---
title: "Starlink router settings, restart, updates and bypass mode: a practical guide"
url: "https://kilobat.app/routers/starlink-router"
description: "What the Starlink router can and can’t do: app-only settings, restarts, updates, devices, split bands, mesh, guest Wi-Fi, DNS, bypass mode and no port forwarding."
---

Router · Starlink

# Starlink router settings, restart, updates and bypass mode

The Starlink router comes with every Starlink kit. It has no web admin page: you change its few settings in the Starlink app, and it can’t forward ports.

Sign in

The Starlink app

App

The Starlink app (iOS and Android)

Password

There is no router admin password. You sign in to the Starlink app with your Starlink account. The Wi-Fi network has no password until you set one in the app, and the app won’t show it again afterwards.

Models

Router 3 (Gen 3), Router Mini, Gen 2 router, Gen 1 router, Starlink Mini built-in Wi-Fi

**Checked 1 November 2026.** Router 3, Router Mini and the Gen 2 router, plus the built-in Wi-Fi of Starlink Mini, with the Starlink app as of 2026. The Gen 1 router has no bypass mode: Starlink says to replace it with your own router.

## Sign in to the Starlink router

Starlink says its router has no administrator portal. Every available setting is in the app.

1. Install the Starlink app and sign in with your Starlink account.
2. Join the Wi-Fi network named `STARLINK`, the default name.
3. Tap **Settings**, then under **Router** and **Networks** pick your network.
4. Set a Wi-Fi name and password, then tap **Save**. Devices then reconnect with the new details.

Forgot the Wi-Fi password? Factory reset the router. In the app it is **Settings › Router › Factory Reset**. Router 3 and Router Mini have a reset button; a Gen 2 router resets when you unplug and replug it 6 times in a row. A reset clears the Wi-Fi name, password and other settings.

## Restart it properly

Starlink lists **Reboot** among the router settings in the app, but its help pages don’t show the exact screen.

1. Open the Starlink app and tap **Settings**.
2. Use the **Reboot** option for the router.
3. Or unplug the router once and plug it back in.
4. On Router 3, a flashing white light means it is connecting; solid white means it is online.

On a Gen 2 router, don’t unplug it repeatedly: six power cycles in a row factory-reset it.

### Schedule a restart

There is no restart schedule. Starlink does reboot itself to install updates, by default around 3:00 AM local time.

**Kilobat can help.** Kilobat Pro’s [router check-up](https://kilobat.app/docs/home-network#router-checkup) learns how fast this router usually answers, says when a restart is due, and checks the next day whether it helped.

## Update the firmware

Starlink updates itself. Updates usually arrive every two weeks, download in the background and install during a reboot.

1. To choose when that reboot happens, open the Starlink app and go to **Settings**.
2. Select **Starlink**, then tap **Software Updates**.
3. Pick **Overnight**, **Morning**, **Afternoon** or **Evening**.

While an update runs, the app shows it below the status title. A Starlink that has been offline for months may need a manual update; follow the steps in the app.

## See connected devices

1. Open the Starlink app and go to the **Network** screen.
2. It lists every device on your Wi-Fi with its signal strength.
3. Look for devices you don’t recognise. The app’s client pausing can cut one off.

The Starlink router doesn’t show data use per device, only the total. If strangers are on your Wi-Fi, set a stronger password.

**Kilobat can help.** Kilobat’s [new-device alerts](https://kilobat.app/docs/home-network#new-devices) tell you when a device you haven’t seen joins your home Wi-Fi. **Tools › Devices** lists what answers on the network, and you can name each one.

## UPnP and port forwarding

Starlink’s help pages don’t mention UPnP or NAT-PMP, and the router has no setting for either. It doesn’t support port forwarding or firewall rules for IPv4 or IPv6.

### Why ports can’t be opened

On most plans, Starlink shares one public IPv4 address between many customers (CGNAT), which allows no inbound IPv4 traffic. Each kit also gets a public IPv6 prefix. Inbound IPv4 needs a plan with the public IP option and your own router.

### Use your own router (bypass mode)

1. Open the Starlink app and go to **Settings**.
2. Turn on **Bypass Mode**. The router’s Wi-Fi turns off and its light goes violet.
3. On Router 3, plug your own router into one of its Ethernet ports.

The app can’t turn bypass off. Only a physical factory reset on the router does. Some kits, such as Starlink Performance, need no bypass: plug your router into the power supply instead.

