Starlink recovers from outage impacting users globally

Starlink has mostly restored its service following a widespread outage that caused disruptions.

Starlink recovers from significant outage affecting global users

Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, experienced a significant outage on Thursday, leaving many users unable to connect for hours. The issues began around 3:15 PM ET, with users facing error messages about upstream connectivity. Starlink acknowledged the problem on X, stating that they were actively working on a solution. By 6:23 PM ET, after about 2.5 hours of downtime, Starlink announced that the network had mostly recovered. Technical issues were cited as the cause, although details remained limited. The outage notably affected Ukrainian military operations that depend on Starlink terminals, which reported their service was down for 150 minutes. Around the same time, connectivity across the network dipped to just 16 percent of normal levels.

This outage underscores the critical dependence on satellite internet services like Starlink, especially in conflict zones. The reliance of military operations on such technology raises questions about the resilience of these systems in times of crisis. As connectivity issues surface, the trust in such services may wane, especially if they become recurrent. For many users, fast and reliable internet is not just a luxury but a necessity, particularly for those in remote areas and regions affected by conflict. Addressing these vulnerabilities should be a priority for SpaceX to maintain user confidence and operational reliability.

Highlights

The resilience of satellite internet systems will face scrutiny if outages continue.