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Starlink Outage NZ: How to Tell If Starlink Is Down (and Fix It Fast)

Starlink outage NZ troubleshooting guide cover

If you think there’s a Starlink outage in NZ, open the Starlink app first. If it says Online, look first at your Wi-Fi or the device you are using; if it says Offline, it will usually show a reason, such as an obstruction or a network issue. For network-wide outages, Starlink’s official X account is the quickest confirmation.

This guide is for Starlink households that have just lost the internet and want it back quickly, and for anyone who wants a connection that rides out storms and power cuts. It walks through the checks in the order that finds the fault fastest. For how Starlink works in the first place, see our Starlink NZ guide.

Key takeaways

  • The Starlink app is your first stop: Online means look at your Wi-Fi or device, Offline comes with a reason.
  • For network-wide problems, use official channels: the app and Starlink’s X account (@Starlink).
  • Global outages are rare but real. On 24 July 2025 Starlink was down worldwide for about two and a half hours after a core network software failure.
  • Short, repeated dropouts are usually obstructions. The app’s statistics and obstruction check show them.
  • Starlink goes down with the power. A UPS or 12 V battery keeps it running through short cuts.

In this guide

Nicegear does not track Starlink outages in real time, and no third-party site can see inside Starlink’s network. These are the sources worth checking, in order:

  1. The Starlink app. It shows your dish’s status and alerts, and its statistics screen lists recent outages with their likely cause.
  2. Starlink on X (@Starlink). Starlink uses its official account to acknowledge major outages and confirm when service is restored, as it did in July 2025.
  3. Your Starlink account. If the problem is only affecting you, open a support ticket from the app or starlink.com.

Crowd-sourced outage report sites and local community Facebook pages help answer the “is it just me?” question, but treat them as a hint rather than proof. A spike in reports during a storm often reflects local power cuts, not a Starlink fault.

Work through the checker below. It asks up to four questions and points you at the most likely cause and the first thing to try.

When Starlink stops working, the fault is often in the house rather than in orbit. Checking in this order saves time:

Starlink outage NZ troubleshooting flow: power, Wi-Fi, app status, other devices, wider outage
Work through these five checks in order when Starlink stops working.
  1. Power and cables. Is the router lit? Is the Starlink cable firmly seated at the router and the dish? A power-cycle (unplug for a minute, plug back in) clears many faults.
  2. The Starlink Wi-Fi. Connect directly to the Starlink network, not a mesh node, extender or guest network. If the Starlink Wi-Fi has vanished entirely, suspect the router or its power supply.
  3. The app status. Online or Offline, and if Offline, why? The reason tells you whether to look at the sky, the cable or Starlink’s network.
  4. Another device. If a second phone or a laptop works, the problem is the first device. Plug a laptop into the router with an Ethernet cable to take Wi-Fi out of the picture.
  5. A wider outage. Check Starlink’s X account and ask the neighbours. If nothing is reported after an hour, reboot from the app and contact support.

If everything checks out but the connection is slow, run our speed test next to the router and again where you normally use the internet. A big difference between the two points to Wi-Fi coverage, not Starlink.

Online, but nothing loads

The dish has a working link to the satellites, so start with your own network: restart the device, rejoin the Wi-Fi and switch off any VPN or custom DNS. If no device can load anything while the app still says Online, reboot Starlink from the app and check Starlink’s official channels, because this is also how some network-wide problems look.

When the app reports that Starlink is offline, it normally gives a reason. Obstructions point to the sky view, a software update means waiting 10–15 minutes, a network issue or lack of signal points to Starlink’s side, and a dish that cannot be detected points to the cable or hardware. Starlink installs updates automatically, so an occasional short dropout followed by a restart is normal.

The statistics screen charts recent outages and groups them by cause. This is the most useful screen for intermittent problems. A handful of short obstruction blips every hour means a tree or roof edge is in the way; long gaps attributed to the network suggest a Starlink-side issue worth reporting to support with screenshots.

Network-wide Starlink outages are uncommon, but they do happen, and New Zealand is affected along with everyone else:

  • 24 July 2025: a global outage of about two and a half hours. SpaceX’s Starlink engineering lead said it was caused by a failure of key internal software services that run the core network.
  • May 2024 solar storms: the strongest geomagnetic storms in two decades degraded Starlink’s service, although it stayed up. In New Zealand, Transpower declared a grid emergency and took some transmission lines out of service as a precaution.

Locally, the more common culprit is the power. A storm that takes out the lines takes your Starlink with it, however healthy the satellites are.

