Using Starlink With Your Own Router

If Starlink is the only real broadband where you live, it's a great service. The Starlink router that comes with it is fine for a small place, too. But once you want better coverage, more control, or a network you already own like UniFi, the usual move is to let Starlink handle the internet and let your own gear handle everything else. Here's how that works, and the couple of things that trip people up.

Should you use Starlink mesh or your own Wi-Fi?

Starlink sells its own mesh. You can link up to three of the Gen3 routers together, either wirelessly or with Ethernet between them. If you go that way, hardwire them if you can.

If you want solid coverage across a whole house, though, I wouldn't build it out of Starlink routers. Use Starlink for the internet connection, and put a proper access point system behind it, like UniFi or TP-Link Omada. You'll get more reliable coverage and far more control.

Connecting your own router

• Gen3 router: it has two Ethernet ports on the back. Run a cable from one of them to the WAN port on your own router.
• Gen2 router: it has no Ethernet port, so you'll need Starlink's Ethernet adapter accessory.
• Then turn on bypass mode. It's in the router settings in the Starlink app, and it turns off the Starlink router's own Wi-Fi. That way you don't have two networks competing over the same airwaves, and your devices connect to your Wi-Fi.

The subnet clash that breaks everything

This is the one I see the most. The Starlink router uses a very common address range for its own network. If your router uses the same range on its side, traffic can't route out to the internet, and it looks like Starlink is down even though it isn't. The fix is to give your own network a different address range.

Port forwarding and CGNAT

If you're trying to reach something at home from outside, like cameras, a NAS or Home Assistant, the normal answer is port forwarding. On Starlink that usually doesn't work. Starlink puts customers behind CGNAT (carrier-grade NAT), which means your router doesn't get its own public internet address, so there's nothing for an outside connection to land on.

You can still get in. You just come at it from a different direction:

• Cloudflare Tunnel: it publishes a web service, like Home Assistant or a NAS web page, through Cloudflare without opening any ports.
• Tailscale: it puts your phone and laptop on a private network with your home devices, so you can reach everything as if you were home.
• WireGuard through a server with a public address: more work to set up, but it gives you a full VPN back home.

Not sure which one fits your setup? See VPN and remote access help.

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