My Starlink Mini Review After 6 Months

The Starlink Mini is an ultra-portable satellite internet antenna. It’s about the size of a laptop, making it the most compact dish you can get from Starlink. But don’t let the size fool you, the Mini’s performance and functionality is anything but small.

Starlink Mini kit laid out on a table

I’ve been using the Mini for a while now, so I figured it was time to do a proper review. I’ve had the opportunity to use the Mini in several use cases: RV camping and travel, emergency backup internet, in motion inside my car, and also just using it at home.

In this review, I’ll provide an overview of the Mini, listing its features and specs. But more importantly, I’ll let you know how it performs in the real world, sharing my speed tests and power consumption data. Finally, I’ll discuss some of the pros and cons of the Mini compared to other Starlink dishes.

Why I Bought the Mini

If you’ve followed my blog or YouTube channel for any amount of time, you know I love the outdoors. I spend several weeks each year traveling and camping in my Scamp travel trailer. I’ve used other Starlink dishes in the past, but the Mini’s form factor means it can do everything I need at a fraction of the size and weight of the other models. Portability is extremely important to me, especially in my 13 ft. travel trailer, where space is limited.

Starlink dish at RV campsite
A recent camping trip with my Scamp 13 where I used the Starlink Standard dish

I decided to purchase the Mini ($599 at the time) to replace my Starlink Standard dish for two main reasons:

  • The lower power consumption and DC input meant I could power it from my Scamp’s battery or a power bank.
  • The small size meant I could take it with me just about anywhere, whether in a backpack, car, or my travel trailer.

Starlink sells the Mini outside of the US as a cheaper home internet option compared to the Standard dish. But in the US and Canada, it’s sold as a more expensive portable travel dish. In my experience the Mini is best suited for travel and mobile use cases. That’s how I use my Mini, so that’s what I’ll be covering in this review.

First Impressions

Unboxing the Mini kit, I found basically everything needed to get connected. The Mini kit includes the dish, AC wall adapter, 50′ power cable, and two mounts. The “kickstand” mount is suitable for placing the Mini on the ground or other temporary setups. The Pipe Adapter accessory Starlink includes in the kit is suitable for permanent installations on any kind of pole or mast you might already have.

Starlink sells additional accessories in the online shop, such as power adapters, mounts, and longer cables. When I first bought the Mini almost nothing was available. But as I am writing this, Starlink has launched several new accessories. It’s a good sign they intend to expand its capabilities with official products.

Starlink Mini kit contents
Unboxing the Starlink Mini

The Mini measures 11.75″ x 10.2″ x 1.45″, and weighs about 2.5 lb. It’s about the size of a laptop, easily fitting into a backpack. The Mini is less than half the size of previous Starlink models. I had a smile on my face when I first lifted the Mini out of the box. It’s incredible how compact and light it is compared to my other Starlink’s.

It looks very much like a tiny version of the Gen 3 Standard. It has a similar design, with the same angular back panel, kickstand, and colors. I did notice the texture of the plastic on the back is different. It’s more of an orange peel texture, and feels tougher.

Starlink Standard vs Mini size comparison
Standard (left) vs Mini (right) size comparison

Integrated Wifi Router

One of the interesting design choices was to integrate the Wifi router into the dish itself. With the Mini, there is no external router or modem to deal with. Everything is inside the Mini, helping to keep the kit as compact as possible. The only thing you need to provide is power, which is handled by the included 50′ DC power cable. I’ll cover power options in a moment.

The Mini has an Ethernet port on the back of the dish. That allows you to plug in devices, like a 3rd party router, if you want to bypass the integrated router completely.

I was a bit disappointed to learn the Ethernet port doesn’t support power over Ethernet (POE). That means you’ll still need to run the DC power cable in addition to an Ethernet cable if you’re using a different router. It would have been nice to have a POE option to eliminate the need for the DC power cable. That way, you could use the Starlink Gen 3 router as a router and power supply for the Mini for home internet use cases.

Back of the Mini, with power and Ethernet ports
The power and Ethernet inputs on the back of the Mini

Both the power input and Ethernet connector are water resistant. The cables that Starlink provides have moisture seals integrated into the connector, so the Mini is able to maintain its IP67 rating even with the cables installed.

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Powering the Starlink Mini

My favorite thing about the Mini is its flexibility when it comes to power options. With previous Starlink’s I was basically limited to AC wall outlets. I don’t have an inverter in my Scamp travel trailer, so I had to buy a 3rd party 12V DC conversion kit for my Standard dish to use it with my battery system.

