Starlink standard versus Roam / RV

[Simi 60]

FWIW, I finally connected with an actual human being at Starlink support after continuing to 'thumbs down' the bot responses to my question - "can you, or can you not use a Roam account on the open ocean with the mobile priority toggle switched on?"


Here is his response, which simply confirms my experience.

Mobile Priority vs Roam with mobile priority


COMMENT FROM AURRASH
Hello Carl,
Regional and Global roam are only intended and work on land in countries we have setup service in.
To use Starlink in the ocean you must use Priority mobile which is purchased on GB's or Terabyte plans.
So to answer your question no, you cannot use Roam in the ocean, Mobile priority is different from those plans and would need to be used to attain service in the water.
Thank you,
-Starlink Support


​

I would suggest that AURRASH has only fed you the first part of the blurb*
And that confirms your opinion and experience

But , looking at the picture I posted earlier showing the "actual" terms, you have both ignored the second part of the blurb which confirms it's an either/or choice.

Does it matter?

At the end of the day you win.
You pay more and are getting a result you are happy with

And the rest of us win
We pay less and are getting the same result.


* guessing that's why he's on a support desk and not lawyering

 

[Delfin]

Because of the continued gap between some of SL's statements on its website, responses from their support and different user experiences, I re-opened the ticket and asked the following:


7/11/23
Sorry to pester Aurrash, but this question is causing great confusion among sailors on social media. Your Support Page provides the following answer to the question "can I use Starlink on the ocean" under the Mobile (Roam) section - "If you are on the Global or Regional Mobile service plans (Roam) you will need to op-in to Mobile Priority data or change your service plan to Mobile Priority". This seems to contradict your statement above. In the Mobile (Roam) plan, there is a toggle to activate priority data at $2/gb. If you are on the Roam plan and you have that toggled on, are you saying that Roam will not work on the ocean, because the support statement referenced above seems to say it does? It is my experience that it doesn't, but other users say it does. Please clarify.





And here's the response:

TITLE​

Mobile Priority vs Roam with mobile priority​

COMMENT FROM Bailey​

Hello Carl,
Thank you for reaching back out, we apologize for the confusion.

To clarify your question, if a customer has a Mobile Regional or Mobile Global service plan, and toggles on "Mobile Priority Data" from their account, they will be able to use Starlink in-motion and on the ocean. If service doesn't work on the ocean with the Mobile Priority data toggled "on" while on a Mobile service plan, this would be indicative of an issue on our end, which recently occurred due to a flaw in how the new service plans were recognized when the antenna connects to a new satellite. If this occurs again, please feel free to reach back out and we will be able to investigate.We hope to have answered your question. We'll go ahead and close this ticket, but for any other questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out.
Thank you!
​

So TT, your estimate that half the time support doesn't give the right answer is no problem because SL gives you the choice of two contradicting answers so you can take your pick.


My conclusion is that since my son on the east coast and I on the west coast were in transit at the same time we must have both experienced the "issue" identified above, whereas others have not. Bottom line, SL works on Roam in the ocean with priority data turned on, except when it doesn't, as I experienced. Cost wise, whether on Regional/Roam or Mobile Priority it's a wash if you use more than 50 gb of data when offshore. We're using close to 100 with the first 50 prepaid at $2/gb.

 

[Hobbit]

Thanks for all the info, it seems a lot more complicated than it has to be. IMO it should just work if your in BC or California whats the issue with SL plans. I've got mine installed but won't be activating it until we cruise in August, see what happens then.

Cheers

 

[twistedtree]

Because of the continued gap between some of SL's statements on its website, responses from their support and different user experiences, I re-opened the ticket and asked the following:


7/11/23
Sorry to pester Aurrash, but this question is causing great confusion among sailors on social media. Your Support Page provides the following answer to the question "can I use Starlink on the ocean" under the Mobile (Roam) section - "If you are on the Global or Regional Mobile service plans (Roam) you will need to op-in to Mobile Priority data or change your service plan to Mobile Priority". This seems to contradict your statement above. In the Mobile (Roam) plan, there is a toggle to activate priority data at $2/gb. If you are on the Roam plan and you have that toggled on, are you saying that Roam will not work on the ocean, because the support statement referenced above seems to say it does? It is my experience that it doesn't, but other users say it does. Please clarify.





And here's the response:

TITLE​

Mobile Priority vs Roam with mobile priority​

COMMENT FROM Bailey​

Hello Carl,
Thank you for reaching back out, we apologize for the confusion.

To clarify your question, if a customer has a Mobile Regional or Mobile Global service plan, and toggles on "Mobile Priority Data" from their account, they will be able to use Starlink in-motion and on the ocean. If service doesn't work on the ocean with the Mobile Priority data toggled "on" while on a Mobile service plan, this would be indicative of an issue on our end, which recently occurred due to a flaw in how the new service plans were recognized when the antenna connects to a new satellite. If this occurs again, please feel free to reach back out and we will be able to investigate.We hope to have answered your question. We'll go ahead and close this ticket, but for any other questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out.
Thank you!
​

So TT, your estimate that half the time support doesn't give the right answer is no problem because SL gives you the choice of two contradicting answers so you can take your pick.


