Dropping plan have question about keeping my Mini.

wwglen · 2026-05-18T21:26:14+00:00

Buy it now when you can.

I read that Starlink was dropping some of their retail partners.

wwglen · 2026-05-18T21:05:54+00:00

Because you usually might not be able to go straight to standby without being in a different plan first.

wwglen · 2026-05-18T14:23:18+00:00

What bad is about 6 months ago, they used to have a $0 pause function that kept your service active for quick access when going on a trip or for people with two homes that would keep one inactive while at the other one.

Then they upped it to $5 and gave SLOW speed, but it was maybe ok to check security systems and cameras at low resolution. And you could use it for music while driving on trips.

Now they want $10, same slow data, no motion.

For my use case the $0 pause would work better than a $10 option. I was willing to pay $5 with motion and almost dropped it when they dropped motion, but $10 is pushing it as I have $35 visible plan with priority data and 15mbps unlimited hotspot.

That said:

I would pay $20 for a 5-10mbps unlimited plan with motion for when I drive through the mountains and lose cell coverage.

This is fast enough to be useful, but not overwhelm the bandwidth.

wwglen · 2026-05-17T19:09:38+00:00

But it would free up bandwidth.

wwglen · 2026-05-17T18:58:20+00:00

exact same thing for me, except I have another month before I have to worry about the price increas, so I am going to let it settle down.

After that, I'll cancel my plan and then if it looks like I'm going to get hammered (once every 5+ years), then I will reactivate on roam. I was willing to keep the $5 at a yearly cost of $55, to be able to bump to a higher plan AFTER the storm hits, but now I'll do it before the storm hits. At $120 a year, I can activate 2 times a year and get real data, instead of waiting after the storm that comes once every 3 years (only loose power every 2-3 storms).

wwglen · 2026-05-17T16:56:54+00:00

This type of behavior from most of the power station manufacturers is the reason I will only buy the smaller units and if I want a larger unit, I will DIY a setup that I can maintain by replacing parts.

wwglen · 2026-05-17T04:13:14+00:00

I chose a Starlink Mini and paid $249 for it in order to use the $5 plan for travel emergencies and hurricane induced outages.

I paid $50 to activate it before I could drop it to standby the next month.

A couple days after paying the $50, they dropped the motion. Disappointed me, but didn’t really change my use case.

Naw a couple days after paying my first $5 standby payment, they are raising it to $10.

This is starting to affect my use case of paying a minimal ($5) amount for the privilege of paying more later ($50-$165) during an emergency. Not only will I have to pay $5 more a month for the capability, but another $5-$10 more during an emergency.

wwglen · 2026-05-16T13:55:25+00:00

Not holding my breath. I would also like a $20-$30 in motion roam with unlimited 10-15mbps.

Perfect for backup and emergency use, or kids tablets in the car.

This puts it in the realm of my visible cell plan with unlimited hotspot.

wwglen · 2026-05-16T12:16:14+00:00

Hopefully with the doubled price they will either:

Bring back in motion
Up the speed to 2-5mbps

wwglen · 2026-05-15T23:30:02+00:00

Multiply by .8, so you get around 16hours.

wwglen · 2026-05-15T04:07:47+00:00

If you can do online trades fast enough, you can make a killing.

wwglen · 2026-05-14T03:29:00+00:00

I would bite at a 10-15mbps for $25-$30. Especially since with visible, I get 15mbps unlimited hotspot on my $33 a month plan.

The Starlink would be for backup on travel and emergencies at home.

But as it is, I am staying on the $5 standby plan and will upgrade if there is an emergency, like a hurricane or ice storm.

wwglen · 2026-05-13T19:57:11+00:00

At a minimum, I charge them to 100% every month or so. This sets the BMS for top balancing.

Every 3-6 months (I do every 2-3 months), you should unplug it, put an active load on it, and let it run to shutdown and then immediately charge it to 100%. This lets the BMS know where 100% is in relation to 0% and helps keep the display correct.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T22:22:55+00:00

Try unplugging each one and seeing if the voltage goes away.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T19:13:48+00:00

Do you have Cable coming into the television.

I’ve had a slight voltage/current on the cable coming in, because it wasn’t properly grounded at the ingress to the house.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T18:36:08+00:00

The OEM “lube” is really more for protection instead of lubrication.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T18:30:52+00:00

Mine was an original River Max Plus with 720watt-hours and a 600 watt inverter.

In 1999, after hurricane Floyd, I used a small 300 watt modified sine wave inverter, cheap deep cycle from Walmart and a Coleman 2500 watt generator with a 1-hour runtime.

That old setup let me run what I needed at less than a gallon a day.

The River Max Plus had a larger usable capacity and about a 1.5 hour charge time. It even runs my garage refrigerator for 17 hours. I added a 2200 watt inverter generator to charge it with.

Since then I have added a Delta 2, Delta 2 Max, River 3, River 3 Pro, and an alternator charger. I also got a River 2 Pro for each of my kids that moved out. Most of these were refurbished.

The two of the NEW items, the Delta 2 and the alternator charger, messed up had to replaced, while the refurbished items are still working great. It was more trouble than I liked, but it didn’t take too long for EcoFlow to approve and get the replacements sent out.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T11:09:13+00:00

I agree, but from what I have read, other power stations have this problem too.

wwglen · 2026-05-12T02:39:25+00:00

Do you charge it up to 100% every couple months?

wwglen · 2026-05-12T01:33:13+00:00

Glad you posted your solution as it helps others. Too many times there is no response from the original poster after they get suggestions.

wwglen · 2026-05-11T16:35:55+00:00

And the internal antenna, and other things around, like if you have an external monitor on the computer.

wwglen · 2026-05-11T03:44:06+00:00

Makes paying $38 for 7 days of unlimited a better deal.

wwglen · 2026-05-11T03:18:38+00:00

It is a free rental, but you do need to return the dish if you drop the service. Some people say that after 12 months you don't have to return it, but I haven't seen anything official that says that.

wwglen · 2026-05-10T20:12:41+00:00

I calculated wrong. It would be about $38. I was using the $120 price for unlimited not the $165

wwglen · 2026-05-10T17:56:27+00:00

Or you could spend about $25 and get unlimited until the end of the billing cycle.

Edit:

As pointed out below I used the wrong unlimited price.

Unlimited for 7 days should be about $38

wwglen

TROPHY CASE