There are multiple ways to power the Mini. The power jack on the back is a standard DC5521 port, and accepts 12-48 volts DC. If you have access to a standard AC wall outlet or an inverter, you can just use the included AC wall adapter and power cable. The Mini can also run on DC power directly, like from a portable power station, RV battery system, or even a USB-C port.

I’ve tested the Mini’s power options extensively. It works great powered via USB-C. It needs a minimum of 20V/5A (100 watts) from a PD rated USB-C port. I recently tested the Mini with an Anker Prime portable power bank, which managed to power it for more than 3 hours.

Starlink Mini with two Anker power banks
Starlink Mini being tested with Anker Prime power banks

The Mini can also accept power from a vehicle’s 12V outlet, commonly known as the cigarette lighter outlet. I’ve been using the Mini inside my car for road trips, and I bought an adapter cable that allows me to plug right into the rear power outlet of my Tesla. It provides power for the Mini so I can enjoy high speed internet even while driving 70 mph on the highway.

Starlink Mini mounted to glass roof
My Starlink Mini mounted to the glass roof of my Tesla

If you have an inverter or a wall outlet, you can always just use the included AC wall adapter. The power cable included in the kit is 50 feet long, plenty to support permanent home internet installations if you want to mount the Mini on your roof and route the cable inside.

Speed Tests

Based on all my testing with the Mini, I’ve found the max download speed to be around 200 Mbps. That’s under ideal conditions with my phone right next to the Wifi router in the dish. Upload speeds tend to max out around 30 Mbps. I’ve seen latency numbers of around 30 ms.

Once you start getting further away from the Mini, your Wifi signal starts to get worse, and your speeds suffer. Standing 50 feet away from the dish in my open yard, I only managed to get 30 Mbps down and 7 Mbps up. Latency was slightly higher at 40 ms.

My in motion experience with the Mini has been impressive. At highway speeds I can get above 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up, all at a latency of under 40 ms.

Overall, the Mini offers some pretty impressive speeds relative to its size. The biggest issue with the performance is the Wifi range. Starlink says the Mini’s integrated router only covers about 1,200 sq. ft., but adding a 3rd party router or Starlink mesh can help with that.

Power Consumption

I was pleased to find the Mini doesn’t use much power at all compared to other Starlink’s. It uses about half of what previous models consumed on average. During the initial boot up phase, I measured 40-50 watts, but that’s only because the Mini was working hard to find and connect to the satellites. After the connection stabilized, my Mini used around 20-30 watts.

When you power the Mini directly from a DC power source, like USB-C or a vehicle, it will use less power vs using the included AC adapter. That’s because the AC adapter has to convert AC to DC to power the dish, which isn’t as efficient as providing DC directly to the dish.

Mini running off of a portable power station
Powering the Mini with a portable power station

The Pecron E660LFP portable power station I used for testing estimated a run time of well over 15 hours with the Mini’s power consumption. Your battery life will vary, depending on what kind of capacity you have. But 20-30 watts is incredible compared to previous Starlink models, and the Mini is certainly the best option for people concerned about every last watt.

The low power consumption of the Mini enables it to be used in a variety of use cases. One interesting project I put together was the Starlink Emergency Backup Kit. It features the Mini with a small power bank and a rugged case. This self contained unit can run in a power outage, storm, or other emergency situation for hours. It allows for backup communications should you ever need it.

Starlink Emergency Backup Kit
My Starlink Emergency Backup Kit

What I Love About the Mini

The Mini has no rival when it comes to its performance to size ratio. As I explained in the speed test section, it’s capable of incredible performance and low latency, similar to what you would get with a normal Starlink dish. The real advantage of the Mini is that it does all of this in a package that weighs under 3 pounds, and is small enough to fit into a backpack.

The other big advantage is the power consumption. Getting up to 200 Mbps from a dish that only uses about 20-30 watts is incredible. The Mini is the clear option for those of you on battery and solar power. The ability to power it directly from DC is another big advantage. You’ll be able to hook the Mini directly to a 12V battery system, portable power bank, or vehicle.

After using the Mini for a while, I’m completely satisfied with its value. For $599 I got a super portable dish that I can use for just about anything. It works as home internet, travel internet, in motion, or for off-grid situations. It’s useful for all but the most demanding internet activities.

