Why Is Starlink Down? Why Is Starlink Not Working?

If you have been suffering from an internet outage or power blackout on Tuesday, you’re most likely using Starlink, the satellite internet constellation of SpaceX.

While this doesn’t happen quite often, when it does, it certainly affects the whole world, given it has over 1.5 million subscribers as of May 2023.

Apparently, Starlink experienced a network outage yesterday, shutting down the internet for a while. While the reason hasn’t been revealed, many believe it has something to do with a global system update.

If you want to learn more about the issue and whether it has been resolved, keep reading.

What Is Starlink?

Starlink is an advanced broadband satellite constellation that provides coverage for over 60 countries and reportedly has over 5,000 small satellites that use low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet around the world.

Starlink was initially announced in 2015, but not until November 2016 the development phase began. It was launched in June 2019 and eventually became the world’s first and largest satellite constellation, which is expected to garner $30 billion in revenue alone by 2025.

Starlink’s download speeds range from 25 to 220 Mbps depending on the user’s region, and most of its subscribers have at least 100 Mbps with an upload speed range of 5 to 20 Mbps.

Why Was Starlink Down?

The official X account of Starlink reported on Tuesday that there has been a network outage, and they are actively working on fixing it. The satellite went down at 8:30 PM ET yesterday, and the company acknowledged the issue right after that.

While the reason for the outage is unknown, as the official X account of Starlink hasn’t posted it even while trying to fix the issue, many speculate that it is most likely due to the update of the global system, as it constantly transmits coverage for numerous countries.

However, it wasn’t supposed to be updated at all zones at once, but again, there is no information on why it was shut down for a few hours. Many on social media claim it was shut down due to Ukraine war news, but that’s impossible because Elon Musk reportedly sent several Starlink receivers to Ukraine to aid in their defense.

How Starlink Outage Affected the World

Given the outage was worldwide, almost every country with Starlink access has been affected. According to various detector software and websites, nearly 33,000 users have flagged the issue immediately following the outage.

While the most affected regions experienced a total blackout of Starlink services (58%) with no way to use its services, about 41% of them have lost connection to the internet. Only 1% of its users have had to deal with Poor Reception.

Apparently, it was the first outage many people had noticed in more than a year, and perhaps Starlink may have truly updated its global system to improve future services.

Is Starlink Outage Fixed?

Shortly following its unannounced outage, Starlink has fixed the issue, and many have tweeted about how their connection is back on, while some users still had unresolved issues.

However, by 9:39 PM ET, the company posted in X (Twitter), saying, “The network issue has been fully resolved.”

While the outage only lasted about three hours in many countries, a few other regions, like the Caribbean, New Hampshire, and California, had Starlink backup online within 20 minutes of its outage.

So, what are your thoughts on the sudden network outage? Do you think it has something to do with the Ukrainian War?

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.