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Starlink Snow Melt Settings Explained

Starlink's latest app update adds controls for snow melt to optimize power and performance in harsh weather.

Colby Baber

Starlink dish melting snow
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If you live in an area that gets snow and ice, you will be happy to know that Starlink can automatically clear itself. Starlink's snow melt mode can increase antenna power to melt snow and ice. Before winter hits, it's a good idea to check your Starlink snow melt settings.

To help users manage the heat and power usage of their dish, Starlink includes snow melt settings in the app. You can adjust these settings to suit your own needs, based on the climate in your area. In this guide, I'll walk you though all the settings and explain how the snow melt function works.

How to Adjust the Snow Melt Settings

You'll find all the snow melt options in the Starlink app. Open the app and tap "Settings" in the menu. Then tap "Starlink" to open up the settings for the Starlink dish. Select "Snow melt" to adjust how your Starlink handles snow and ice. There are three settings for snow melt:

Off: When snow melt is turned off, your dish won't increase power to melt snow and ice. This is the most power efficient setting, suitable for people in warmer climates.

Automatic: This is the default setting, and what I recommend for most people. When snow melt is set to automatic, the dish can increase power to improve signal quality when rain, snow, or ice impacts the signal to noise ratio (SNR). This mode allows the dish to use more power when necessary, but save power when there is no precipitation.

Pre-heat: This setting is useful for when you know a storm is coming. Pre-heat ramps up power, increasing the surface temperature of the Starlink antenna. With pre-heat turned on, snow is less likely to build up on the dish, even in heavier snowfall.

Starlink snow melt settings in the app

How Does Snow Melt Work?

Every Starlink model has the ability to melt snow and ice, from the original Gen 1 round dish, to the latest Starlink Mini dish. The difference comes down to the power available with each model. The High Performance dish has a larger power supply, and as a result, is able to melt snow and ice faster than the Standard dish. The Mini has the smallest power supply, and is likely to struggle in heavier snow.

Despite having the ability to melt snow and ice, Starlink dishes don't have a heater built in. The antenna generates heat as a byproduct of its normal operation. It's this heat that increases the temperature on the surface of the dish enough to melt snow and ice.

In automatic snow melt mode, your Starlink dish is constantly keeping an eye on the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the satellite signal. When the SNR drops too low, the antenna requests more power to compensate. More power to the antenna means more heat.

In other words, your Starlink dish doesn't know that it's snowing. It's actually detecting a lower SNR as a result of the snow in the atmosphere, and it increases power to compensate for the weaker signal. Melting snow and ice is just a nice consequence of the dish maintaining an optimal SNR.

Snow and Ice Buildup on the Dish

Ice that has melted and formed icicles on the edge of the dish are not a concern. In fact, expect icicles to form if the dish is properly melting snow and ice. You can gently remove the icicles if they start getting large enough to contact the roof.

Snow buildup on the surface of the dish will result in service interruptions. If heat from the dish isn't melting snow fast enough, you may have to manually clear it to restore your connection.

If you have an older actuated Starlink dish, be sure snow isn't building up underneath. The actuated dishes can readjust periodically, so keep the surrounding area clear. Otherwise, you might get the "motors stuck" error message in the Starlink app.

Why Does My Dish Say "Heating" When It's Not Snowing?

In the automatic snow melt mode, you might notice a message in the Starlink app that says your Starlink dish is heating, even when there is no snow or ice. The heating message often pops up when temperatures are lower or it's raining. It's completely normal, and nothing to worry about.

Remember how I said that Starlink can't tell if it's snowing? Starlink will send extra power to the antenna to maintain an ideal SNR. Sometimes clouds, rain, and even colder temperatures can cause the SNR to decrease. Starlink compensates by increasing power to the dish, resulting in the heating message.

Summary

All Starlink models can melt snow and ice automatically. Those of you living in areas that get a lot of snow can adjust the snow melt settings to pre-heat the dish for an incoming storm. RV'ers, off grid users, and those of you in warm climates can turn off snow melt to save power.

For more information on how Starlink handles different kinds of weather, check out my post about how well Starlink works in bad weather.

