How is Everyone Dealing with Starlink Roam

Hi All,
We are in the Sea of Cortes and received a notice from starlink that our RV service is not for ocean cruising and said we must change to RV Roam. We did this and instead of having unlimited data we now only have 50 gig and doubled in price plus 2 dollars per gig over 50 gig which we’ve gone over by leaps and bounds. I’m just wondering how everyone else is handling this change and the lack of gigs. Any advice much appreciated.

Jdornick said:

Hi All,

We are in the Sea of Cortes and received a notice from starlink that our RV service is not for ocean cruising and said we must change to RV Roam. We did this and instead of having unlimited data we now only have 50 gig and doubled in price plus 2 dollars per gig over 50 gig which we’ve gone over by leaps and bounds. I’m just wondering how everyone else is handling this change and the lack of gigs. Any advice much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Question: do you have the Mexican plan or the US plan? I have the Mexican RV/Roam plan at $1350 pesos/mo (roughly $75US) but it has been paused for 2 months so I too am curious. The standard plan is $1100 pesos/mo ($60US). Can you provide more specifics on your plan and service address?

Thanks in advance

Peter

I'm on Starlink Roam (stationary). I guess I move slow enough (<8 knots) that it doesn't count as the underway setup. Base plan is $150 for unlimited service. When out in the ocean or Great Lakes, I switch to the Mobile Priority ($2 per gigabyte). I switch back off when inside the coastline. So far, they haven't squawked at me doing this. If they make it an issue, I may switch it off while underway and turn it on when anchored inside the coastline.

So far this month I have used 23 gigabytes of unlimited data and .1 gigabyte of Priority data. While I'm impressed with the Priority speed, I'm way too cheap to leave it turned on.

Ted

Greetings,
Mr. J. Send Starlink this picture and tell them your RV is on the left...

From what I can find, there is NO option for unlimited internet. From any reasonable source.

I am beginning to get serious about this topic for my new build soon to arrive.

My wife is an avid consumer of streaming movies. Pretty much all services would limit her to 3-5 movies per month. Certainly less than 10. 3-5 is a couple of days for her.

Not Verizon, not ATT, not T-Mobil, and now not Starlink.

If I'm wrong, solutions links would be a godsend.

FWT said:

From what I can find, there is NO option for unlimited internet. From any reasonable source.

I am beginning to get serious about this topic for my new build soon to arrive.

My wife is an avid consumer of streaming movies. Pretty much all services would limit her to 3-5 movies per month. Certainly less than 10. 3-5 is a couple of days for her.

Not Verizon, not ATT, not T-Mobil, and now not Starlink.

If I'm wrong, solutions links would be a godsend.

Click to expand...

Click on the link, read the top of the page, and then scroll down to Portable Use.

https://www.starlink.com/roam

This is what I have. It's unlimited. When I go out in the ocean or the Great Lakes, I have to switch on Mobile Priority.

I have no idea how long it will last in Musk world. But I will tell you there are a huge number of parked RVers and slow boat cruisers who are using it, with a limited budget. I don't see musk wanting to loose them, with Amazon around the corner.

Ted

Jdornick said:

Hi All,
We are in the Sea of Cortes and received a notice from starlink that our RV service is not for ocean cruising and said we must change to RV Roam. We did this and instead of having unlimited data we now only have 50 gig and doubled in price plus 2 dollars per gig over 50 gig which we’ve gone over by leaps and bounds. I’m just wondering how everyone else is handling this change and the lack of gigs. Any advice much appreciated.

Click to expand...

What Starlink service did you have if not RV roam formerly called RV ?, now mine is called Mobile regional and I have not done anything to cause a change. I see I have mobile priority upgrade available for more $.
sounds like you opted into mobile priority which reduces data to 50GB, or 1TB or 5TB. with option to buy GB when used up. But you get ocean and mobility service plus higher speed in congested areas. This is changing daily it seems.

O C Diver said:

Click on the link, read the top of the page, and then scroll down to Portable Use.

https://www.starlink.com/roam

This is what I have. It's unlimited. When I go out in the ocean or the Great Lakes, I have to switch on Mobile Priority.

I have no idea how long it will last in Musk world. But I will tell you there are a huge number of parked RVers and slow boat cruisers who are using it, with a limited budget. I don't see musk wanting to loose them, with Amazon around the corner.

Ted

Click to expand...

Thanks

Starlink changes.

The website doesn't make it easy.

