Starlink is warning customers with inactive dishes that their dishes will become inoperable or permanently bricked without a vital software update by November 17.
Starlink: Download a Critical Update, or Risk Bricking Your Dish
2 min read
Active Starlink dishes receive regular firmware updates, but inactive hardware will miss out on critical updates | Image by Starlink
Starlink is informing its customers of a critical software update that must be completed by November 17; otherwise, their Starlink dishes may become permanently inoperable. An email was sent to customers on October 28, aimed at informing those with inactive Starlink dishes.
Starlink states the update is part of ongoing improvements for security, performance, and reliability. Customers with active subscriptions don’t need to worry, since their dishes receive regular software updates. For those who have canceled their subscriptions and stored their dishes for some time, Starlink warns that their dishes could become permanently unusable without the update.
Not all dishes will be permanently bricked, as Starlink’s support page and email state that some will be unable to connect to the internet until the update is performed. The critical issue likely affects dishes that have been inactive for a longer period and have not received several past updates.
How to update your Starlink dish
Starlink dishes only need to be plugged in for a short time to download software updates automatically. | Photo by Kayla Fischer for SatelliteInternet.com
Customers with inactive dishes do not need to reactivate their subscription to receive the update and won’t be charged. To receive the update:
- Take your Starlink dish and gateway device outside, and plug them into a power source.
- Use the Starlink app to position the dish. Starlink states you don’t need a perfect view of the sky to perform the update.
- Once powered on, the Starlink dish will automatically download the update, then prompt you to install the update.
Starlink states this process should take less than 15 minutes.
Starlink update: Use it or lose it
Starlink regularly performs software updates, but this is the first time that dishes could be permanently compromised. This has sparked concerns among customers who are out of reach of their deactivated dishes and won’t be able to perform the dish within the timeframe. One Reddit user posted, “I got this email. This is going to be a problem for me, as my unit is in an RV 3000 miles away and I have no ability to do the update within the timeframe....”
To avoid panicking, customers need to review the email they received from Starlink to see if it states:
"It is critical you perform this software update before November 17. After that date, your Starlink will be unable to access the Internet until the update is completed."
or
"It's critical you perform this software update by November 17, or your Starlink will no longer function."
Starlink preparing for the massive upgrade
Starlink's measured performance over 2025 shows improving median speeds during peak hours. | Image by Starlink
Significant updates to the Starlink network have been pushed as it expands its satellite constellation with improved technology aimed at increasing capacity and improving performance. Network-wide outages have been attributed to these network-wide updates.
The update arrives as Starlink celebrates its fifth anniversary of operation, while it touts that its median download and upload speeds have improved by 50 percent since the beginning of 2025, from 150Mbps to 200Mbps. Starlink has pledged to introduce Gigabit speeds in 2026, so this vital update may be part of preparing for this upgrade.
