Next-Gen Starlink Dish Offers More Consistent Higher Speeds, Say Early Users

Wondering if SpaceX’s next-generation dish for Starlink is worth a buy? According to early adopters, the product does a better job of consistently delivering top internet speeds compared with the company’s older hardware. Others say it offers an upgrade in upload speeds.

SpaceX started offering US users access to its $599 third-generation dish in November and consumers are now posting their first impressions on social media. 

Based on the posts, it appears the third-generation dish doesn’t raise the bar on Starlink’s maximum speeds. Instead, the hardware excels at delivering the top broadband speeds over a longer sustained period. 

“I do find that I seem to be getting faster speeds and a more consistent connection, especially in the evenings with my Gen 3,” one user named Ted told PCMag. “Speeds from Gen 3 are anywhere from 300+ (Mbps) as low as 100 in the busy times.”

In contrast, Ted’s second-generation Starlink dish usually delivered speeds closer to 150Mbps, which could then decline to 50 to 10Mbps in the evening, during peak usage times. 

“I have only had the new one for about a month, and it has been great,” Ted added. “If I had to say anything negative, I would say that I am not a fan of the new mount that it has. Other than that, I think, in my case, it seems to be worth the upgrade.”

Early adopters on Reddit have posted similar feedback. One user noted that the peak speeds for the third-generation dish appear to be the same as the original first-generation Starlink hardware. The key difference has been consistency. “Meaning I've gotten 300 megabits per second a few times on Gen 1, but typically 200 or less. On the Gen 3 dish I can speed test at 290 to 303ish most of the time,” the user wrote. 

Meanwhile, a user on Facebook noted: "Speedtest on my Gen 2 showed 36 Mps down while the Gen 3 showed 275Mps at the same time."

Another Starlink subscriber named Chris told PCMag the download speeds for his older, first generation dish have roughly been the same as third-generation dish. For example, the first-gen terminal usually averages 125Mbps in downloads while the new dish comes in about 150Mbps.

The real difference has been the upload speeds. Through the third-generation dish, Chris's home has been receiving upload rates at 15Mbps, an upgrade over the 6.5 Mbps uploads he received over the first-generation hardware.

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"I have both of my dishes within a few feet of each other, but since the Gen 3 has a wider field of view, I think it tracks a little longer, giving those better up speeds," Chris added.

University of Georgia Professor John Gibbs also ordered the third-generation dish and found that the hardware can double the upload speeds, reaching around 29Mbps. 

However, he doesn’t recommend existing Starlink users buy the new hardware since it costs $599 and can sometimes be a hassle to install. “Overall, I think it’s a definite upgrade, but also not one of those things that’s a big step change,” he added. 

SpaceX initially began offering the third-generation dish to invited users. But last month, the company opened sales to all US users on the roam and business tier before rolling out the dish’s availability to some subscribers on the residential tier. Other enhancements to the third-generation dish include the addition of a Gen 3 router, which supports Wi-Fi 6 speeds and features two built-in Ethernet ports.