The basic Wifi router that comes with every Starlink kit will work great for most people, but it lacks advanced networking features, and isn’t the best in terms of range or speed. If you are looking to upgrade, you will want to know how to bypass the Starlink router.
Bypass mode disables the Wifi and routing functions of the Starlink router, so that a 3rd party router can take over. Since the Starlink router doubles as the dish power supply, you can’t remove the router from the system completely. But in bypass mode, all networking functions are disabled, making it act only as a power supply.
In this guide, I will explain the accessories required to use your own router. I’ll also show you step-by-step how to enable bypass mode in the Starlink app. Finally, I will cover some of the common questions and issues that come up when trying to use your own router with Starlink.
Table of Contents
Video tutorial
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Accessories needed
Before you can use your own 3rd party router with Starlink, you need to purchase the Starlink Ethernet Adapter. The Ethernet Adapter, pictured above, is the accessory that gives you access to an Ethernet LAN port. An Ethernet port is required to be able to connect an aftermarket router to Starlink. The Ethernet Adapter costs $25, and is available in the Starlink shop.
For more details, be sure to check out our full review of the Starlink Ethernet Adapter.
You will also need a 3rd party router if you want to turn on bypass mode. Almost any aftermarket router will work with Starlink. In this guide, I’m using a TP-Link router. It came with an Ethernet cable, which is the last accessory that you will need before continuing on.
If you haven’t decided on which router to get, be sure to check out our list of aftermarket router recommendations for Starlink.
Connect the 3rd party router to Starlink
To connect a 3rd party router to Starlink, first hook up the Starlink Ethernet Adapter. Unplug the Starlink cable from the bottom of the router. Plug in the Ethernet Adapter to the router. Then plug in the Starlink cable to the connector on the Ethernet Adapter. Wait a few minutes to allow the dish to boot back up, and verify that Starlink is online.
Next, use the Ethernet cable included with your 3rd party router to connect the router to Starlink. One end of the Ethernet cable will plug into the Starlink Ethernet Adapter, and the other end will connect to the Internet or WAN port on your 3rd party router.
For more on installing the Starlink Ethernet Adapter, check out our setup and review article.
Configure the 3rd party router
If you haven’t already done so, plug in the power for your 3rd party router, and turn it on. Before you can begin to use it as a router, you need to go through the setup process. The setup process varies by manufacturer and model, so be sure to follow the instructions for your particular router.
I’m using a TP-Link router for this guide. All I had to do was download the Tether app on my phone, and it walked me through a simple setup wizard. You don’t need any special router settings to connect to Starlink. I applied all the default settings, and just renamed the Wifi network and set my own password.
Once your 3rd party router is configured, connect to it, and make sure you have internet access. At this point you will notice that you have two Wifi networks. The Starlink Wifi, and the Wifi from your 3rd party router. Having two routers connected to one internet source means you are double NAT’ed. While it can work this way, having two NAT configurations isn’t ideal. That’s why we will enable bypass mode on the Starlink router in the next section.
Enable bypass mode on the Starlink router
Once your 3rd party router is connected and working, you can put the Starlink router in bypass mode by following these steps:
- Open up the Starlink app
- Tap Settings
- Swipe down and tap Bypass Mode
- Slide the toggle to the right
- When prompted, confirm you want to continue by tapping OK
Managing your Starlink in bypass mode
Even though the Starlink router is now in bypass mode, you can still access most of the dish settings from either the app, or the Starlink web interface. You’ll need to be on a device that is connected to your 3rd party router. If you aren’t familiar with the web interface, it can be accessed from a web browser by visiting:
http://dishy.starlink.com
or
http://192.168.100.1
If the Starlink app isn’t connecting, but you have internet on your 3rd party router Wifi network, try to access Starlink using the web interface from your device first, and then try the app. If neither the app or web interface is connecting, you may have to create a static route in your router configuration settings:
Network destination: 192.168.100.0
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.100.1
Interface: WAN
Turning off bypass mode
If you ever need to go back to using the Starlink router, turn off bypass mode by performing a factory reset of the Starlink router. A reset will restore the Starlink router to factory settings, allowing you to configure a new Starlink Wifi network and password.
To factory reset the Starlink router, unplug and plug in the Starlink router power cable 6 times in a row, waiting a couple seconds in between each power cycle.
If successful, a new Wifi network should appear, named STARLINK. Connect to the new network and follow the instructions. After you set a new Wifi network name and password, connect to your new network, and open the Starlink app to confirm everything is working.
For more details, check out our article on performing a factory reset of the Starlink router.
What about other Starlink dish models?
Bypass mode is only necessary on the Gen 2 Standard rectangular Starlink model, because the router and dish power supply are integrated as one unit. It is not necessary for the original Gen 1 round dish, the Gen 2 High Performance dish, or the Gen 2 Flat High Performance dish.
The Starlink router for those models can be completely removed from the system, and replaced with a 3rd party router. Bypass mode isn’t necessary when you can simply unplug the Starlink router. To use a 3rd party router on the Gen 1 round dish, remove the Starlink router and plug in your own router to the Starlink power supply Ethernet port. On the Gen 2 High Performance and Flat High Performance models, use the included Starlink Ethernet cable to plug in your own router to the power supply.
Thanks for the video, good stuff!
Just a quick one, I struggle to access my Synology NAS remotely…even when on the same network. Could this be because I need to run Starlink in bypass mode?