Discussion

20 Comments

  1. Kevin
    Unfortunately the new snow melt feature does not really work very well I have the new rectangular dish This spring 4 times now,, when It has been above freezing for a period of time say a day or two and then it goes to say 32 degrees and starts snowing the dish goes offline Starlink needs to write some new code to have the dish heat better because I understand I should not just leave it in "Pre Heat" mode
    1. Noah Clarke
      The rectangular dish has been reported to have lots of issues with snow, rain, and ice. It seems much less capable of actually melting and dealing with snow than the original round dish. I've never had any issues with snow or ice, even with heavy snowfall rates. But lots of users with rectangular dishes have experienced the same issues you are describing. Part of the problem is that the rectangular dish is more power efficient, which means less heat buildup. That's good for your electric bill, but bad when you need to power through snow/ice/rain to get a signal.
    2. Don
      They need to fix this. Second time in a year my rectangle dish stopped working in wet snow. Not efficient for being away from home that has electronic heating devices or security cameras that don't work while its snowing. urgh
  2. Heather
    I take my dish camping, and instead of removing the cable from my house, I contacted Starlink to see if there was a dedicated cable I could leave inside the home to use with a connector. Starlink has created a new problem...you can move your "portable" system but you might damage the cable removing it. They don't sell anything like that to (Canadian?) customers and I'm really only concerned because in our climate, I need to heat my dish during the winter. So, my question is: how are the flat/round dishes heated (new December 2021)? Does the cable have something different than a cat 7 cable for example?
    1. Noah Clarke
      The dishes are heated from the antenna. There is no separate heating system, the dish can simply activate the transmitting antenna to produce heat that would be necessary to melt snow and ice. The cable itself isn't really anything different than CAT6, it's just the connectors are proprietary. Starlink sells the cable itself up to 150ft that you could use as your permanent home mounted cable. But there is the concern of wearing out the connector over time, as you mentioned.
    2. Heather
      Thank you
  3. Stee Jans
    Is it harmful to the dish to leave it in Pre-Heat mode all winter ? Is there any downside to using Pre-Heat mode all winter, other than additional electrical consumption ?
    1. Noah Clarke
      I wouldn't think so. The dish is smart enough to not damage itself. It won't do any good though unless you know a storm is coming. The dish is always heating to some degree above freezing just by connecting to satellites. Heat is a byproduct of the transmissions to the satellites.
  4. Luke
    What are the steps to find “Snow Melt” option? I’ve been throughout the app and it doesn’t seem apparent. Thanks!
    1. Noah Clarke
      Open the app, tap Settings. Then it's under the Snow Melt section. You should be able to select between Off, Auto, and Pre-Heat.
    2. Anonomonomous
      They've fixed that so that you must "Log In To Edit" that, and only that, setting. (This after being logged in on the app.) Trying to sign in that way just puts you in Android limbo. Cannot find same settings on website.
  5. Crystal
    How do I get mime working it idnt melting snow
    1. Noah Clarke
      It's a setting in the Starlink app. It should be on Automatic by default, which will melt snow. It has a pre-heat option if you know a heavy storm is coming.
  6. dean
    So Im on the account but don't see where to "tap" settings
    1. Noah Clarke
      It's under Settings, then hit Starlink instead of Router. Then you can tap Snow Melt to manage it. It looks like they have updated the app, so I will need to update this post to the new menu structure.
    2. Anonomonomous
      Probably a good idea to update the fact that it won't allow you to log-in for that setting... but, without logging in, you can do a factory reset. WTH? I can brick my settings but I can't turn off snow-melt??? I want what Elon's smoking.
  7. Trey
    I have the round dish and have bypassed the SL router by not using it at all and have my own router plugged in. Will the heating function still work without using the SL router?
    1. Noah Clarke
      Yes, all the dish functions still operate and you can still use the Starlink app with your own router.
  8. Duane Zolinski
    When I try to use the app, it says you must be logged in and online connected with the account associated with the Starlink app to update settings. However the app works with all other data and functions for this system. Therefore, the snowmelt function will not work..
    1. Noah Clarke
      Yes, you have to be logged in to the Starlink app to adjust some settings. If you are locally connected to your Starlink Wifi, not having cellular data isn't a big deal, since you have internet through the dish, or can adjust dish settings even if the dish is offline (stowed, for example). If you are away from home, you will also need to be logged in, and your dish at home needs to be online to establish a remote connection to update settings like snow melt.

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