Starlink Global Roam is discontinued: what travelers should do now

August 17, 2026. Starlink's published cutoff for Global Roam has arrived. The plan stopped accepting new customers on July 15, and Starlink says service for existing Global Roam customers is discontinued on August 17. Customers who did not choose a replacement should check their account status now. Starlink says the old service line stops, billing stops and the line can be reactivated later with an available plan.

Starlink has not published a public account-level transition dashboard or an exact cutoff hour. A connection that still works during the cutoff date is not proof of an exemption or extension. The plan shown in the account portal, the account email and a written answer from Starlink support are the useful checks for an individual line.

This is not a rename. Starlink recommends Global Priority for continued international use. Roam Unlimited is the shorter-trip alternative in its current notice, with service outside the registered home country limited to 30 days at a time. Other Roam plans are described as home-country products.

Updated August 17: Starlink's live discontinuation notice still names Global Priority as the extended international replacement and Roam Unlimited as the option with up to 30 days outside the home country or recognized home group. A separate travel help page still says 60 days, so the document conflict remains. Poland also remains restored to Starlink's Europe Roam group after briefly being treated as Poland-only.

The traveler decision: Open the Starlink account now and confirm whether Global Roam has stopped or a replacement is active. Choose Global Priority for extended cross-border use, consider Roam Unlimited for a trip that fits the published 30-day window, or localize the account only for a genuine move. Ordinary phone users should not buy or carry a satellite dish when terrestrial mobile data covers the route.

What happens now that Starlink Global Roam is discontinued

Starlink's Global Roam discontinuation notice gives two dates:

• July 15, 2026: Global Roam stopped accepting new customers.
• August 17, 2026: service ends for existing Global Roam customers.

An existing customer who did not select a replacement loses service under the published notice. Starlink says billing stops, and the service line can be reactivated later by selecting an available plan. That is different from staying on a replacement plan that is disabled because Travel Registration is incomplete; in that situation, Starlink says billing continues until the customer cancels.

The notice establishes the plan-level result, not a way to inspect another customer's line. Anyone who still sees Global Roam in the portal on August 17 should save a screenshot, avoid assuming continued service and ask Starlink support to confirm the active plan and billing state in writing.

The company says it emailed current Global Roam subscribers with account-specific steps. Check the plan shown in the account portal rather than relying on an old price page or screenshot.

Starlink Global Roam replacement options

The replacement depends on how long the equipment will remain outside its registered home area and whether the trip needs satellite broadband at all.

Starlink describes Global Priority as the direct successor for continued international travel. The notice lists priority network access, in-motion use up to 100 mph, up to two terminals on one service line and data blocks in 50GB or 500GB increments. Availability and pricing vary by account and country, so there is no single accurate worldwide price to quote.

Roam Unlimited is less suitable for a full-time overland or sailing itinerary under the new wording. It can still serve a shorter trip, but the lower-capacity Roam plans are not presented as international options in the discontinuation notice.

Boaters also need to separate international land travel from open-ocean use. Starlink's ocean guidance says Roam Unlimited needs paid, per-GB Ocean Mode for use more than 12 nautical miles offshore or beyond the normal coastal duration limits. Global Priority is the option Starlink describes for global land, coastal and international-water use. A 30-day land allowance is not an open-ocean entitlement.

Plan around 30 days, not the older 60-day wording

Starlink's current documents do not all say the same thing.

The discontinuation notice and the current Traveling with Starlink Roam help page say Roam Unlimited includes up to 30 days outside the home country or recognized home group at a time. However, the Service Plan Descriptions page indexed on August 13 still says up to 60 consecutive days.

For travel on or after August 17, use the newer, plan-specific 30-day notice as the safe planning rule unless the customer's account terms or Starlink support confirms otherwise in writing. Do not assume that switching the dish off, crossing into another foreign country or pausing for a day resets the window. The official notice does not publish such a reset method.

Travelers with an account registered in the United States or Canada get an important grouping: Starlink treats the two countries and their associated territories as one home area for this policy. It also groups European countries together. Check Starlink's linked country list in the account before assuming that every place commonly described as European is included.

Starlink restores Poland to its Europe Roam group

For a short period, Starlink's travel page treated accounts registered in Poland as Poland-only instead of including them in its wider Europe group. That would have made an ordinary trip from Poland to a neighboring European country count as international use.

Poland's digital affairs minister Krzysztof Gawkowski asked SpaceX on August 12 to restore equal terms and identify any local regulation behind the restriction. Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski also objected publicly. On August 13, Gawkowski said SpaceX had responded and that Poland would again be included in the intra-European Starlink Roam area without new restrictions.

Starlink's current public pages reflect that change:

• Roam 100GB: The Polish Roam page says customers can travel across Europe and the United Kingdom.
• Roam Unlimited: The plan still covers international travel in more than 160 countries and territories. The published 30-day limit matters when the terminal leaves its recognized home country or group, not for a trip that remains inside Starlink's listed Europe group.
• Travel Registration: A Poland-to-Europe trip within the recognized group should no longer trigger the international registration step solely because the account is Polish. Registration can still apply outside the home group.