My conclusion is that since my son on the east coast and I on the west coast were in transit at the same time we must have both experienced the "issue" identified above, whereas others have not. Bottom line, SL works on Roam in the ocean with priority data turned on, except when it doesn't, as I experienced. Cost wise, whether on Regional/Roam or Mobile Priority it's a wash if you use more than 50 gb of data when offshore. We're using close to 100 with the first 50 prepaid at $2/gb.

This seems to "fit" all the data points. Thanks for following it up.

 

[Simi 60]

Well I never......

 

[Delfin]

Well I never......

Big day for you, Simi?

 

[Simi 60]

Big day for you, Simi?

Not at all
Relaxation all the way

Chilling out with a nice Cabernet Shiraz and about to pull a 2inch thick fillet and a handfull of tiger prawns off of the BBQ.

How about you?

 

[tiltrider1]

I finally had the opportunity to truly test starlink on anchor.

I was impressed. First, my boat likes to sail on anchor. I was concerned that this would be an issue as my boat sails more than most. Secondly, there are strong tides here in the NW and little wind in many of the anchorages. Doing multiple 360 rotations is common.

I spent one day with the boat sailing through a large arc. Never lost connection. I spent another day with the wind constantly fighting the current. We must have switched directions 10 times that day. Never lost connection.

I know a lot of TF’s have starlink and know this. I am posting this for all the lurkers who want to know first hand experience but are afraid to ask.

 

[guy with a boat]

I finally had the opportunity to truly test starlink on anchor.

I was impressed. First, my boat likes to sail on anchor. I was concerned that this would be an issue as my boat sails more than most. Secondly, there are strong tides here in the NW and little wind in many of the anchorages. Doing multiple 360 rotations is common.

I spent one day with the boat sailing through a large arc. Never lost connection. I spent another day with the wind constantly fighting the current. We must have switched directions 10 times that day. Never lost connection.

I know a lot of TF’s have starlink and know this. I am posting this for all the lurkers who want to know first hand experience but are afraid to ask.

Are the motors on your dish defeated or does it still move when needed?

 

[Delfin]

Are the motors on your dish defeated or does it still move when needed?

TT, I've found that even underway on a constantly changing course the antenna rarely searches. As I mentioned, once offshore, mine went flat and stayed there for two weeks, but after I rebooted in Hilo, it went angular and seems fixed in that position. I'm thinking that the ocean ready marine antenna they are selling is the same gear as the Roaming antenna, but with better marinization, and maybe no motors....


I'll reboot when we get offshore in a couple weeks and will be curious to see if it goes horizontal again.

 

[Delfin]

Interesting. I'm now just a couple miles off Oahu, and SL went offline for a bit, with the message "collecting construction data. This will continue for 2 hours.". Antenna is still at an angle.

 

[tiltrider1]

Are the motors on your dish defeated or does it still move when needed?

The motors are not disconnected.

When I travel, the antenna goes flat. When I stop it then points to the sky either 120 or 320. I realize those are not 180 degrees apart, I'm just reporting, I do not tell starlink what to do.

I am not travelling through any black hexagons so I can't compare what I experience with what Delfin experiences.

At this point I'm trying to figure out how to best mount the antenna permanently. Should I turn it into a flat mount or should I leave it free to swivel on its pole?

I can tell you that I have already disconnected my 5G Hot Spot and I will be permanently removing my Intellian unit. This will leave only two VHF antennas, a GPS antenna, Radar and Starlink mounted to my arch. A flat mount starlink antenna would not be visible. a pole mounted starlink would have a bit of a lopsided look. Probably no different than my lopsided Intellian look.

 

[SteveK]

When I travel, the antenna goes flat.

TT, you and Delfin are two that have reported this. It is new otherwise the hack to make it flat would not have gained many followers. It seems SL is watching and adapting to our boating needs with updates and not telling us directly.
Also swinging at anchor and not losing signal is also new

 

[Delfin]

TT, you and Delfin are two that have reported this. It is new otherwise the hack to make it flat would not have gained many followers. It seems SL is watching and adapting to our boating needs with updates and not telling us directly.
Also swinging at anchor and not losing signal is also new

It's a bit baffling what the logic of the positioning algorithm is. My antenna is mounted about 2' away from the dry exhaust stack. Occasionally, it positions itself so that it is pointed directly at the stack, then tells me there's an obstruction, so expect an interruption every 8 minutes. It doesn't bother to move to another position that would eliminate the obstruction. However, if I de-power the router and antenna, then re-power, it goes into seek mode and aligns itself where it's got a clear view. The only time it has gone flat is offshore, but once I got to Hilo, and cycled power, it went angular again, so like I said, beats me how it decides where to point, but once it has signal, it doesn't move even if I box the compass.

 

[Hobbit]

Are the motors on your dish defeated or does it still move when needed?

What plan are you on with SL?

 

[darkside]

TT, you and Delfin are two that have reported this. It is new otherwise the hack to make it flat would not have gained many followers.

I don't think going flat is new. Ours went flat from time to time on the way around NZ starting last November. It was a well known phenomenon even then.