Starlink is designed to keep you connected, even if your view of the sky isn’t perfect. The system automatically detects obstacles such as trees or buildings and proactively switches between satellites to maintain a strong connection. These switches happen many times per minute and are generally imperceptible to users.
For in-motion use or unexpected changes in your environment (like driving past trees), Starlink reacts in milliseconds to reroute traffic and maintain stability.
Learn more about obstructions here and learn about how Starlink beam switching handles obstructions here.
About 1 week. Starlink will create a map of surrounding obstructions (e.g. trees, poles, and buildings) as it communicates with satellites over head.
Starlink's obstruction map will become more accurate as it gathers information over time. It will slowly adapt to changes in its surroundings. For example, if leaves grow on a tree near your Starlink, it will update the obstruction map to include these leaves.
Yes. As the obstruction map becomes more accurate and as we continue launching more satellites, Starlink gets even better at routing around obstacles. This means higher resiliency and fewer interruptions, even in challenging environments.
For best performance, we recommend setting up Starlink with a completely clear view of sky. Obstructions may cause brief service interruptions when all available satellites are obstructed.
Even with partial obstructions, well-placed Starlink terminals typically maintain uptime above 99.9. Our dense satellite network and advanced algorithms provide multiple paths to keep you connected in dynamic and changing environments.
The thick, clear band on your obstruction map is the geostationary exclusion zone. This is normal and doesn’t indicate a problem with your map. Starlink does not send or receive through this area to avoid interference with geostationary satellites, which remain fixed above the equator. This zone will always appear as an unfilled band on your map, even if there are no actual obstructions in that part of the sky.
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