Starlink Sold Out. Waitlist Returns for U.S. Customers in Congested Areas

Starlink is no longer as widely available as once thought. The satellite internet giant has had to reintroduce waiting lists for customers in certain regions because the network’s capacity cannot keep up with demand.

According to Starlink’s online availability map, the satellite internet provider is “sold out” in the U.S., including the regions surrounding Austin, Portland, Seattle, Sacramento, and San Diego. Most Puerto Rico residents are also unable to get Starlink. Internationally, there are several “sold-out” spots, including the area around London in the U.K. and several in Canada, Australia, Africa, and South America. Not since October 2023, when it announced it was available nationwide, has Starlink had a waitlist in the U.S.

If you attempt to order a new Starlink from the website with an address in the affected regions, you’ll be offered to put a $99 deposit on a kit that will ship once it becomes available. By entering your address on Starlink's website, check to see if you live in one of the “sold out” regions.

“Starlink is at capacity in your area. Order now to reserve your Starlink. You will receive a notification once your Starlink is ready to ship,” according to the website’s store.

There is no timeline or estimated date for when it will ship, but customers who put down a deposit for the waitlist will receive a notification of estimated arrival. This only applies when ordering a kit for residential service and doesn’t affect its Roam service. This also doesn’t bar anyone from purchasing a Starlink kit from a third-party retailer like Best Buy or Home Depot and activating it for residential service. 

Starlink previously instituted a $100 congestion charge in certain regions with high demand and low capacity. Now, Starlink is completely pausing the sale of kits in locations with too many users and insufficient bandwidth to go around. Starlink has insisted that the total provider's capacity will increase as its satellite constellation is built out. SpaceX has launched over 7,000 low earth orbit satellites and plans to have at least 30,000 within the next few years. It must also replace older satellites that expire and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere after about five years.

Starlink has not made any official comment regarding the “sold out” zones or when they expect there will be enough capacity to make it widely available again. Although Starlink isn’t available in some regions, other satellite internet providers are readily available throughout the country. Compare the major satellite companies now if you are looking to get connected.