The “No signal received” message on your Starlink can be a frustrating experience.
The error message normally appears whenever your dish fails to make a connection with one of Starlink’s 3,000+ satellites.
Many factors can affect Starlink’s communication with the satellites and, as a result, interferes with your internet connection.
The problem mostly occurs when you connect the system for the first time or if you recently moved or adjusted your dish. However, your signal is also prone to decline from time to time, depending on various factors.
This article shares the common reasons why you would experience the “no signal received” issue on your Starlink system and possible solutions you can use to fix it.
Why Starlink Says No Signal Received?
Reason 1: Obstructions
Due to physical obstructions and interferences, you’ll likely experience poor or no signal on your Starlink router.
Obstructions are normally caused by solid objects interfering with the transmission of microwave radio frequencies, which your Starlink dish transmits to and from ground stations and satellites.
Obstacles like trees and buildings can obstruct the view of your Starlink dish, thus causing the “no signal received” problem on the router.
Even the dust on your dish can obstruct its view of the sky. Sometimes, natural growth of tree branches can cause obstruction to your dish’s signal.
How to fix: Regularly monitor your Starlink dish’s health
- If any of these objects are causing obstructions to your Starlink dish, consider relocating the dish to an elevated area on your house rooftop to properly get satellite signals.
- This will depend on where you live. But you’ll need to put your dish at an elevated height, away from obstructions from tees and buildings.
- Consider buying a ridgeline mount kit from Starlink to help provide a steady and reliable mounting base for your dish.
- If you suspect nearby trees can cause abstractions, you’ll need to buy a pole mount to help further erect your Starlink dish and its antenna.
- But at this level, you’ll need to contact a professional installer to help install the pole mount and attach the dish to the mount.
Reason 2: Bad weather
Bad weather can be another reason why you don’t receive a signal for a prolonged amount of time.
Climatic conditions like rain, strong wind, lightning, and snow can naturally cause your Starlink app to lose its signal. As a result, you might miss enjoying your favorite programs during bad weather.
Severe weather (like heavy rain) can interfere with your signal strength. Strong wind can damage your Starlink dish, while snow can block the signal.
While you can’t control what nature offers, you can fix your dish signal loss during these atmospheric conditions.
How to fix: Regularly check your Starlink app’s health
- Check if the Starlink dish is covered in ice or snow. If so, remove the snow debris and wait for the weather to improve.
- It’s your duty to regularly check the health of your dish, including your Starlink router, cables, and power supply components.
- If your area is prone to experience stormy weather, wait until weather conditions improve and see if the signal problem is resolved.
- Whenever you encounter an abrupt “no” or “poor signal” experience during bad weather, unplug the power cord of your Starlink router from the electrical outlet for 10 seconds, then plug it back in.
Reason 3: Outdated software
If obstructions and weather are not causing the problem, then outdated software could be the culprit.
Firmware issues (like outdated software) may affect the performance of your Starlink system. Sometimes, your router could fail to update its firmware and get stuck in an old software version. If it occurs, wait for the next software update.
Your dish and router usually update themselves automatically. Starlink normally updates its satellite firmware weekly. But sometimes, such updates might cause problems.
How to fix: Reset your Starlink set box
- Connect your Starlink router to the internet and make the necessary updates.
- You can troubleshoot this problem by resetting the device to update its software.
- No or poor signal on the device can sometimes occur due to a corrupt software update. You can fix the problem by resetting your device.
Reason 4: Network outage
Another common factor causing a ‘no signal receive’ error message is the network outage.
Whenever the Starlink network goes out, it causes your Starlink system to go offline. Furthermore, when the Starlink network is congested, the signal may be nonexistent or poor because of too many users.
How to fix: Troubleshoot network issues
- Whenever you are trying to fix a no signal or network issue on your Starlink set box, you should check your network coverage first. You should check if the network provider covers your area or if the coverage is poor.
- A good place to check network coverage is your network provider’s website.
- You can enter your location in the search bar, and a coverage map will show you how strong the network signal is near your location. If the map indicates poor signal strength in your area, then it’s likely you’ll have difficulty connecting to the network.
- Another way to check network coverage is to use apps (such as RootMetrics, Network Signal Info, and OpenSignal) to investigate if your area is covered. You’ll see what network coverage is available in your area using these applications, which use GPS technology.
- Also, you can check Starlink’s social media handles to get updates about the company’s network connection.
- If there is a network outage, you must wait for the firm to fix its servers, which should take a few hours.
- You can also contact Starlink’s customer support team to find out the real cause of the problem.
Reason 5: Faulty Starlink router
If you’ve attempted all above-stated steps, but your Starlink connection is still offline, there is a possibility that the router (set box) has loose connections or is malfunctioning.
Also, a damaged router would not function. The “no signal received” message is a good symptom that your router could be faulty.
The Starlink router normally plays a vital role of demodulating and converting the signals to the desired form (outputs for television, audio, data, etc.).
Your router is part of Starlink’s satellite network infrastructure. Starlink’s satellites receive the signals from the company’s broadcast station and rebroadcast across the world.
The Starlink dish on top of your roof picks up the signal from satellites near your area and passes it to the router in your house.
How to fix: Troubleshoot router issues
- Assess your Starlink router and ensure all connections and the power are tight.
- Also, ensure the cables are connected to the right ports.
- Tighten up the loose cables using a small-gauge wrench.
- If cables or wires are damaged, you’ll need to replace them with new ones.
- If the router is damaged, you’ll need to buy a new one.
Reason 6: No satellite coverage
A lack of satellite coverage is another cause of the “no signal received” problem.
This may imply that you’re living in an area where the Starlink network hasn’t fully covered or an area that lacks Starlink’s satellites.
The Starlink satellite constellation isn’t fully deployed all over the world. Therefore, some places don’t have continuous and perfect satellite coverage.
As a result, you may experience some short periods of “no signal received” problem as your Starlink dish waits for a signal from a satellite in the constellation.
If Starlink capacity is not stable in your area, you’ll experience your internet disconnects more frequently and wait for the connection to get restored.
How to fix: Use an alternative provider
- If you live in a place where you are not receiving a signal, all you need to do is to wait for Starlink to continue expanding the size of its constellation.
- Follow Starlink on social media platforms to get updates on when the service will launch in your area.
- Since you don’t know when the signal will get connected, you can use a backup. A great alternative is 5G cellular data.
My Final Thoughts
Now you know the possible causes of the ‘no signal received’ error message on your Starlink device and how to fix the issue.
The problem can be caused by various factors, including solid objects, bad weather, and others, as mentioned above.
The internet service interruption typically occurs when your Starlink isn’t communicating with any satellites. The problem is mostly caused by the Starlink network side, though your setup could also be faulty.
It’s always important to take care to avoid greater problems. Ensure that your Starlink dish has a clear view of the sky by removing obstructions that could affect its signal. Also, regularly check and clean the dish surface and its antenna.
Whenever the “no signal received” problem happens to you, try rebooting your Starlink set box by just unplugging it from the power source and then replugging it back after three minutes.
If the issue persists, then reach out to Starlink’s customer support team for help.