(Credit: FCC/SpaceX)
UPDATE 4/30: SpaceX is now selling the "Router Mini," a $40 mesh-compatible device to help Starlink customers fill wireless dead zones in their homes.
Original Story:
SpaceX is preparing to launch a new Starlink Wi-Fi router, possibly for its updated high-performance dish or another upcoming product.
The company today received FCC clearance to sell the new “Starlink Router” in the US, according to FCC filings. The router features the model number “UTR-251,” suggesting it succeeds the current Gen 3 router, which arrived in 2023 with the UTR-231 codename and then UTR-232. The filing also includes a picture of the new router, which indicates the product is designed to sit upright, more like the older Gen 2 model.
(Credit: FCC/SpaceX)
(Credit: FCC/SpaceX)The new router also has a single Ethernet port, instead of two, like the Gen 3 model. The picture adds that the router is designed for “Indoor Use only,” and is being manufactured in Vietnam—a country that’s currently in limbo in regard to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
It's not clear how the new router differs from the current Gen 3 model. The UTR-251 version also offers Wi-Fi 6 speeds and features the same dimensions. But the FCC filings show the new model sometimes has a higher “watt output” for a wider range of wireless radio frequencies, including 5.9GHz, or the UNII-4 band, giving it access to additional spectrum.
Tim Belfall, a director at UK-based Starlink installer Westend WiFi, also points out the router calls for a 9 Volt by 1.6 Amp, total 14.4 watt, input power. That's significantly lower than the power requirements for the current Gen 3 router. As a result, Belfall said the router might be for an upcoming, and even smaller Mini dish for Starlink.
Indeed, SpaceX is preparing at least three new dish models, including a refreshed flat high-performance Starlink dish for enterprise buyers. Starlink.com is currently discounting the existing flat high performance kit from $2,499 to $1,499. (That said, SpaceX last year stopped bundling a Wi-Fi router with the existing high-performance dish.)
Meanwhile, Oleg Kutkov, an engineer in Ukraine who helps repair Starlink dishes, spotted SpaceX making code changes that suggest the refreshed high-performance dish is ready for production.
Last month, SpaceX also indicated in a presentation to resellers that it’s preparing a follow-up to the Starlink Mini dish and an even more powerful dish designed to offer gigabit speeds.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with more information, including the possibility that the router could be for a new Mini dish.