If you received an email from Starlink, letting you know your account has been reset or disabled, you aren’t alone. Starlink customers are taking to social media to report the apparent bug, with the hope that someone from Starlink will see their plead and help out. Here is one example from the Starlink subreddit on Reddit:
“I’ve had Starlink for about a week and just got an email that my account has been reset and all orders and deposits have been refunded. I’m not able to log in to my account and when I try to reset the password it says my email address is not found. Can’t create a ticket without logging in so need some help.”
Reddit post by CovertServer
What’s happening with the account resets?
The accounts appear to be getting flagged for fraudulent activity, and automatically reset/disabled. Since the accounts are disabled, customers have no way of reaching out to Starlink through the customer support ticket system. Use of the online only ticket system requires a valid Starlink account login, meaning only active customers can get ahold of Starlink.
One of the big complaints about Starlink is the lack of customer support. Since the service started offering satellite internet in late 2020, their support model has remained largely unchanged, with customers having to use the website or app to log tickets. No email or phone number for Starlink is available. This kind of support model has proven to be sluggish and inefficient for time-sensitive events, like outages, or having your account disabled.
What’s the cause?
One theory floating around is that Starlink has implemented some type of automatic fraud detection system. We previously reported that hackers are taking over Starlink accounts, and ordering thousands in equipment. Perhaps this new fraud system is in response to the recent hacking issues? It seems like a plausible theory. Why else would all these Starlink accounts suddenly get disabled or reset around the same time?
Update: Four days after I published this article, Starlink sent out an email to customers affected by the account reset issue. Starlink says the accounts were reset due to a false positive within their automated fraud detection system. They didn’t provide any other details on the cause.
What to do if your account was reset
So what do you do if you are a victim of this apparent glitch, and your Starlink account has been reset or disabled? Here are the steps I recommend to try to recover your account:
- Visit the Starlink account recovery page
- Select By Phone, enter the phone # associated with your Starlink account
- Follow the steps to reset your account email and password
If you get an error message on the account recovery page, or it didn’t work for some other reason, the other option is to visit this page. Fill out the form, which asks for several things, such as your Starlink dish serial number, router serial number, etc. The last page of the form asks for your contact information, including email and phone number. Someone from Starlink should reach out to help you with the account recovery process after you submit the form.
The link you post is not from starlink but from typeform.com
https://starlink.typeform.com/to/ILaBO1ye?typeform-source=support.starlink.com
It may eventually be a fraud to capture your data.
Where did you get it from?
Yes it’s typeform, but this is the official form Starlink wants you to use if you are locked out of your account. Per this Starlink support article, where I sourced the link:
https://support.starlink.com/?topic=7d87da5b-ff9c-1d52-a433-4a78c20b6fd5
Sorry, should have mentioned the source of the link in the first place. But it’s legit.
Thanks for the clarification
I am a Canadian with mobility available & paid for. I did get my Starlink account activated before leaving Canada. I soon had the disappearing issue raise its ugly head. There was NO way I could reactivate my account or have SL recognize my email address. I have a friend in the US who also has a SL account. I asked him to plead my case, via his support ticket, which he did, providing my phone # and email address. Within one (1) day (hours actually) I had an email from Support and after replying a Support agent called my phone, and after a few minutes of investigation decided that my SL kit was defective. They agreed to replace it, but SL would only ship my replacement kit to my address for service, back in Ontario, Canada. Fortunately, I had planned to return home for a short while. I brought the original SL kit back with me on a flight and just today I shipped the original kit back to SL, with a prepaid FedEx voucher. I received the replacement a few days prior. I will now return to my RV, in the US, taking the replacement kit back as baggage on the return flight. For my aggravation SL provided a one-month credit to my account.
It’s nice they gave you the credit for all the trouble. At least that’s one good thing I can say about Starlink support, they are more than willing to credit you for any time you aren’t able to use your system, if the error is on their end like this whole account reset mess.
My payment was accepted. My equipment was delivered. Then, my user account was disabled for some unknown reason. Therefore, I am unable to activate my account. I tried the two remedies you suggested -thanks, by the way – and have been waiting for a week for a response. Is there any other recourse, except to file a consumer fraud complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office or contact my credit card to dispute payment? I really want the service but this situation seems hopeless.
I’m afraid not. The methods listed in the article are the only ways if you can’t log in to create a support ticket. I’m guessing their backlog is causing the delay to get to your form you submitted. I would wait another week if I were you, and then contact the credit card company to get your money back if they still haven’t reached out. From there you can always start a new order if you decide you want to give Starlink another shot.
