troubleshooting
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Using a Third-Party Router with Starlink
- starlink.com Starlink Help Center: Additional FAQs - Troubleshooting
- arxiv.org Mohan et al., A Multifaceted Look at Starlink Performance (ACM Web Conference 2024)
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