**Kilobat can help.** Without UPnP traffic counters, Kilobat’s [call reports](https://kilobat.app/video-calls) still name a busy app on your Mac or a Wi-Fi problem, but can’t point at another device at home.

## Prioritise calls and gaming

There is no QoS or device priority setting. Starlink’s list of app settings doesn’t include one.

**Kilobat can help.** Run Kilobat’s [stutter test](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/test-call-stutter) before and after you change priorities, to see whether calls really got smoother.

## 2.4 and 5 GHz, and the channel

By default, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz share one Wi-Fi name. Starlink suggests splitting them when a device is slow or doesn’t support 5 GHz.

1. Open the Starlink app and go to **Settings**.
2. Under **Router** and **Networks**, select your Starlink Wi-Fi.
3. Turn on **Split 2.4 / 5 GHz networks**.
4. Give one band a new name, such as ending in `-2.4` or `-5`, and tap **Save**.
5. Reboot the router so the change takes effect.

### Change the channel

Starlink doesn’t document a Wi-Fi channel setting, and its list of app settings doesn’t include one.

**Kilobat can help.** Kilobat shows which band and channel your Mac is on, and `kilobat channels` suggests the least crowded channel. More in [crowded Wi-Fi channels](https://kilobat.app/guides/wifi-channel-congestion) and [Wi-Fi on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/wifi-analyzer-mac).

## Mesh: which node a device uses

Router 3, Router Mini and the Gen 2 router can mesh with each other. The Gen 1 router can’t. Starlink advises no more than three mesh routers.

1. Place each mesh router one or two rooms from the main router and plug it in.
2. Connect to your Starlink Wi-Fi and open the Starlink app.
3. Wait 1–2 minutes for the **New Mesh Node(s)** notification, then tap **Pair** or **Pair All**.
4. The node appears on the **Network** screen, which also shows how the nodes connect to each other.

Pair each node directly to the main router: chained nodes are slower. An Ethernet cable from the main router’s LAN port to the node’s WAN port gives the best speed.

**Kilobat can help.** When your Mac moves to another node or band, Kilobat’s Health says so, so a weaker node isn’t taken for a router problem. See [find a better Wi-Fi spot](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/find-better-wifi-spot).

## Guest network

1. Open the Starlink app and go to **Settings**.
2. Tap **Add Network**.
3. Enter a name and password for the guest network.
4. Turn on the **Guest Network** option and tap **Save**.

Devices on a Guest network can’t see each other or your other devices, and can’t open the Starlink app. Your router always keeps at least one Default network.

**Kilobat can help.** Kilobat can show a network as a QR code, so guests join with their phone’s camera: [share Wi-Fi with a QR code](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/share-wifi-qr-code).

## DNS settings

Starlink lists custom DNS servers among the router settings in the app, but its help pages don’t show the exact screen. By default Starlink hands out DNS servers that are usually `8.8.8.8` and `1.1.1.1`.

1. Open the Starlink app, go to **Settings** and open the **Router** tab.
2. For filtered DNS, open **Content Filtering**.
3. Choose **Malware** or **Malware and Adult Content**. This switches the router to Cloudflare’s family DNS.

Choose **No Filtering** to undo it.

**Kilobat can help.** Before you change DNS, [compare resolvers with Kilobat](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/pick-faster-dns) to see which answers fastest from your home.

## Connection status and logs

1. Open the Starlink app and tap **Statistics** for speed, uptime, latency, outages and alerts. This works away from home too.
2. Open the **Event Log** to see outages, router problems and spells of high packet loss.
3. Run the advanced speed test. If **Device → Router** is slower than the internet test, your Wi-Fi is the bottleneck.

Alerts such as **RECENT INTERRUPTIONS** or **POOR CABLE CONNECTION** explain themselves when you tap them. Since mid-2026 the Event Log also lists band switches and mesh roaming for idle devices; Starlink says these are normal.

**Kilobat can help.** When the line keeps dropping, Kilobat’s [provider report](https://kilobat.app/docs/health#report) lists outages, latency and speed tests against your plan, ready to send to your provider.

## Manuals and downloads

- [Starlink Standard kit setup guide (PDF)](https://www.starlink.com/public-files/installation_guide_standard_kit.pdf)
- [Starlink Standard kit specifications (PDF)](https://www.starlink.com/public-files/specification_sheet_standard.pdf)
- [Starlink Help Center](https://www.starlink.com/support)

Links go to the maker’s own pages.