Thanks for sharing this important information. I can’t believe SpaceX/Starlink hasn’t seen fit to share this information or offer a simpler corrective action. As terrible as Comcast is, they at least offer phone, email and chat support for customer service.
Starlink: Hey, just log into your account to reactivate…sorry, we disabled that account. Just log into your account to contact customer support…oh, wait.
I am really grateful you all took the time to address your issues here. I am having problems too. Like others have stated here, my account was deactivated shortly after receipt of my starter kit. The starter kit was shipped to my second home in Florida. Perhaps the account deactivation was because the shipping address was different than the billing address. This is beyond annoying.
Interesting – my experience is similar, except my billing and shipping address were the same, but service location is a different address. The order went through and I got order confirmations and shipping notifications, then an email that my account has been reset. Since then, I’ve received my hardware, but can’t do anything to activate it, transfer it or reset the account. I completed the webform, so we’ll see how long it takes for them to fix this failure.
Did you get any reply from the webform yet?
I ordered a Starlink system.
Then shortly after. I ordered a drill kit and ethernet cable.
I then rec’d an email that the drill kit and cable were cancelled, and that my account was cancelled as well.
The Dish/Router setup arrived today, but I am at a standstill, as I have NO account to manage it.
Super frustrating, and already has me thinking, if this is an example of a Starlink calamitous relationship with a total lack of accessible support, I’ll keep with my high cable bill.
Was looking forward to using Star Link. Just dropped 7 large trees for reception. Then I read your blog post.
Not being a Debbie Downer, but is this the future of Starlink? Inept problems and few resolutions? Great concept with poor execution? I was about to order equipment but, would you in light of such confusion and lack of resolution. I really dislike paying top dollar to only end up needing spend all my time managing a company that should have their act together in light of the consumer investment!
I would say the vast majority of customers don’t have any issues. Most Starlink customers don’t have other internet options, so the choice is simple, you have to just put up with whatever Starlink is doing if you want decent internet.
I would recommend at least trying it out if you are on the fence. There is a 30 day refund period if you end up having issues.
This happened to us this week. I was unable to reset my password so I had to fill out the form. At the end, there was a mention of long wait times. Any clue how long? My internet is still working, but I assume when it is time for the next payment to process since it has been disabled it will quit.
I was unable to reset my password so I had to fill out the form. At the end, there was a mention of long wait times. Any clue how long? My internet is still working, but I assume when it is time for the next payment to process since it has been disabled it will quit.
Not sure on the wait times, but it seems like this bug affected a lot of people, so they might have a backlog of forms to go through.
Any updates?
I keep scouring for info but don’t see anything. I just received my kit last week and was about to set it up when my account was reset. I don’t want to open a new account with the same email as the instructions suggest because it seems to want to force me to buy another kit.
Any advice, this is ridiculous.
Use the link below and fill out the form:
https://starlink.typeform.com/to/ILaBO1ye?typeform-source=support.starlink.com
Do you know if I were to order equipment and set up an account that this problem still exists?
I’ve seen a report as recent as yesterday that it is still happening to some people. My guess is that the risk is pretty low. There are a lot of Starlink orders, and very few instances so far relative to the amount of orders they get each day.
I ordered my starlink equipment through a third party authorized retailer and I’ve had it almost a month now and I have not been able to create an account with starlink or anything. Whenever I put my billing information in I get an error telling me that I need to use a different form of payment. I’ve tried to payment forms from three different banks and nothing works. I’ve called the phone number I had and asked for help and I was told the issue needed to be escalated. I’ve called that number three times and still haven’t heard from anybody. So I’ve got $600 worth of hardware sitting here doing absolutely nothing when I desperately need it for working from home!
There is a problem with Starlink’s payment gateway (Adyen). I presume that it’s a worldwide problem. Here in Brazil we tried with 24 (yes, twenty four) CC from 8 different banks and all labels. And there is no fuck*ng clear reason why it’s not working.
I believe Starlink recently introduced a new policy that your credit card had to be associated with the same country as your service address/shipping address. That would be one thing to check. Otherwise, on the checkout page, click the link that says “Click here for order issues” and fill out the form. Someone from Starlink will contact you to help complete the activation.
Thank you for this. We have had Starlink for about a year in deep South Texas and have had no issues.
I am thankful for your ìnformation website and always read to get the scoop. Thank you for this info.