Service Restored After More Than Two Hours Outage

On Thursday, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service faced a significant global outage that lasted for more than two hours. Reports of disrupted connectivity began surfacing around 3:20 PM ET, as noted by DownDetector. SpaceX officially acknowledged the issue at 4:05 PM ET through a post on the Starlink account on X. By approximately 5:30 PM ET, some users began to experience a restoration of service, and Michael Nicolls, the Vice President of Engineering at Starlink, stated that the provider had “mostly recovered” by 6:23 PM ET.

Numerous users from regions including the US, Europe, the UK, and Asia reported issues on the r/starlink subreddit, the dedicated online community for Starlink users. SpaceX also confirmed the outage on the official Starlink website. While the company has not disclosed the exact number of affected users, estimates suggest it could be in the millions, given that the latest update indicated there are over six million active customers using Starlink service worldwide.

The initial communication from SpaceX regarding the outage did not clarify the underlying cause of the connectivity issues or the specific measures being taken to restore service. “Starlink is currently experiencing a network outage, and we are actively working on a solution,” stated the company in their post on X. “We appreciate your patience during this time and will provide an update once the issue is resolved.”

Upon announcing the recovery of service, Nicolls elaborated that the root cause of the outage was a “failure of key internal software services that are essential for operating the core network.” This issue was not attributed to any problems with SpaceX’s satellite constellation or other hardware-related failures. Nicolls further reassured users that Starlink would conduct a thorough investigation to “fully determine the root cause of this issue” and implement measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Starlink is specifically designed to provide internet access in areas where traditional internet service providers are unable to deliver connectivity. This makes it an ideal choice for van lifers and individuals residing in regions lacking conventional internet infrastructure. Furthermore, SpaceX has formed partnerships with companies like T-Mobile to utilize Starlink technology to enhance smartphone connectivity beyond the limits of standard cellular networks. However, it remains uncertain how the T-Mobile integration with Starlink was affected during this widespread outage.

Update, July 24, 6:30 PM ET: The article has been revised to inform readers that Starlink service has been restored and is now fully operational.