The Standard dish looks at a wide cone of sky (a 110° field of view) and hops between satellites as they pass. Anything in that cone, such as a macrocarpa hedge, a gum tree or the edge of a roof, interrupts the link for a few seconds at a time. On a video call that feels like freezing every few minutes.

  • Run the obstruction check in the Starlink app from the dish position. It maps what is blocking the sky.
  • Check the app’s outage history for a pattern of short obstruction blips.
  • Move the dish higher: a roof ridge, a chimney bracket or a pole mount clears most shelter belts.
  • Re-check every year or two. Trees grow, and a spot that was clear at install may not be now.

Very heavy rain can briefly slow or interrupt any satellite link, including Starlink. The Standard dish melts up to 40 mm of snow an hour and is rated to keep working in winds of 96 km/h and above, so on most of the country’s rough days, weather is less of a problem than trees or power. If it drops out every time the wind picks up, check the mount: a dish that sways on a loose pole loses its lock on the satellites.

Peak-time congestion is different from an outage. In the Commerce Commission’s April 2026 testing, the Residential 100 Mbps plan averaged 130 Mbps overall but 115 Mbps at peak times, and Residential Max went from 245 Mbps to 224 Mbps. Slower evenings are normal on the cheaper tiers; complete dropouts are not.

The Standard dish averages 75–100 W, and the dish and router together need mains power or a battery to stay online. Two practical options:

  • A UPS (uninterruptible power supply). Plug the Starlink power supply into it. Runtime is roughly the UPS’s usable battery capacity divided by the load: a unit with about 200 Wh usable runs a 100 W Starlink for around one and a half to two hours.
  • A 12 V battery system, common on lifestyle blocks with solar. The Starlink Mini draws only 25–40 W and runs straight from 12 V, which makes it much easier to keep alive for a whole day; see our Starlink Mini NZ guide.

Our Starlink accessories guide covers power supplies, cables and adapters in more detail. For whole-of-household planning, the National Emergency Management Agency’s Get Ready site is a good checklist.

If the app says Online and a laptop plugged into the router works fine, Starlink is doing its job and the weak link is Wi-Fi. The usual causes are a router tucked in a cupboard or garage, brick or concrete walls, and foil-backed insulation. Move the router somewhere central and off the floor, then look at a mesh node or extender for the far end of the house; our Starlink Wi-Fi extender guide covers the options. If you are rebuilding the network from scratch, our home network set-up guide walks through it.

Starlink handles support through the app and your account on starlink.com rather than a phone line. You will get a faster answer if your ticket includes:

  • when the problem started and whether it is constant or intermittent
  • what the app shows, with screenshots of the status and outage statistics
  • a screenshot of the obstruction map
  • what you have already tried (power-cycle, reboot from the app, cable check)

Hardware bought from a New Zealand retailer is also covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act, so a faulty dish, router or cable is the retailer’s problem as well as Starlink’s.

Our take

  • Start with the app. Online or Offline tells you where to look, and the reason usually tells you what to fix.
  • Trust official channels for network-wide outages: the app and Starlink’s X account. Crowd reports are a hint, not proof.
  • Fix obstructions properly. A pole or ridge mount does more for reliability than any plan upgrade.
  • Back up the power. A small UPS keeps you online through short cuts; a 12 V setup and the Mini go further.

This guide covers common faults and is not a live outage service. Details were checked against Starlink’s published specifications and support information in September 2026. Nicegear is independent and has no commercial relationship with Starlink.

Sources and further reading

FAQs

Check the Starlink app first, then Starlink’s official X account, which acknowledges major outages. If the app shows Online and there is nothing on Starlink’s channels, the problem is most likely your Wi-Fi, a device or local power.

Short, repeated dropouts are usually caused by obstructions such as trees or a roof edge. Check the outage history in the app and run its obstruction check; moving the dish higher normally fixes it.

The dish has lost its connection to the satellites. The app usually gives a reason, such as an obstruction, a software update or a network issue, and that tells you whether to wait, move the dish or check the cable.

Open the Starlink app and use the obstruction check, which uses your phone’s camera to map anything blocking the sky from the dish’s position. The statistics screen also shows how many outages obstructions have caused recently.

No, the dish and router need power. A UPS with around 200 Wh of usable capacity will run a Standard Starlink for about one and a half to two hours, and the lower-power Mini can run much longer from a 12 V battery.

Obstruction dropouts last seconds and software updates a few minutes. Network-wide outages are rare; the global outage on 24 July 2025 lasted about two and a half hours.

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