Starlink Dish is a circular or square-shaped, white-colored dish with an electronic phased array antenna and motorized self-orientation technology that consumes 50–75 watts of power. It acts as a receiver of data, comes from Starlink satellites, and provides broadband through a router that connects to the dish via Starlink cable. Currently, the square-shaped dish comes with a Starlink kit.
The square-shaped Starlink dish has many advantages over its round-shaped dish due to its lesser size and weight, higher coverage angle, more polarity, lesser power consumption, and easy portability options.
This guide will help you provide all the necessary information regarding the round vs. square Starlink dish, including a detailed comparison of dimensions, coverage angle, polarity, frequency range, power consumption, ingress protection rating, which one you should choose, and whether you should upgrade from the previous-shaped Starlink dish to a new one or not.
Remember: The Starlink square-shaped dish is also called the Starlink rectangular dish and the Starlink v2 dish. So please don’t get confused regarding its shape and names.
Contents
Round vs Square Starlink Dish Comparison
| Feature | Round Dish (Gen1) | Square Dish (Gen2) |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 23.2″ (58.9 cm) diameter | 20.2″×11.9″ (51.3 × 30.2 cm) |
| Weight | 16 lbs (7.3 Kg) | 9.2 lbs (4.2 Kg) |
| Coverage Angle | 25 degrees | 35 degrees |
| Polarity | Single | Dual |
| MIMO | 2×2 MIMO | 3×3 MIMO |
| Frequency Range | KU bands | KU & KA bands |
| Ethernet Port Availability | Yes (Built-In) | Not Available |
| Temperature Durability | -22°F to +122°F | -22°F to +122°F |
| Mounting Option | Volcano mount Flashing mount Ground Pole mount Pipe adapter mount | Volcano mount Flashing mount Ground Pole mount Pipe adapter mount Short wall mount Longwall mount Pivot mount |
| IP Rating | IP 54 | IP 54/IP 56* |
Detailed Comparison of Round and Square Starlink Dish
According to Engadget (an electronic blog operated by Yahoo Inc.), Starlink was publicly launched in February 2021 for beta testing users and got over 10,000 customers within 3 months of its launch. Starlink round dish, also called Gen 1, is the first dish type launched by Starlink. The square-shaped dish, also called the Gen 2 dish, was officially launched on December 11, 2021, for better convenience for users.
To meet customer demands, SpaceX has to manufacture more Starlink dishes, due to which Starlink Gen 2 dishes with a compact size, less weight, and more qualitative performance enable Starlink to meet supply and demand. Also, this new square-shaped Starlik dish has many more advantages over the round-shaped, which we are going to discuss in the next few sections of the blog.
Jumps To: Which Starlink dish is best for you – Round or Square.
Dimensions
The dimensions of the Starlink round and square-shaped dish are as follows:
| Feature | Round Dish | Square Dish |
|---|---|---|
| Dimension | 23.2″ (diameter) | 20.2″ x 11.9″ (length x breadth) |
| Weight | 16 lbs (7.3 Kg) | 9.2 lbs (4.2 Kg) |
| Height | 25.4″ (64.4 cm) | 24″ (61 cm) |
| Mast diameter | 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) | 1.3 inches (3.4 cm) |
From the above table, it can be concluded that the Starlink square-shaped dish is actually 1.7 times less in weight and 1.75 times shorter in area (size) than the Starlink round dish. Due to this, the Starlink square dish is easier to handle during installation and while roaming around the world.
Coverage Angle
The coverage angle is the angle at which the Starlink dish must be placed during installation to get the best quality communication between the dish and the Starlink satellite. For a round-shaped dish, it is 25 degrees, while for a square dish, it is 35 degrees.
A better coverage angle is present for the square dish as compared to the round dish, helping it receive a clearer signal in camping or remote island areas, which ultimately provides high-speed internet and avoids downtime in most cases.
Polarity
Square dish Starlink has a dual polarity, through which it can send and receive data simultaneously in vertical and horizontal positions. In contrast, the round dish has a single polarity, enabling it only to receive the data. Dishes with dual polarity help in better communication with the satellites revolving in Earth’s orbit.
Due to higher polarity, the chances of getting an uninterrupted internet connection are higher for square-shaped dishes than for round-shaped ones.
Power Consumption
Power consumption is one of the major differences between the round and square-shaped Starlink dishes. As in the Romete area, proper electricity is one of the biggest problems to deal with. Initially, for a round dish, 65–100 watts of power were needed to operate the Starlink service, while for a square dish, it was reduced to only 50–75 watts.
A square-shaped dish consumes less power, and its power cable is more durable than that that comes with the round Starlink kit. It can now resist more heat and is not easily damaged either.
Ethernet Port
The ethernet port on a device allows you to connect an ethernet cable through which your device can provide broadband by connecting itself to the network called LAN, WAN, or MAN. It is required for many applications and other browsing activities.
Starlink’s Gen 2 model doesn’t provide any Ethernet port options to its users, though it was available before. Still, you can buy an Ethernet adapter from the Starlink Shop, which enables you to use this feature.
Mounting Options
During the installation of Starlink, there are many mounting options available for a Starlink user to improve their internet connection. With the launch of the Starlink v2 dish, or Gen 2 Starlink, new mounting options like short wall, long wall, and pivot mount have also been introduced. Currently, users have seven types of mounting options: ground pole mount, volcano mount, pipe adapter mount, flashing mount, pivot mount, long wall mount, and short wall mount.
The Starlink square dish is very easy to mount due to its smaller size and lighter weight. While technicians were initially required to handle and mount the dish, now do-it-yourself easy installation is available for everyone. Also, remember that mounting hardware that is compatible with round dishes is not compatible with square dishes, as per Starlink officials.
Round or Square dish, which is better to use?
After reading all the feature comparisons between the Starlink round and square dishes, you may come to know that the square Starlink dish is more useful than the round dish. Most of the Starlink users are very happy and satisfied with the new version of the dish (a square-shaped dish), but Starlink still launched the third generation of the dish, known as the Starlink Gen 3 dish. The company always upgrades its devices based on enhanced technology to meet customer demands.
So, if you are going to buy Starlink, you must opt for the Square Starlink dish. In my opinion, I am currently using the Starlink v2 dish (square dish), and I am satisfied with it holistically.
Is it mandatory to use the Starlink Square Dish?
Yes, it is mandatory to use square dishes because Starlink stopped manufacturing round dishes. Starlink is only upgrading and enhancing the square dish for better performance. Also, if you order Starlink hardware, then by default, you will get a square Starlink dish.
If you are using an older version of Starlink dish (round dish), you must upgrade it to the new version (square dish) to get the best performance of Starlink and enjoy unlimited internet connection with high speed.
How do you upgrade your Round Starlink dish to a square dish?
If you want to upgrade your Starlink dish from Gen 1 to Gen 2, then you can either buy a new Starlink kit and sell your used Starlink, or you can raise a support ticket to do the entire process of upgrade.
To buy a new Starlink standard kit, you must pay $599 (additional shipping charges) and your monthly plan price.
To raise a customer support ticket, follow the given below 5 steps:
- Login to your Starlink account.
- Navigate to the support option and raise your ticket.
- Ask them to change your Starlink dish from gen 1 to gen 2. (provide a valid reason to do so),
- Wait for their reply, which you will usually get within 1 week.
- Follow their guidelines to upgrade your dish generation.
Once you upgrade your device, you will get a better internet connection and more frequent updates that will increase the user experience overall.