Have An Old Starlink Dish Lying Around? Update It This Week - Or It'll Never Work Again

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Starlink hardware that hasn't been utilized since early 2024 needs updating. 
• This hardware will beryllium bricked if not updated by Nov 17. 
• Users of affected hardware should person received an email from SpaceX. 

Got a Starlink dish? Not judge erstwhile you past utilized it? Is it sitting location gathering dust? You request to publication this! 

Because you mightiness person until November 17 to update it, different it'll beryllium nan extremity of nan statement for it. 

According to a SpaceX support document, nan rumor affects hardware moving the2024.05.0 firmware. It must beryllium activated and pointed astatine nan entity to person a basal update by November 17, 2025, aliases go "permanently inoperable."

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Customers moving nan 2024.05.0 and 2024.12.26 firmware will besides suffer net connectivity connected this day if they don't update, but connectivity will beryllium restored pursuing an update. 

Updating is simply a elemental three-step process:

• Take your Starlink crockery extracurricular and powerfulness it up.
• Give it a clearish position of nan entity -- statement that nan crockery does not request a perfectly clear position of nan entity to person nan update.
• Use nan app for advancement -- it will return immoderate 15 to 30 minutes to download and install.

Note that you don't request an progressive subscription to download this update, and you won't beryllium charged. 

Starlink update process.

SpaceX/ZDNET

Not judge what package your crockery is running? Fire up nan crockery and nan Starlink app, pat nan Advanced button, and past you'll find nan package type successful nan App section.

According to SpaceX, customers moving aged firmware should person been sent an email titled "Action Required: Update Software." If you've had this, don't disregard it. If you've not, and you cognize you person a Starlink crockery gathering particulate somewhere, it mightiness beryllium worthy activating it and checking. 

Better safe than sorry!