## Questions

**Can I open ports on the Starlink router?**

No. It has no port forwarding, and the default plan uses CGNAT with no inbound IPv4. Use bypass mode with your own router, and a public IP plan if you need inbound IPv4.

**How do I turn bypass mode off?**

Factory reset the router with its reset button (or six power cycles on a Gen 2 router). The app can’t do it while bypass is on.

## Sources

- [Starlink Help Center: Does Starlink have a WiFi router administrator portal?](https://starlink.com/support/article/f9a1d602-9204-e70c-a780-f2619d99f9c7)
- [Starlink Help Center: How do I change my WiFi network name (SSID) and password?](https://starlink.com/support/article/84fa18cf-758c-6fee-98e7-756d75d6f811)
- [Starlink Help Center: How do I factory reset my router?](https://starlink.com/support/article/d68ed178-4d54-b486-b7d8-2a6273917632)
- [Starlink Help Center: Can I choose when my Starlink updates its software?](https://starlink.com/support/article/d8f743ff-df44-98da-8ba8-2ef3337842c5)
- [Starlink Help Center: How do I update my Starlink if it doesn’t automatically update?](https://starlink.com/support/article/44b964f6-a538-d7c1-b893-b02822f444b5)
- [Starlink Help Center: Can I port forward with the Starlink router?](https://starlink.com/support/article/e3e6bb65-2bbc-1c8a-0c42-74b4776a64f8)
- [Starlink Help Center: What IP address does Starlink provide?](https://starlink.com/support/article/1192f3ef-2a17-31d9-261a-a59d215629f4)
- [Starlink Help Center: What is bypass mode?](https://starlink.com/support/article/a0fe8d51-32f7-d2b9-d74a-801e31ad9f6a)
- [Starlink Help Center: Slow Speeds - Troubleshooting](https://starlink.com/support/article/7cf0a30d-d72e-5228-84e7-83fa58821bb8)
- [Starlink Help Center: How do I set up Starlink Mesh?](https://starlink.com/support/article/e729e467-6572-99c0-1035-cdd61b2e2cb7)
- [Starlink Help Center: What is Starlink Mesh?](https://starlink.com/support/article/57f4bd5c-4125-2210-8bb2-30c90b558b7b)
- [Starlink Help Center: What are network modes?](https://starlink.com/support/article/a76c4d68-2add-93dd-e5e1-6bb2d72623e6)
- [Starlink Help Center: Content Filtering](https://starlink.com/support/article/1542bce8-8fa4-158f-5880-2dd366dec075)
- [Starlink Help Center: How can I monitor my Starlink’s performance?](https://starlink.com/support/article/8d137188-3031-ab18-7789-edad95f1bb22)
- [Starlink Help Center: What is the Event Log?](https://starlink.com/support/article/0d8ed4aa-e19c-919f-4e0c-93c12656fc48)
- [Starlink Help Center: Data Usage Best Practices](https://starlink.com/support/article/b3de8ce8-3123-38ab-6061-4f477106a7b4)
- [Starlink Help Center: How can I improve my WiFi connectivity?](https://starlink.com/support/article/f28de520-ef3f-138d-9f69-7f1b37433f1e)

Checked on 1 November 2026.

## See what your router can’t tell you

Kilobat is a Mac menu-bar app that watches the network from your side: which app is using it, whether the Wi-Fi, the router or the provider is slow, and why a call froze.

[Download for Mac ↓](https://kilobat.app/downloads/Kilobat-1.31.1.dmg?via=site)

```
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
```

## More router guides

- [AmpliFi](https://kilobat.app/routers/amplifi): AmpliFi is Ubiquiti’s consumer mesh Wi-Fi line, with a touchscreen router and MeshPoints.
- [Apple AirPort](https://kilobat.app/routers/apple-airport): AirPort Extreme, AirPort Time Capsule and AirPort Express are Apple’s Wi-Fi base stations.
- [ASUS router](https://kilobat.app/routers/asus): ASUS RT, ROG Rapture, TUF Gaming and ZenWiFi routers all run ASUSWRT.
- [Cudy Wi-Fi router](https://kilobat.app/routers/cudy): Cudy’s Wi-Fi routers and mesh systems, such as the WR3000 and M3000, share one web interface at cudy.net.