But it appears figuring it out and giving that a go is the only viable option.

Now for mount location, etc.

Elon needs the dough to cover his loans.

All to easily on SL roam with standard dish.

Pre prepared devices - turned off wifi for windows based machines
On Android tablet and phone stopped all auto updates for everything and limited reporting back.
Turned wifi on tablet and phone off so nothing is connected.

When it shut down about 22nm out I flicked it to the /GB rate
Turn on wifi on tablet a few times a day to check weather, messages, emails, buy off eBay etc
Turn off when done
Same with phone if using WhatsApp
Wifi on, use, wifi off

7 days out here now and we haven't used 1gb yet.

The issue is the use of the device while underway as this is not allowed under the Terms of Service. When they say "ocean" use they really mean use underway or in-motion. Starlink didn't seem to care in the past but now they do.

You have two options: the first is to simply turn it off whenever you change locations; the second is to turn on the Priority Data switch (in the app or on your Starlink service page). The latter is billed per gigabyte. You turn it on when you start moving then turn it off when you stop.

Kinda a hassle but given all the other crap we have to deal with as boaters... not too bad.

Jdornick said:

Hi All,
We are in the Sea of Cortes and received a notice from starlink that our RV service is not for ocean cruising and said we must change to RV Roam. We did this and instead of having unlimited data we now only have 50 gig and doubled in price plus 2 dollars per gig over 50 gig which we’ve gone over by leaps and bounds. I’m just wondering how everyone else is handling this change and the lack of gigs. Any advice much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Wrong plan
Stay with standard roam and pay/GB when actually offshore and disconnected.

Doing what you've done you'll burn through the 50gb when in the blue map and have nothing in the black.

That is all- wifi off

Toss a movie collection onto a couple terrabite network hard drives if thats a option tie it to the boat network. Put some full tv series as well in the mix.

FWT said:

From what I can find, there is NO option for unlimited internet. From any reasonable source.

I am beginning to get serious about this topic for my new build soon to arrive.

My wife is an avid consumer of streaming movies. Pretty much all services would limit her to 3-5 movies per month. Certainly less than 10. 3-5 is a couple of days for her.

Not Verizon, not ATT, not T-Mobil, and now not Starlink.

If I'm wrong, solutions links would be a godsend.

Click to expand...

Maybe it’s a regional thing, but we have the T-Mobile 5g home internet and it’s fast and unlimited. We stream tv on it every day when we’re at our home slip. It’s supposed to be geofenced but so far they haven’t complained when I cruise around Puget sound.

I had the RV plan and now have a Regional Roam so I don't know what I will do. But I never really use a lot of data when underway so I will probably either just do without (remember those days) or turn the priority thing on. Probably will not matter for me for another 6 months and by then it will have changed again 3 times.

Bmarler said:

Maybe it’s a regional thing, but we have the T-Mobile 5g home internet and it’s fast and unlimited. We stream tv on it every day when we’re at our home slip. It’s supposed to be geofenced but so far they haven’t complained when I cruise around Puget sound.

Click to expand...

Dose not work in Canada.

If your cruising grounds are covered by your cell phone carrier then an unlimited plan works well. That is what I have been doing for years. But SL is pretty much anywhere and it is FAST in places that don't even have cell towers.

mvweebles said:

Question: do you have the Mexican plan or the US plan? I have the Mexican RV/Roam plan at $1350 pesos/mo (roughly $75US) but it has been paused for 2 months so I too am curious. The standard plan is $1100 pesos/mo ($60US). Can you provide more specifics on your plan and service address?

Thanks in advance

Peter

Click to expand...

We have the US plan.

Thank you all. Appreciate you taking the time to help us out. Safe travels.

I’ve only just installed it and I’m shocked with the speeds. I think the speeds are less in more populated areas such as the eastern US, which might be due to increased user-ship competing for satellites.

Haven’t left the dock yet so cannot comment on the specifics of the plan.

Jim

JDCAVE said:

I’ve only just installed it and I’m shocked with the speeds. I think the speeds are less in more populated areas such as the eastern US, which might be due to increased user-ship competing for satellites.

Haven’t left the dock yet so cannot comment on the specifics of the plan.

Jim

View attachment 139214

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That is impressive, which plan are you on or is that Mobile Priority?

Ted

O C Diver said:

That is impressive, which plan are you on or is that Mobile Priority?



Ted

Click to expand...

