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Starlink's Hidden Session Limit Revealed
4 Jun
Summary
- Starlink limits Residential and Roam plans to 1,200 concurrent sessions.
- Exceeding the session limit causes older connections to drop unexpectedly.
- Business plans offer public IP and remove session limitations.
SpaceX's Starlink service has detailed a technical limitation affecting its Residential and Roam plans. These subscribers are subject to a Carrier Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) system with a cap of 1,200 concurrent internet sessions.
When this limit is reached, older active connections will be automatically dropped. This can disrupt real-time communication tools such as VoIP, video conferencing, and online gaming, especially for users with many simultaneous connections. CGNAT is employed by ISPs to manage the shortage of IPv4 addresses, allowing multiple subscribers to share a single IP.
While hitting the 1,200-session limit is considered rare for average users, power users with numerous connected devices might encounter performance degradation. Starlink's Priority plans, targeted at businesses, include a public IP address and do not impose these session limitations, though they come at a higher price and include data caps.
