About Starlink Obstructed, Starlink’s technology relies on constant communication with satellites that orbit around the earth from about 700 km.
The dish needs a clear view to transmit signals without interference. Starlink’s setup includes a dish and an application that checks for obstructions.
You’re in the right place if you’ve ever encountered a Starlink Obstructed issue.
This article examines the various obstruction causes and how it can affect your internet connection.
What Does Starlink Obstructed Mean?
The success of your connection often hinges on the number of obstructions in the satellite dish view.
Obstructions can be any objects around the dish that block communication between Starlink satellites.
They can be trees, electricity poles, buildings, and more.
Such obstructions are enough to cause a lag or delay in internet transmission.
Starlink’s official app has an obstruction checker that works around the clock to ensure a clear field of view.
Whenever the app detects an obstruction big enough to cause problems, it sends a “Starlink Obstructed” message to your phone.
If you click on the message, you’ll see what is causing the blockage and how you can adjust to enjoy optimal internet.
Outages due to obstructions may last for a few seconds to a few minutes intervals. Check the Dishy field of view if you get many alert messages.
How To Check For Obstructions?
Worker on a satellite dish
Before we continue, it’s crucial to note that the Starlink app may not work on all phones and is unavailable in older versions.
Also, you may find the app not 100% accurate, and sometimes, you just have to rely on what you see with your own eyes rather than what the app captures.
If you want to check for obstructions in your area, the Starlink app has a great feature that scans its environs.
To do this, click The Check for Obstruction feature once you’ve powered your Starlink app.
Follow instructions on how to calibrate the feature using your phone’s camera. You’ll have to rotate your phone several times to scan the sky.
Once the scan is complete, Starlink will recommend where to place your dish.
If you have never performed this scan and used your Starlink for over 12 hours, you can still get obstruction data from the app.
Go to the Obstructions tab, and Starlink will have a data graphic showing how frequently your current view will get obstructions and what’s surrounding it.
As earlier mentioned, the stats may not be entirely accurate, and you need to check outside just to make sure.
You can have someone on the ground to check for obstructions as you read data from the visibility app.
The statistics and obstruction checker can be great tools to check your Starlink connectivity and help you prepare for Video interviews or streams with no issues.
Will Starlink work with obstructions?
A man installing Starlink satellite
Starlink will work with obstructions, depending on how you use the internet.
Outages due to obstructions take a few seconds, and you may not notice them if you’re doing light browsing, like waiting for notifications or checking your Twitter.
However, heavy browsing, such as video calls or gaming streams, can become tedious as the lags will be significant.
Obstructions due to this may affect the quality of your stream, and you may not be able to hear the other person.
However, obstructions can have little effect on light usage, such as watching YouTube videos.
That’s because data buffering technology allows for a few minutes ahead of the video for a smooth watching experience.
Starlink obstruction percentage
Satellite dish on a forest area
Starlink has an obstruction checker, which sometimes gives you the percentage of obstructions in the area.
If you’re wondering how this is interpreted, here is a table to explain the different percentage ranges from Starlink.
| Obstruction Percentage | Depth of Blockage |
| 0% | It is what you should aim for. It means there are no obstructions causing internet issues. |
| 1-5% | Within this percentage, you may find a few outages as you browse, but they are barely noticeable. Significant changes are only visible in gaming and video streaming, which depend on latency. |
| 6-10% | You should be worried if you have obstructions above 5%. Here, you will see significant outages lasting more than a few seconds. Regular videos will buffer more, and online gaming becomes a hassle. |
| 11%+ | If you ever get an obstruction percentage above 10%, expect serious problems. Starlink will indicate an internet connection, but you won’t be able to do anything with it. Simple webpages will take minutes to load, and gaming at this level is virtually impossible. |
How to Mount the Starlink Dish without Obstructions？
Though Starlink’s check for obstruction feature works, it may not be the most accurate. You’ll have to check the obstructions using a few onsite techniques.
Not to worry, we have explained how to identify such obstructions in case the app doesn’t work.
Obstructions to Look Out for When Mounting the Starlink Dish
Silhouette of Starlink satellites orbiting the earth
Any opaque object high enough to get in the path of the sky is considered an obstruction. The list includes foliage on trees and other canopy layers.
Look at the most crucial obstruction to watch out for in a Starlink Dish.
| Base Level | Elevated Areas |
| Trees | Canopy |
| Poles, Street Lamps | Metal railings, parapets, poles |
| Ground vegetations | Antenna Equipment |
| Walls and solid partitions | Chimneys |
| Vehicles |
Implementation steps
Avoiding these obstructions won’t be the only solution to ensure your Starlink internet works fine.
You will also have to properly mount the Dish and ensure it has enough space to rotate when searching for signals.
Even if you’re moving to a new environment, you must consider how the dish will move without getting stuck.
While the temporary mount may be a great solution, it should not be considered a permanent fix.
Looking at the installation process, Starink provides a 150 ft cable, which is good enough to install in most places.
It means you can install the dish on low and elevated surfaces. To install the dish on the ground, look for a flat surface, preferably your lawn, grassland, or playground.
If you’re looking for a permanent installation, look for a good mount that withstands all harsh conditions.
J-Mounts are the staple option for mounting Starlink Dishes on elevated surfaces.
If you have many obstructions, look for pole mounts. They will help you reach an excellent height, although propping is difficult.
For Starlink RV users, the Volcano and ladder mount fit perfectly on most RVs and provide enough weight-to-height ratio.
Mounting in Wooded Areas
If you’re in a forest or thick vegetation cover, there is no way to avoid bad signals other than finding the most obstruction-free spot.
Trees and canopies are not your friends here.
Tower structures such as the pole mount will be your best bet. Look for mounts long enough to provide a clear view.
You can DIY if the pole is too small and add another extender to increase the height.
Conclusion
Obstructions are bad for satellite connections and can easily ruin your gaming experience.
Starlink is resilient with minor obstructions, and you can get relatively decent internet with a few nicks.
However, ensure you use the app to check for possible objects blocking your signals and adjust accordingly.
We hope this article has provided significant insights on how to deal with obstructions on Starlink.