Hi Ted: just the Starlink Roam for now. Just how it will perform as I move north is unknown, but I will be traveling in less populated areas and hence there would be less local demand on the service. Starlink’s service map shows there is a wait-list in the eastern part of the US. I’m not sure what that means for internet speeds but wonder if the wait-list indicates the available satellites are fully subscribed with associated lower speeds.

Jim

Also try SpeedTest.com for speeds. Gives latency and jitter in addition to up/down load speeds. Latency ("ping") and Jitter (measure of stability) are important metrics for real time voice and video communications such as Zoom meetings and calls

Peter

TowLou said:

Toss a movie collection onto a couple terrabite network hard drives if thats a option tie it to the boat network. Put some full tv series as well in the mix.

Click to expand...

This is what we do. I have a mac mini plugged into a 42" lcd in the cabin with a massive movie collection on an external HHD bank. We have truly unlimited cell for other needs.

mvweebles said:

Also try SpeedTest.com for speeds. Gives latency and jitter in addition to up/down load speeds. Latency ("ping") and Jitter (measure of stability) are important metrics for real time voice and video communications such as Zoom meetings and calls

Peter
View attachment 139255

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I would not trust speedtest.com. They have been know to have pay to play deals with certain ISPs to give BS numbers. I have found the most reliable measurement of actual speeds is Fast.com

Hyperion said:

I would not trust speedtest.com. They have been know to have pay to play deals with certain ISPs to give BS numbers. I have found the most reliable measurement of actual speeds is Fast.com

Click to expand...

I didn't know about Fast.com. Here is a CNET article comparing. Mentions Fast is owned by Netflix which is interesting. No mention of issues with SpeedTest (Oookla).

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/best-speed-tests/

Peter

JDCAVE said:

Hi Ted: just the Starlink Roam for now. Just how it will perform as I move north is unknown, but I will be traveling in less populated areas and hence there would be less local demand on the service. Starlink’s service map shows there is a wait-list in the eastern part of the US. I’m not sure what that means for internet speeds but wonder if the wait-list indicates the available satellites are fully subscribed with associated lower speeds.

Jim

Click to expand...

I started with RV (something), name changed to RV roam, now changed to Mobile-Regional. Still the same plan, I think meant to confuse.

Where it matters is when you start reading the SL site. Who remembers verbatim what it used to say. See how the word "roam" is now used.

Can Mobile (Roam) plans be used for RVs or camping?
Yes - Mobile Regional or Mobile Global can be used for a variety of use cases such a camping trips or to connect those who have seasonal homes.

Mobile Regional plans are geo-fenced to work on land within the same continent as the registered shipping address, while the Mobile Global plans work on land anywhere there is active service coverage.

Click to expand...

To use your Starlink on the ocean, you will need to opt-in to Mobile Priority data or change your service plan to Mobile Priority (where available).

Click to expand...

It remains to be seen if what they said before that the geo fence on land bleeds into our salt water between Van Is and mainland.

I am also in the Sea of Cortez based out of Marina La Paz

I converted to Starlink Mobile Priority which gives me 50GB of open ocean priority data and unlimited non priority data when near shore.

The challenge with this plan is it uses your priority data first regardless of wether you are on the open ocean or near shore.

The good thing is that the non priority service works almost everywhere I've been because I do not go offshore often.

When I do, turn of the mobile priority feature that automatically enables priority data anywhere in the world for only $2 per GB.

Now... depending on the time of the month in my billing cycle I do not get any upcharge at all or I pay $2 a gig which is way less than my cellular plan, and not even in the same category with the competition.

FWT said:

From what I can find, there is NO option for unlimited internet. From any reasonable source.

I am beginning to get serious about this topic for my new build soon to arrive.

My wife is an avid consumer of streaming movies. Pretty much all services would limit her to 3-5 movies per month. Certainly less than 10. 3-5 is a couple of days for her.

Not Verizon, not ATT, not T-Mobil, and now not Starlink.

If I'm wrong, solutions links would be a godsend.

Click to expand...

same here..so we go once a week ashore, to a free wifi place, download all the movies onto a 4 TB drive and watch them that way

Back in after 3 weeks out.
Using it for weather (no radio reception) emails, messages, banking a few times a day we used 3gb of data which surprised me.

I have glasswire loaded on devices and checking that revealed that even though I had the Xiaomi Redmi phone set up to not update apps it over rode that decision and did anyway.

Time to root it.