Starlink is offering relief to residents recovering from the hurricane, which has caused mass communication outages. However, those residents will still need to buy a Starlink kit.
Free Starlink Service in Region Devastated by Hurricanes Helene and Milton
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Image by Starlink
Update 10/14/2024: Starlink announced it will extend the free service in affected areas from 30 days to the end of 2024 to assist in recovery efforts in the regions affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Starlink is temporarily offering new and current customers in affected areas a free month of service. The relief plan was announced on X and made available on October 2 with a new Standard Starlink kit, which is exclusive to the Residential service plan. Damage from the storm has left mass outages in communication infrastructures, both wireless and wired, affecting hundreds of thousands of residents.
New customers still need to pay $349 for the Starlink kit. According to Starlink, after the free 30 days, the customer will be moved to the paid Residential plan ($120 monthly). It does offer a 30-day return policy if you're unhappy with the service or your primary internet service returns.
Starlink warns that shipments will likely be delayed and cannot be expedited, so it could be several weeks before one arrives. It recommends buying a kit from retailers like Best Buy or Home Depot.
It's unknown how long Starlink will offer this relief. It does leave the door open for additional relief service as it reevaluates the conditions in the region and recovery efforts continue.
How to get 30 free days of Starlink
New customers need to select the Helene Relief option for service at the checkout screen for a new kit. The option will only appear to customers if the address they entered is in the qualifying areas. Check the map above to see if you live in the affected region. The map aligns with the areas the FCC identified suffering major communication outages.
“If you do not see the $0 option, your area is not eligible. If you believe this is in error, please let us know by contacting support,” according to the program’s support page.
Customers who obtain a new kit from anywhere besides Starlink’s website can get the free 30 days by following these instructions:
- Go to starlink.com/activate
- Enter your Starlink kit identifier
- Enter your address, click search
- Select "Residential"
- Select the "Helene Relief" service plan and check out
- Repeat for each kit, if adding more than one
Current customers can also apply for relief by submitting a support ticket to Starlink. They will evaluate the customer’s eligibility based on the address for the relief credit.
