SpaceX seems to have settled on a release date for its new Starlink Wi-Fi 6 router, with the product set to arrive for all consumers in January.
The release date comes from the official Starlink website, which previously said only invited customers in the US could buy the Wi-Fi 6 router. On Tuesday, a Reddit user spotted the company quietly updating the product information with a new line: “The Gen 3 router is expected to be available as a Mesh Router in January 2024.”
(Credit: Starlink.com)This means SpaceX plans on selling the product as an accessory to existing customers looking to boost Starlink coverage at their home. Each Starlink dish already comes bundled with a Gen 2 or Gen 1 Wi-Fi router, but the key drawback is how it only supports Wi-Fi 5.
The Gen 3 router, on the other hand, supports faster broadband speeds over Wi-Fi 6, along with better energy consumption for mobile devices and less bandwidth congestion. In addition, the Gen 3 router comes with two Ethernet ports built in and offers better range.
As a result, SpaceX has been marketing the $199 product to early adopters of Starlink currently on the first-generation router. On Monday, the company sent a new batch of invites to some Starlink subscribers encouraging them to order the Wi-Fi 6 Gen 3 router. “The new router has greater range and faster speeds to create a better WiFi network throughout your home or office,” the company’s invite says.
The release date arrives after SpaceX secured FCC equipment authorization to sell a second Wi-Fi 6 router, possibly a more refined version of the Gen 3 router. The second Wi-Fi 6 router has the model number UTR-232, communicates over the same Wi-Fi bands, but has been designed to work with two kinds of AC adapters. For more information on how to create a mesh system with Starlink, check out our guide.