Starlink

[BigBlue1]

Just ran a test, also in a waitlist restricted area. From a wired PC-- 29mbps down, just under 3mbps up.

Shortly after that, one iPhone reports 116mbps down. A 2nd iPhone reported 36mbps down. All within probably less than 2 minutes.

Just noticed on the Starlink app, at least on mine, it no longer breaks out phone to internet vs router to internet. So I'm not sure which of those the phone is measuring?

Fast.com (in your screenshot) has nothing to do with Starlink, so that's not going to give you any insight as to your LAN speeds. But in the Starlink app, if you open the Speed Test section, you can swipe up for the advance speed test section, which will allow you to see WAN and LAN speeds.

 

[plowhog]

that's not going to give you any insight as to your LAN speeds.

We will have to disagree that it provides no insight.

Using my phone thru the Starlink app, I can view speeds without "contamination" from my LAN, my equipment, or any of its potential bottlenecks.

But from a PC using a speedtest site, operating on a LAN that doesn't change, I can monitor for such bottlenecks. Plus, it gives data on relative changes at differing times of the day-- such as better speeds when the Starlink network is lightly loaded vs slower speeds when it is loaded.

The barely-consumer-grade SL router also figures in. Put it in bypass mode to use a "normal" router with typical routing functions and capabilities-- then how do you speedtest using the app?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The barely-consumer-grade SL router also figures in. Put it in bypass mode to use a "normal" router with typical routing functions and capabilities-- then how do you speedtest using the app?

When running with the Ethernet adapter in bypass mode, the Speed Test function is still available in the SL app on the iPhone. But there is no Advanced option. Not surprising since bypass mode shuts down the SL router WiFi, and other functions as well. Depending on the router you're using, you might be able to see speed data from clients to the router. That info is available in the Unifi Network app if you're using one of their managed routers.

FWIW, under Setup in the SL app, the only settings available are the Snow Melt Configuration, Stow Starlink, a graphic showing how to reset the router, and an Advanced button that gives the options to Debug Data and Reboot Starlink. At this point, I'm not too sure why I went to the trouble to put the SL router into bypass mode. Leaving the SL WiFi active didn't seem to hurt anything, and going to bypass mode might have even slowed down the SL router's connection to the SL satellite, at least in my case. If I get some time later, I'll reset the SL router and run another set of speed tests.

 

[plowhog]

When running with the Ethernet adapter in bypass mode, the Speed Test function is still available in the SL app on the iPhone.

Yes, you are correct. So am I, but I wish I was not. lol

My phone app misbehaves-- not allowing speedtest and sometimes anything at all. Best I can tell- it's because it wasn't the *original* phone which set *that* particular Starlink up.

I previously got speed test results from both my phone and my wife's phone. Those were the ones which showed different speeds and different presentations although they were taken at almost the exact same time. (??)

I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with some non-standard weirdness because of having more than one phone involved. One phone that originally set up *that* Starlink, and a different phone I was trying to use for configuration.

I need to remember to not use the wrong phone with each particular SL system. Each phone is somehow "linked" to the SL it set up. And it doesn't like talking to a different SL.

I do have a 3rd Starlink on order-- but only have access to 2 phones. That ought to get interesting!!!

 

[plowhog]

I'm not too sure why I went to the trouble to put the SL router into bypass mode.

I tried as best I could to not use bypass for my SL in California. I let SL control the network and took my own router out of the loop. But it would work perfectly for less than a day, then any remote access would shut down. Locally, it seemed the LAN was working fine, but the remote access would just stop.

I use remote access using Synology, Synology Surveillance Station, and IP cameras. Best I can tell, you *must* use fixed IP for cameras so the Synology Surveillance knows which camera is which, and even how to find them on your LAN. And I believe those fixed IP's were crashing something when using the SL router.

I went back to bypass mode on Monday, put a traditional router back in, and everything seems stable since then .... we'll see.

 

[sodamo]

I did not put SL into Bypass mode, just plugged router directly into my Ubitquiti switch, leaving my eeros and unifi nets as they were. Seem to work well. I did try to incorporate my USG but that blocked my internet access. Haven’t had chance to explore if there is a USG setting I can change. The USG would allow me to add my LTE connection (I think). Of course I’d be almost playing in the dark as to knowing what I’m doing . Other option is to put SL into bypass, but at this point it’s working well so hate to mess with it.

RNG, will be interesting if your UDM Pro works in non bypass. Looking forward to your report.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

RNG, will be interesting if your UDM Pro works in non bypass. Looking forward to your report.

It took several weeks to figure out the SL app login problem, and during that time the SL router was NOT in bypass mode. The UDMPro was working just fine, and speed test results were much higher than they are now using bypass mode. Speeds were higher when the iPhone was logged in to the SL WiFi than when using the Unifi APs. And the iPhone->SL router speed was higher using the SL WiFi, too. The bottleneck is clearly the UDMPro, as SL Router to Internet speeds remained consistent when I was able to test in non-bypass mode.

It could be that you need to create a static route in your USG so that it knows the IP address of the SL Router. Look under Network -> Settings -> Routing and Firewall -> CREATE NEW ROUTE

My settings are as follows:
Give the route a name
Enable it
Type is Static
Destination Network is 192.168.100.1/32
Distance is 10
Static Route Type is Interface
Interface is WAN

It was working fine, then for some reason I disabled it, and things continued to work. So you may or may not need this, depending on your setup.

 

[plowhog]

RNG, will be interesting if your UDM Pro works in non bypass.

I believe ponytug is successfully doing this ...

 

[plowhog]

It took several weeks to figure out the SL app login problem, and during that time the SL router was NOT in bypass mode.

I don't remember that-- what did you find was the problem?

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I don't remember that-- what did you find was the problem?

I use a password manager, and for some reason when it auto populated the username/password fields, the login would fail with a message about INVALID CREDENTIALS. Typing the username/password on either the laptop or iPhone solved the problem.