Starlink Emergency Kit – Powering the Mini with a USB-C power bank
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The Mini dish is extremely versatile due to its size, but also because it can be powered in a variety of ways. Unlike previous Starlink’s, the Mini can run directly from a DC power source. The DC input jack supports 12V-48V, making it compatible with a variety of battery systems, power stations, and power banks.
I have a really fun project to share with you in this post. When the Mini was announced, I saw several social media comments suggesting it would be perfect for emergency backup internet, like during power outages or natural disasters. So I picked up a few products to create what I call the Starlink Emergency Kit.
The goal
The purpose of this Starlink Emergency Kit is to enable critical communication when the grid goes down or you travel outside of cell phone range. This is not a kit that allows you to stream movies for 3 days during a power outage. You’ll need a big battery and solar for that. Instead, this kit is designed to give you several hours of internet in an emergency situation, when basic Wifi calling, texting, and internet are necessary to stay safe.
Imagine for a moment you are driving on a remote 4×4 trail. You suffer a mechanical failure that can’t be repaired. You can’t get a cell phone signal. Thankfully, you have the Starlink Emergency Kit tucked away in your rig. You pull out the case, plug in the dish, and you have Wifi calling within minutes.
I wanted this kit to be ultra-portable, extremely simple, and lightweight. It’s the kind of gear you pack away, hoping to never need. The kit can be carried on an airplane, stored in an RV or vehicle, or even stowed in a backpack.
Kit components
When the Mini came out, I thought it would be perfect for this kit. It doesn’t use very much power and it’s extremely small. Since it can run off USB-C, a portable power bank would be an easy battery solution to power the Mini for several hours. I also chose a tough storage case that would protect all the gear during storage and transport. Here is what I used:
- Starlink Mini – You won’t need the entire Starlink Mini kit. You can ditch the included DC power cord, AC wall adapter, and pipe adapter. All you need is the dish itself. Starlink Mini can be ordered directly from Starlink, or from 3rd party retailers. It’s currently selling at Home Depot for $599.
- Power Bank – Providing power for the Mini is the Anker Prime 20,000mAh power bank. This Anker Prime power bank supports the USB-C PD requirements of the Mini. It can output up to 100 watts through either of the USB-C ports, plenty for the 60 watts max input of the Mini. With 20,000mAh of capacity, it can power a Starlink Mini for about 3-5 hours.
- USB-C Power Cable – To use a USB-C port to power the Mini, you need a DC55211 to USB-C adapter cable. The power port on the Mini is DC5521, so I found a cable that goes from that to USB-C. The cable is only a few feet long, but you can pick up an extension cable if you think you need additional length.
- Storage Case – To keep everything organized and protected, I chose the Pelican 1470 case. It’s just big enough to accommodate the components of this Starlink Emergency Kit. It includes foam that is actually the perfect size to cushion the Mini and other gear. I didn’t have to cut or modify anything.
Deploying the Starlink Emergency Kit
In an emergency situation, simplicity is key. Deploying the Mini and this kit is quick and easy:
- Open the case
- Plug the power cable into the Mini dish and point it towards open sky
- Plug the power cable into one of the USB-C ports on the Anker power bank
- Everything turns on automatically. Give the Mini several minutes to boot up
- Once fully booted, connect to the Mini’s Wifi network
If you prefer to keep your service plan paused until needed, you’ll have one extra step. After the Mini boots up, open the Starlink app to activate your subscription. After that, you’ll be online within a few minutes.
How long will the battery last?
The Anker Prime 20,000mAh power bank I chose for the kit will power the Starlink Mini for 3-5 hours, depending on several factors. If you are using a lot of data, especially uploading, it will use more power. If you don’t have open sky above, or there is precipitation, the Mini will use more power to get a better signal.
3-5 hours is enough to provide basic communication through your cell phone’s internet functions. You can even charge your cell phone from the extra ports on the power bank. This emergency backup kit isn’t designed to keep you online for days, just enough to get connected so you can establish basic communication. If used intermittently on an as-needed basis, this kit can provide power for several days.
If you think you need more capacity, Anker makes a 27,650mAh power bank. You can also plan to recharge or supplement with solar or vehicle power.
How fast is the Mini?
In my testing, this emergency kit with the Starlink Mini was able to download above 100 Mbps and upload over 10 Mbps, at around 25 ms latency. That’s incredible when you really think about it. A few years ago, before Starlink, I would have killed for 100/10 Mbps internet at my home. Now I have that kind of connection self-contained in a tiny case, easily deployable virtually anywhere on the planet!
To learn more about the Mini’s performance, check out my full Starlink Mini review.
Final thoughts
I hope you found this as interesting as I did. The Starlink Mini dish is an incredible device, useful in many different applications. This Starlink Emergency Kit is just one example, so I hope you can take some of these components and ideas to create something for your own situation.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. I’m open to suggestions so that we can improve this kit further. If this inspires you to create your own kit, I’d love to hear about it.
