Starlink Users Will Now Pay to Pause — $5 a Month for Standby Mode

Starlink customers using the Roam plan will no longer be able to pause their service for free. Seasonal travelers who might only need Starlink several months out of the year will be required to cancel or pay $5/month for the new Standby Mode plan.

Previously, Starlink plans could be paused at no cost, which suspended billing and cut off internet access while service wasn’t needed. Customers could easily unpause their plan through the Starlink app as necessary, making it very convenient for recreational travelers who don’t need year-round service.

Standby Mode is replacing the pause feature on most Roam and Priority plans. When enabled, customers are billed $5 per month until service is reactivated or cancelled. Although pausing is going from free to fee, Standby Mode does come with additional features and benefits.

Unlike the previous pause feature, Standby Mode includes unlimited low-speed data that can be used anywhere with active Starlink coverage. It uses Roam data, which allows it to be used in-motion.

Although Standby Mode includes unlimited data, speeds are throttled to 500 Kbps (0.5 Mbps). That’s enough for light web browsing, email, and WiFi calling and texting. Streaming, video calling, and online gaming will be challenging with the 0.5 Mbps maximum speed.

Residential plan users also have the ability to use Standby Mode for the first time. Previously, the pause feature was only reserved for Starlink’s mobile plans. “Pausing with Standby Mode does not reserve your spot on a Residential plan,” Starlink cautions. “If your area is at capacity when you try to resume, you may not be able to reactivate your previous Residential plan. You can resume service immediately on a Roam or Priority plan.”

Users can manage Standby Mode on the Starlink website or in the app. On the website, customers have the option of changing plans, cancelling service, or turning on Standby Mode. The app experience is slightly different, with Starlink choosing to exclude the cancel service option.

Starlink might be trying to limit use of the cancel option because it can effectively be used as a free pause feature. Starlink Roam customers can bypass the new Standby Mode fee by cancelling their service and then reactivating when it’s needed again. This loophole is essentially the same thing as the previous pause feature.

To prevent customers from cancelling instead of using Standby Mode, Starlink may introduce a one-time activation charge for Roam plans. Although not currently implemented, an article on the Starlink website explains, “In applicable markets, the Standard Starlink Kit has an associated one-time charge to enable portable capabilities for our Roam service plans. This charge is fully refundable if you return Starlink within 30 days of purchase. The Roam Activation is only applicable to a specific customers account and is not transferable.”

If implemented, the Roam activation charge policy could essentially force customers to use Standby Mode, otherwise they could be on the hook for unknown activation charges each time Roam is activated.

Starlink also appears to have removed the Roam 10GB plan from the plan selection page. The option to change to Roam 10GB no longer appears in the app or on the website. Customers currently subscribed to the $10/month Roam plan may be allowed to keep it, at least until they cancel or turn on Standby Mode. They will not be allowed to reactivate Roam 10GB, which was a popular option for backup home internet and recreational travelers due to the low monthly price.

Opinions of these changes are mixed. One user wrote on Reddit, “Starlink has always just been an out of band backup for my telemetry so this is a godsend.” Others are not so happy, with another user writing, “Many people bought the mini on the premise that the pause feature effectively makes it pay as you go. Now we have to pay a minimum of $60 a year just to own something we might not use??? How is this legal?”

The extra fee to pause Roam service comes at the same time Starlink is aggressively cutting prices for the Residential plan. New customers in select locations can sign up for Residential for $99/month, down from $120. Residential Lite, normally $80/month, is discounted to $65 for the first year in some areas. The Standard equipment kit is also 50% off for new or existing customers.