A new feature is available in the Starlink app – Sleep Schedule. The new sleep mode allows you to conserve power by specifying times when the dish will enter sleep mode and minimize communication with the satellites. Ethernet and Wifi connections remain active so that you can wake Starlink up at any time through the app.
Sleep Schedule first appeared in version 2023.03.0 of the Starlink app. If you don’t see the feature in your app, try manually updating by visiting your app store and searching for Starlink. You’ll find Sleep Schedule in the Settings section of the app. You must be locally connected to your Starlink Wifi network to change Sleep Schedule settings.
What Is Sleep Schedule For?
Sleep mode is aimed at off-grid, RV, and van life users. They rely on battery power for electricity, and will appreciate any energy savings they can get. By enabling Sleep Schedule, you can reduce the power consumption of your Starlink system to the bare minimum needed to maintain communication between the dish and the Starlink satellites.
Even those of us that are connected to the electrical grid can benefit from Sleep Schedule. The energy savings might not be as important to home users, but sleep mode stops background apps and devices from using unnecessary data when we aren’t even using them.
How Much Power Is Saved?
Early tests from Starlink Reddit community users indicate energy savings of about 30% when the dish is in sleep mode. Starlink indicates that the rectangular dish uses about 50-75 watts during normal operation. One user noted that sleep mode was saving 10 watts compared to normal idle mode, with the dish using 25 watts in sleep mode. Another Reddit user experienced similar results with the original round dish. During sleep mode, the round dish used 20 watts, compared to 40 watts when it was awake and idling.
Related: How Much Power Does Starlink Use?
When Shouldn’t I Use Sleep Mode?
When the dish enters a sleep state, it won’t be producing enough heat on the surface of the antenna to melt snow and ice. It’s not a good idea to schedule sleep when you expect extreme cold, snow, or ice. According to Starlink, it could take the dish several hours to melt snow/ice if it accumulates on the dish while in sleep mode.
If you have services that require a constant internet connection, such as security cameras or Wifi calling, don’t use Sleep Schedule. Remember, sleep mode halts most communication with the Starlink satellites, so you won’t have internet access. If you need to maintain an internet connection for remote access to cameras or Wifi calling, it’s better to leave the Starlink in normal mode.
Will The Firmware Still Update?
Yes, firmware updates will continue to take place during the normal overnight hours, determined by Starlink. When an update is available, the dish will wake itself up, update, and then go back to sleep.
How Do I Wake My Starlink Dish Up?
If your Starlink is sleeping and you need to access the internet before its scheduled wake up time, simply go back to the Settings screen in the app, and toggle the Enable sleep schedule option. It could take several minutes to reconnect.
Note: Your device might disconnect from the Starlink Wifi network, since there is no internet access while the dish is sleeping. Make sure you are connected to it before you try to wake Starlink up.
Final Thoughts
Sleep Schedule is a nice little feature that will be welcomed for the RV, van life, and off-grid crowd. You can conserve energy and data by programming an automatic sleep schedule. For most of us, it’s not a feature you want to use. Since it disconnects your dish from the internet, you won’t be able to using things like Wifi calling when it’s sleeping.
Do you see a use case for Sleep Schedule? Let us know how you plan to use it, or what you think of the feature, in the comment section below!
Good day. I am an off grid user with small solar so power is always a concern. In the past 2 months of using starlink I shut off the power each night and sometimes multiple times during the day when it is cloudy. I do not stow the dish. When I turn the power back on it only takes a minute or 2 to reconnect and I have not noticed any issues. In terms of software updates if you have the app on your phone or laptop you are notified that one is available. simply tap to start, and in a few minutes the updates are complete. I do not see any need to leave the power on at all and don’t see the value in sleep mode.
I agree, the 10 watts or so you might save over just leaving it on isn’t that great compared to just unplugging it. This is an early access feature, maybe Starlink will improve the sleep power consumption in the future.
FYI. You may need to manually delete your current Starlink app and reinstall it to get this feature on a IOS device. The update doesn’t show up or happen automatically in some cases. Settings will not be lost 😎
I have been unplugging at night to save power. Will this cause any issue ?
Shouldn’t be an issue. You can also try stowing it instead. Do you find that the firmware stays up to date? Does it just update when you power it back on? Usually Starlink will update overnight.
I installed Starlink in September 2022, and it was working fine until January Friday 13th (of all things). Then I suddenly had no signal. Seems curious that several updates were also activated what is now ‘a week ago.’ I rebooted the main router and mesh nodes by plugging and unplugging six times. The routers have strong signal and show device connections under Network, but no internet. I have placed several trouble tickets with Starlink, but tech support has not responded AT ALL. Reading the note on the new ‘sleep’ mode I updated the app on my iPhone, but I do not see a sleep mode. Can this sleep mode have activated somehow?
It’s not in sleep mode. Likely you have a hardware issue, either the cable or router would be my guess. Reseat all the connections. What does the app say? Online? Offline-Disconnected?
Can’t reach Starlink. They discontinued my service. Can’t sign on to update debit card. My credentials are invalid. I’ve had two yrs – now I don’t exist. Frustrated and screwed. Thanks. Terry Henkel
You can reset your password by clicking Recover Account on the Starlink.com login page.
Thanks for this info
i wonder how updates to starlink will
be done if the devices are off at night?
Since it’s all software driven, it’s possible that the dish could wake itself up in the middle of the night just to update, and then go back to sleep. Otherwise, it would be updating during the day, which isn’t ideal for most people. We will have to wait until more reports come in to see how they did it.