(Credit: Starlink.com)
SpaceX is changing the names of its standard Starlink dish and offering it via two bundles called Standard 4 and Standard 4 X.
The new monikers appeared on Starlink.com and at third-party retailers yesterday. However, it’s not a next-generation dish model. On a support page, SpaceX explains that it’s trying to simplify the naming of its existing products. Using "4" appears to be a reference to V4, the model name for the current Starlink standard dish.
(Starlink.com)Still, some confusion might ensue. Previously, the company offered new Starlink Residential customers a Starlink dish bundled with a Gen 3 router. Now it lists two configurations.
Standard 4 is for customers who sign up for the cheapest Residential 100Mbps plan, which includes the standard Starlink dish and the smaller Router Mini with dual-band Wi-Fi 6.
In contrast, Standard 4 X will be offered to customers who sign for the pricier Residential 200Mbps. The bundle includes the standard Starlink dish and the Gen 3 router, which supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6. (The company also seems to have renamed the Gen 3 router as Router 3.)
(Credit: Starlink.com)Users who subscribe to the highest tier, Residential Max, will be offered the Standard 4 X package, too. But they’ll also have the option to receive a Router Mini for free, giving them access to both routers.
So far, SpaceX isn’t selling the Standard 4 combo; it’s only available as a rental to subscribers of the Residential 100Mbps plan. The Standard 4 X plan is also available as a free rental for the higher Residential service tiers. But in areas where Starlink faces congestion, new sign-ups need to pay $349 for Standard 4 X.
The change is a little surprising, considering SpaceX launched the Router Mini last year, marketing it as an accessory to help existing subscribers build a mesh network in their homes and fill in Wi-Fi gaps. Now it looks like the company wants to use the Router Mini on the most affordable Residential plan, which caps download speeds at 100Mbps. Although the router offers less range, the dual-band Wi-Fi 6 capability should be more than adequate for Residential 100Mbps users and will likely help SpaceX save on costs.
In addition, the Router Mini is more portable, fits in smaller spaces, and uses less power, making it a better fit for Residential 100Mbps users, given that SpaceX has been marketing the plan for “1–3 person households” with basic internet needs.
(Credit: Starlink.com)One interesting wrinkle is how the two bundles seem to offer different power supplies. As you can see, the Standard 4 comes with a power supply with two PoE (Power of Ethernet) ports, letting you hook the Router Mini and dish to it.
(Credit: Starlink.com)In contrast, the Standard 4 X offers a power supply designed to connect only to the Gen 3 Router via a barrel jack connector. The Gen 3 router can then be connected to the Starlink dish, all the while featuring two extra Ethernet LAN ports.
(Credit: Starlink.com)The new power supply for Standard 4 is “both interesting and incredibly disappointing,” according to Tim Belfall, a director at UK-based Starlink installer Westend WiFi. That’s because he suspects the power supply only supports SpaceX’s own proprietary Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, since his own testing found the Router Mini doesn’t “support active and passive PoE adapters” from other networking products.
We’ll have to wait and see if SpaceX releases more information about the mysterious new power supply. Still, it looks like both combinations support third-party Wi-Fi routers. SpaceX’s setup guide notes that the Standard 4 packages let you use “3rd party hardware” to the Router Mini’s extra Ethernet port.