I saw yours when I was looking for a case for mine….my case is not a Pelican, but it’s solid enough for me to strap it to the back of a motorcycle without worry. I made this for off-road motorcycle travel, but it’s kind of great for any travel. The pluck foam was a little soft, so I ordered a sheet of 1.5 inch polyethylene and made two layers:
The first layer holds the Starlink Mini (with the USB-C add-on cable from Starlink coiled underneath), an Anker Power Brick, 12v car adaptper and 110v wall adapter, making sure all three were rated to provide 100watt, or 5amps at 20volts…this ensures it can run the Starlink AND most laptops, like my Lenovo ThinkPad X1.
The second layer has a big rectangle to access the power supplies and another rectangle with a shelf just deep enough to keep the laptop pressed against the padding in the lid, while keeping is separated from the Starlink Mini.
Case https://amzn.to/3U4jwxj
Foam https://amzn.to/4gRSPFX
Battery Brick https://amzn.to/4gWv53j
Car Adapter https://amzn.to/3zQdhpY
Wall Adapter https://amzn.to/3NkKbSI
Thank you for this article. I tried using this solar generator https://amzn.to/4eMYF9x (MARBERO Solar Generator 296Wh Portable Power Station) with my mini using both the DC cable as well as as AC and it was constantly failing despite being fully charged. I saw some of your comments about USB being better than DC (due the long cable causing issues with a DC battery source?)? I want a solution that can be charged using solar panels. You mention the River2. E.g. is this better than what I had? https://amzn.to/3Y5pArA but I need to use USB instead of DC or AC?
Now I’m reading https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/1dokg82/mini_arrived_no_go_on_dc_rv_battery_bank/?rdt=46215 which does make it all about the DC cable length (oof, maybe I didn’t need to return that solar gen) and he uses a voltage booster at the end. Sounds complicated. I guess it’s either USB-C of 100w (buy the $31 cable) or engineer some new cable, or add that voltage booster? Thanks for any guidance
The solar generator you linked won’t work because the outputs are too low for the Mini. The USB-C requirement is 20V/5A 100 watts. The DC requirement, in my own testing, requires at least 120 watts (12V/10A) output to get it to boot up consistently. But both the one you bought, and the River 2, should work using the AC outlets. If you want to use USB-C, I also have the Pecron E600LFP: https://amzn.to/4emVh5s which has a 100W USB-C output that will power the Mini. I prefer USB-C as it has proven the most stable for me.
Does the Mini require a particular voltage? The AC adapter included with the Mini puts out 30V DC.
I have tried various outputs from my GoalZero Yeti 1000X to provide DC power to the Mini. None work (other than 120V AC via the Mini AC adapter). The GoalZero puts out 20V DC via the USB C cable you link in the emergency kit; the USB C port is rated to 60W. It puts out 12V via the Anderson plugs on the GZ. Neither of these options causes the Mini to show life (i.e. the Mini network never appears as a wireless network, or on the Starlink app).
All I can assume is that the Mini really wants 30V. Any ideas?
It operates on 12-48V. Starlink says the USB-C PD requirement is 20V/5A/100W. If the USB-C output on the GoalZero is only 60W, it is technically not supported, even if it has enough output to power the Mini. I’ve had success powering the Mini from 3 USB-C sources: Ecoflow River 2, Pecron E600LFP, and the Anker Prime power bank. All of those provide the required 20V and 100 watts from the USB-C port. As far as the 12V output, Starlink says you cannot use the supplied 50′ cable with 12V due to voltage drop issues. They are supposed to be coming out with a shorter version for 12V applications, but you can use a shorter aftermarket cable, or modify the Starlink one. I’ve heard success stories with lengths below 20′.
I would love to know if there’s an alternative case. Those pelicans are super expensive.
I just did a quick Amazon search and found this Mini-specific case: https://amzn.to/4d4vRsJ
It’s a bit larger but looks to be a good alternative. If you try that one out, or have any other recommendations, follow up and let us know how it works out.
Take a look at these Harbor Freight cases: https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=apache%20case
How much is the monthly roam with mini and what is the cost of the battery system in the article
Mini Roam is $50/month, which can be paused when you aren’t using it. The Anker power bank is around $150.
Love it! How often do you think a paused Starlink Mini needs to be activated to be sure it hasn’t bricked from its firmware being too far out of date?
I would say once every few months. It would be a good opportunity to cycle the power bank battery a little bit, as well as update firmware. I think they fixed the issue with the firmware bricking, but it is annoying when you turn it on after a while and it has to download 3-4 required updates all at once. Also, no need to activate service to update firmware. It will still update even on an inactive subscription. So only pay when you need to actually use it for internet.
Will the Version 2 Starlink also update firmware without activation?
Yes
How much is the system
In the US the Mini is currently $599.
next time put the price in your article.
It’s difficult to list prices, since they vary so much depending on country, retailer, and they do change over time as well. I always provide links to the products where I purchased from, usually Amazon. If you click those links, you’ll get a price for your specific market in your currency.
Great idea! Question: can the Mini-roam plan be suspended month-by-month like standard Starlink Roam? That would mean $0 service cost until/unless this emergaency planis actually needed, an important consideration.
Yes, Mini Roam can be paused. With Starlink, you can actually connect to their website or through the app without cell service, directly through an inactive dish. So you could power this kit on, open the app, unpause your Mini Roam subscription, and be online within about 15 minutes.