Starlink Threatens to Brick Dormant UK Broadband Kit if Users Don’t Update

A lot of people use SpaceX’s LEO satellite-based Starlink ultrafast broadband service as a backup or for occasional roaming, which means that outside of those times their terminal kit (dish and router) will be left dormant (i.e. the service is paused or cancelled but can be reactivated). If you’re one of those, you need to reconnect it ASAP to avoid it being bricked.

The warning comes after Starlink began sending out emails titled “Plug In Starlink For Critical Update“, which is then said to reflect an “important update [that] … is part of ongoing improvements for security, performance, and reliability“. But the kicker is that if you don’t perform the software update “before” 17th November 2025 your “Starlink will no longer function“. Hard luck if you miss this!

Crucially, Starlink says you “do not need an active service line to complete this update” and “will not be charged” for it, thus anybody worrying about having to pay to reactivate their service just to get the update need not fear. All you have to do is power the kit on and connect it, then the update should be applied automatically.

According to the related FAQ Page, only “select customers” who receive the email or in-app notification need to do this, which we suspect may be filtered to focus on those whose kit has not been connected to a live service for a while. But the software version history may suggest that your kit doesn’t need to have been inactive for a super long period of time before all of this becomes necessary.

How do I check if the software update has happened in the app?

1. Go to the Advanced Button
2. Click on Software Version on Starlink
3. Check for the year 2025. in the software prefix

Software Versions

Software version 2024.05.0 is the key cutoff for sideloading capability.

Before 2024.05.0: Kits on these older versions cannot sideload and must plug in and point at the sky to receive the required update by November 17 2025 or else they will be permanently inoperable.

Between 2024.05.0 and 2024.12.26: Kits on these versions can sideload the update through the app. Customers must do this before November 17, or else their Starlink will be unable to access the internet until the update is performed.

After 2024.12.26: These versions do not require action at this time.

Note: Around September 27, 2024, software version naming changed from week numbers to dates. As a result, some versions labeled higher than “2024.12” (e.g. 2024.13, 2024.14, etc.) were actually released before version 2024.12.26. This can make version order appear confusing, but 2024.12.26 remains the true cutoff for current software.

The detail on software versions above indicates that it isn’t just older hardware being targeted, which could be a problem for some Starlink resellers that have a lot of stock sitting around. As above, all sorts of situations can arise that might make it difficult for people to get back to their Starlink kit and connect it in time for the deadline, which gives owners a shockingly short period of notice.

Quite why Starlink is giving such relatively short notice of a major breaking change like this is unclear, and they’ve provided precious little detail on what the update actually changes. In the meantime, some of those people who have been hurriedly re-connecting their old kit are finding that updates sometimes fail to be applied, which could add another layer to the unfolding drama. It will be interesting to see how things unfold after 17th Nov.

On a completely different topic, the Starlink team has also enabled their Direct to Cell (DTC) mobile service in Jamaica for all Liberty Caribbean customers. “Emergency services, families and businesses with a compatible LTE smartphone can now stay connected through apps and send and receive text messages (SMS) through our satellites even if terrestrial networks are impacted“, which will remain free until the end of November.

Starlink currently has almost 8,800 satellites in orbit (c.5,200 are v2 / V2 Mini) – mostly at altitudes of c.500-600km – and rising. Residential customers in the UK usually pay from £75 a month, plus £299 for hardware (currently free for most areas) on the ‘Standard’ unlimited data plan (kit price may vary due to different offers), which promises UK latency times of 26-33ms, downloads of 116-277Mbps and uploads of 17-32Mbps. Cheaper and more restrictive options also exist for roaming users.