Downsides of the Mini

The integrated Wifi router in the Mini creates a compact package, but it also means Wifi range and performance is way worse than previous Starlink models. If you’re standing right next to the Mini, no big deal. You’ll still get great speeds. But that’s not practical in the real world, since you’ll need to place the Mini out in the open to get a good signal. Usually, that means at a distance of up to 50 feet away from where you will actually be using your devices.

In my own experience, the further away you get from the Mini, the slower your speeds will be due to a weaker Wifi signal. That’s something to think about when deciding between the Standard and the Mini. With the Standard, the router is separate and typically installed inside, closer to where you will be using your devices.

The other major downside of the Mini is the price. At $599, it’s $250 more expensive than the Standard model ($349). The only advantages the Mini has over the Standard is the form factor and power consumption. If size and power consumption aren’t your top priorities, the Standard is a much better Starlink antenna for a lower cost. Until Starlink reduces the price of the Mini, you pay a premium price to get the ultra-portable kit.

If you’re trying to decide between the Mini and Standard, check out my Starlink Mini vs Standard article.

Final Thoughts

I am very impressed with the Starlink Mini, even after all this time using it. It delivers performance beyond my expectations, hitting around 200 Mbps down. And it did that with an antenna that is smaller than my laptop, and uses less power than a lot of modern electronics.

Starlink Mini dish

The two major concerns, at least in my opinion, are the integrated Wifi router and price tag. You won’t get the best performance by using the integrated Wifi router, but it will deliver acceptable speeds for most internet activities. The current $599 price makes it inaccessible to many potential customers. Time will tell if the price of the kit decreases over time, like we saw with the Gen 3 Standard dish.

Overall, I highly recommend the Mini to people needing an ultra-compact antenna for remote travel applications. For home internet use, the Mini doesn’t make much sense due to the price tag and integrated router. But if power efficiency and portability are two of your key concerns, the Mini has no rival.

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12 Comments

  1. This is a great and informative review, Colby! I have a question. Does the mini use less power with wired ethernet cable? Also, may the wifi be turned off? Thanks a bunch.

    1. Probably not anything significant in terms of WiFi power usage. Maybe a few watts, assuming you put the Mini in bypass mode to disable the router. But it’s offset because you’ll still need a 3rd party router hooked up to Ethernet to handle DHCP and other routing functions.

  2. Hello. 2-3 versions ago starlink ago, it had at the beginning of the app, a screen that said if starlink had access to your authorized local network or not, coinciding with the setting of your cell phone. The latest versions no longer have that warning, and in advanced/debugging data, you have the setting of access to your authorized network, even if on your cell phone you do not have this setting active. This is an intrusive adjustment from starlink

  3. Hello. 2-3 versions ago starlink ago, it had at the beginning of the app, a screen that said if starlink had access to your authorized local network or not, coinciding with the setting of your cell phone. The latest versions no longer have that warning, and in advanced/debugging data, you have the setting of access to your authorized network, even if on your cell phone you do not have this setting active. This is an intrusive adjustment from starlink

  4. Hi, great review but I have questions! My thoughts after reading are the mini will not work for me. I have a stone house with a metal roof and a farm shop in a pole barn across the road. We have no other options for Internet other than spotty cell service. We are on a hill with clear view of sky’s. Our Direct TV is quite stable but so expensive for how we actually use it. We need wifi for the farm and personal business. What would you recommend to get usable wifi both at the house and the shop. I have done researchs in the past and tried a different satellite system called viasat. It never actually worked and they charged me a fortune where I had to actually deny the charges on my credit card. There’s a lot of information and I’m kind of at a loss on what we should do where we can still afford to have it.

    1. You would want the “standard” Starlink kit & a mesh WiFi system. The Gen 3 dish/router can allow for this. Starlink offers mesh nodes, but 3rd party mesh systems might work better for your situation.

  5. Hi, great review but I have questions! My thoughts after reading are the mini will not work for me. I have a stone house with a metal roof and a farm shop in a pole barn across the road. We have no other options for Internet other than spotty cell service. We are on a hill with clear view of sky’s. Our Direct TV is quite stable but so expensive for how we actually use it. We need wifi for the farm and personal business. What would you recommend to get usable wifi both at the house and the shop. I have done researchs in the past and tried a different satellite system called viasat. It never actually worked and they charged me a fortune where I had to actually deny the charges on my credit card. There’s a lot of information and I’m kind of at a loss on what we should do where we can still afford to have it.

    1. You would want the “standard” Starlink kit & a mesh WiFi system. The Gen 3 dish/router can allow for this. Starlink offers mesh nodes, but 3rd party mesh systems might work better for your situation.