Current set-up is Starlink TO ethernet adaptor TO tp-link switch TO NAS & desktop.
Would appreciate any pointers here!
Rgds
Andrew
You wouldn’t need to enable bypass mode unless you have another router running on your network. Check the settings on the switch to make sure everything is on the same VLAN.
Hi Noah, Thanks for all your good information on this site. I am a new Starlink user. I ordered the ethernet adapter and connected my TP Link Deco Mesh setup and put the Starlink Router in Bypass mode and it killed my speed. From 190 to 25MB. I disconnected and Factory reset the Starlink Router and speed was back. Redid the bypass and speeds dropped back to 25MB. Factory reset again and back to 190MB. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.
Seems others have had similar experiences.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/130q5or/internet_speed_significantly_lower_when_starlink/?rdt=52572
Try your 3rd party router without bypass mode being on. Any improvement?
I have the business high performance therefore should not need the router at all, nor the adapter. What needs to be done once I plug the Starlink Ethernet cable into the power supply?
One end plugs into the power supply, the other end plugs into your 3rd party router.
I’ve got the original Starlink and bought a few original Starlink Mesh Wifi Routers as well. I initially thought this would work well, however I’ve placed the main router on the top floor (three floor house) and these meshes connect to each other as a chain (to the ground floor); the design is bad because the performance degrades (the signal is strong, but speed is reduced overall).
I’ve also got an Archer router and though to just connect it via ethernet port to my Starlink. I did that and it worked, but the original Starlink Mesh Wifi Routers stopped working.
My question is, is there a way of making it work when both Starlink original routers allow a seamless connection AND at the same time to be able to connect to another router (via Wifi) on the ground floor that is connected to the original Starlink Router via ethernet cable?
The two mesh systems won’t work together. You could just use the Starlink mesh, and put your 3rd party router in access point/bridge mode so that it doesn’t act as a router, just a Wifi repeater basically.
Thanks for your reply, Noah.
I’ve done that and I confirm it does work as a repeater; not ideal that I need to switch to another network, but actually good enough.
Is it possible to connect Star Link in my GL-Inet router with vpn installed using Starlink router in bypass mode.
@Noah Clarke
Starlink can connect to pretty much any router. Just plug the cable in to your router’s WAN port, from the Ethernet Adapter of Starlink.
Noah, I have setup my Dish router in bypass mode and have normal traffic moving through. However, while I can use my phone connected via WiFi to connect to the Starlink app, I cannot connect to dishy.starlink.com or 192.168.100.1. I had followed your instructions to add a static route and believe I correctly did so in my Ubiquiti Edge router (model 12). I use port 9 as my WAN port and have a flat 192.168.1/24 single subnet in use. I looked at my static route list today and saw below list.
I do not recall some of the steps I performed when setting up my router (guided by a recommended setup approach that Ubiquiti supplied. I just changed from a different ISP to Starlink and added the 192.168.100.0/24 entry per your article.
Any ideas why dishy. and 100.1 do not work?
Dest Next Hop Interface Route type
0.0.0.0/0 100.64.0.1 ETH9 static
100.64.0.0/10 ETH9 Connected
127.0.0.0/8 LO Connected
192.168.1.0/24 SWITCH0 Connected
192.168.100.0/24 ETH9 Static
Thanks
Jordan
Hi,
I have the 1st generation dish and therefore I do not have the bypass router option. I have connected a mikrotik and the internet works perfectly. But there remains a problem: I cannot access the mikrotik ddns from outside and portforward is not working. If instead of a Mikrotik I use an Asus it doesn’t even let establish its DDNS: it warns of double NAT.
how can I solve it?
I believe you would need a public IPv4 address to directly access your network from outside, and also to use port forwarding. With Gen 1, bypassing the router means simply unplugging the Starlink router and plugging your own in its place. No software setting.
I tried following the port forwarding instructions but still am not able to get it to work. I tested if an IPv6 address is available which it is.
Do I need to make a note of this address and add it somewhere in the 3rd party router settings?
thx
Are you trying to forward ports on your 3rd party router, or just trying to be able to use the app/admin page for Starlink? If the latter, you need to set a static route with the settings in the article. If that still isn’t working, I recommend reaching out to support for your router manufacturer to get clarification on what setting changes need to be made to access the WAN modem (Starlink dish).
I’m trying to run the Starlink (V2) to the WAN2 port of my Ubiquity USG-P3. My current ISP is on WAN1. Has anyone been successful doing this?.
YES, we have it set to failover then pulled the WAN 1 connection and it works. CGNAT blows my remote support contract for this customer though!
Can the High Performance power supply/cable be used with a regular flat dish to eliminate the Starlink router?
No, the cable, connectors, and power supply from the High Performance are not compatible with the Standard rectangular dish.
Hi I have bought a TP-link Archer C54 I have it working but it is very slow 24mbps as opposed to Starlink 150+. I have put it in bypass mode, have I done something wrong?
Run the speed test standing close the the router. Make sure you are connected to the 5ghz band, not 2.4 (slower). Also, connect a laptop or PC directly to the LAN port on the router and run a speed test using Ethernet instead of Wifi. Any difference? Constant slow speeds even over Ethernet could mean the router or the Ethernet Adapter are bad. The Starlink router can also cause issues and could be defective (it still handles the Ethernet Adapter data even in bypass mode).