The entire Starlink internet experience is remarkably hands-off. You set up your dish on your own, with only the aid of an app. You troubleshoot problems using that same app, and if you need to replace a cable or use a special mount for your dish, you'll need to order and install that yourself, as well. The whole process is handled with minimal support.
Which is great, right up until you need to ask a question or get technical help for a problem that's not covered in any troubleshooting guide or easily Googled. With more than 1.5 million users, Starlink is one of the best ISPs in North America, and it is an excellent service when it works. But when it doesn't, options for getting help are scarce.
Unlike your average cable provider or local ISP, Starlink offers no live chat, no helpline to call, and no installer to ask during a service call when you have questions or issues. If you've had trouble reaching out to Starlink for help, you're not alone. In fact, it's one of the biggest complaints people have about the service, and it's entirely valid. So how do you actually reach Starlink customer service?
Though they are not well advertised or explained on the Starlink website, a few support options for Starlink customers do exist. You can reach out through the Starlink app, you can do the same through the desktop web portal, or you can email Starlink's customer complaint email address. (Oh, and think you found a phone number for SpaceX's Starlink? Think again. We'll tell you why that number you found on Google is worse than useless.)
Option One: Contact Starlink Via the Starlink App
Your best option for reaching Starlink customer support is to go through the Starlink app. In the same app used to monitor your network status and adjust router settings, you'll find a full menu of troubleshooting guides, which can walk you through fixes for a range of common problems.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)Find the problem you're facing in this troubleshooting guide and go through the steps outlined. If you're lucky, this may solve your problem without needing to reach a real Starlink support person.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)But if it doesn't, you now have the opportunity to reach out to Starlink's technical support team. Below the troubleshooting steps you'll see the question "Did this answer your question?" followed by thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)Selecting the thumbs-down icon will open up a field to send a message about your problem, which gets delivered to Starlink tech support. Here you can detail your issue, add additional information, and even attach photos.
Once you send this message, it opens a service ticket with Starlink customer support, and they may respond in a pretty timely fashion. (Or they might not. Some customers have reported three-week wait times to actually get a response to their support ticket.)
Once you have submitted a service ticket, you will need to watch the messages in your Starlink account. The reply will come through the Starlink app or via phone, not in an email.
Option Two: Create a Support Ticket Online
If you don't have your phone handy, or just don't want to be limited to the mobile app, you can also submit a ticket through the Starlink web portal. To do this, simply open a web browser while you're on your Starlink network, and go to http://192.168.100.1 or dishy.starlink.com, which will give you a browser-based version of the app.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)Just like with the smartphone app, you'll need to go to the support options and to the troubleshooting guide relevant to your problem. But you can also jump straight to the Starlink support menu of the web portal by logging into your Starlink account and going to support.starlink.com/create-support-ticket. That takes you to the same customer support page you'd see in the app or on the web portal.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)Head to the Troubleshooting options on the page, and find the one most relevant to your problems. Go through the troubleshooting process, and see if it fixes things.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)Like in the app, this troubleshooting process includes the question "Did this answer your question?" and thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons. Hit the thumbs-down, and you'll get a new message window, letting you submit a customer support ticket.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Starlink)As with the smartphone approach, you'll need to watch your Starlink account messages for a response, because the response won't be a text message or come to your email inbox. But it's even easier to find your messages online, because you can go straight to your message inbox at support.starlink.com/tickets.
Option Three: Try Emailing SpaceX
The third option doesn't use an official channel for reaching Starlink tech support, but it may be worth a try if you're having trouble getting the help you need from Options 1 and 2. Instead of using the official channels through the app or web portal, you can try emailing the Starlink customer complaint resolution team at SpaceX.
Thanks to the various legal requirements of operating a global telecommunications company, SpaceX has to have and maintain some official channel for receiving and addressing consumer issues, and that gives us another avenue for getting help when Starlink is on the fritz.
Just write up your issue in an email and send it to starlinkresolutions@spacex.com. Explain it clearly, attach any relevant photos or documents, and be sure to include your Starlink account information (such as name and account number) in addition to the usual contact info.
Users online report that this sometimes works, but it's not guaranteed. You might have some success, and if not, you might want to try putting the phrase "Consumer Complaint” in the subject line of the email.
Now, the response might come to the email address you sent it from, which would ideally also be the email address tied to your Starlink account, but you'll still want to keep an eye on your Starlink app, because you're most likely to get an answer in the message inbox in the app.
What Doesn't Work? Calling 1-855-753-2495
The number 1-855-753-2495 will sometimes come up in Google search results as a direct phone number for reaching Starlink tech support, but it won't be as helpful as it looks. That's not actually a SpaceX-affiliated phone number—it's the tech support line for Subaru Starlink, the car maker's similarly named in-vehicle infotainment system.
(Credit: Brian Westover/Google)Obviously, calling this other Starlink won't get you any help for your satellite internet. If you're a Subaru owner looking for help, then feel free to call, but if you're anyone else, it's only going to waste everyone's time. Stick to one of the three options above instead.
For more on Starlink, check out our guide to using it for gaming, as well as our investigation of the types of upload and download speeds you can expect.