This is a current-policy correction, not an explanation of what happened. Starlink removed the Poland-only note and put Poland back in the Europe list, but it has not published a reason for either decision. Claims linking the temporary restriction to Ukraine, resellers or European satellite policy remain unverified. Because Starlink can revise country groupings, customers should check the list and plan terms shown in their own account before crossing a border.

Travel Registration now requires identity documents

International use now has a separate identity step. Starlink's Travel Registration instructions say it applies to international service on every account type except Enterprise.

The form normally requests:

• full legal name;
• nationality and date of birth;
• passport number or another prompted government photo ID;
• a copy of the identity document; and
• a live portrait.

The customer opens Settings, finds Registration Requirements and selects Add Travel Plans. Starlink may review the submission, and some destinations can request more information. The name on the document must match the account.

Complete this on a reliable connection before departure. If registration is required but incomplete, international service can be disabled while billing continues. Registration also does not guarantee coverage. The route still needs to be in a country where Starlink is authorized and the selected plan is available.

Travel within the account's recognized home grouping does not require Travel Registration. That includes the US-Canada grouping and travel among the European countries Starlink currently lists, including Poland. Customers should verify the exact grouping shown in their account because country lists and local rules can change.

Localizing a Starlink account is a move, not a quick travel switch

Starlink lists localization as an alternative, but its country-transfer instructions describe a permanent account change.

The existing service must be canceled, the hardware identifier saved, and the kit transferred out of the old account. The customer then creates a new account with a different email address, a service address in the destination country and local billing details.

Transfers are not available until 120 days after purchase or 90 days after activation, whichever comes first. Starlink also says service must remain active for 90 days after activation, the balance must be clear, the country must have service and the requested plan must have capacity.

That process can suit someone relocating. It is a poor fit for a traveler changing countries every few weeks, and it should not be treated as a guaranteed loophole around the 30-day rule.

What Global Roam customers should do now

Current and former Global Roam customers can work through this sequence:

1. Open the account portal. Confirm the active plan, registered country, billing date and the replacement plans actually offered.
2. Confirm the cutoff result. If Global Roam still appears, ask support whether the line is active, stopped or awaiting a plan choice. Do not infer the answer from the label alone.
3. Check the home grouping. Poland is back in Starlink's Europe group, but do not assume every country commonly described as European is included.
4. Check the route on Starlink's availability map. Travel Registration does not make service legal or available in an unsupported country.
5. Complete Travel Registration early. Upload a clear document and live portrait while another connection is available.
6. Choose an available replacement. Global Priority is Starlink's stated extended-travel option; Roam Unlimited is the short-trip option under the 30-day notice.
7. Save a fallback. Download maps and bookings, keep local emergency details offline and arrange terrestrial phone data where mobile networks cover the route.

Changing plans can affect billing immediately or on the next billing date. Starlink's plan-change guidance says unused data blocks are not refunded when plans change mid-cycle. Review the change screen before confirming.

Starlink versus Roaming eSIM for international travel

These services solve different connection problems.

Starlink uses a separate terminal, power supply and view of the sky to create a Wi-Fi connection. It can be valuable at a remote campsite, anchorage or work site beyond cellular coverage. It does not add a mobile carrier line, local phone number or ordinary carrier calls and SMS to the traveler's phone.

A Roaming eSIM is installed on a compatible, unlocked phone and connects through the terrestrial partner networks listed for the selected package. It is usually the simpler choice for airports, cities, rail routes and populated roads. It does not work in a true mobile dead zone and does not provide satellite coverage.

🛰️ Starlink wins beyond cellular coverage: if a powered terminal can see the sky in an authorized service area, satellite broadband can connect where a Roaming eSIM cannot find a partner network.

🏆 Roaming eSIM wins for an ordinary phone-based trip: there is no terminal to carry, no satellite account to localize and no passport-plus-live-portrait step for the data plan. A traveler can compare the actual route, install before departure and use the published support path if setup needs attention.

The public Roaming eSIM catalog returned 15 Poland packages when rechecked at 17:10 UTC on August 17, including fixed-data and daily options. The count is evidence of current choice, not a promise that every plan will remain available. Some plans are reloadable and some are not; daily packages can reduce speed after the high-speed allowance; hotspot, activation and network details must be checked on the selected card.

Compare a Poland Roaming eSIM with Europe, North America and Global options. A regional label is not a promise that every country is included, so read the coverage list before purchase.

The country versus regional Roaming eSIM guide explains that choice. The travel eSIM versus roaming guide compares a separate data plan with home-carrier roaming, while the calls and SMS guide covers keeping the usual number active beside a data line.

Ten questions travelers are asking about the Starlink change

1. Who is affected on and after August 17? Customers who still had Global Roam. New customers have been unable to select the plan since July 15.
2. How can I confirm whether my Global Roam line has stopped? Check the plan and billing state in the account portal, read the account email and ask support for a written answer if the old label remains. Starlink does not publish a public enforcement dashboard.
3. What happens if no replacement is selected? Global Roam service stops and billing stops. Starlink says the line can be reactivated later with an available plan.
4. Can Roam 100GB or Roam 300GB still work internationally? The current discontinuation notice describes Roam Unlimited as the international Roam option and other Roam plans as home-area service.
5. Is the Roam Unlimited limit 30 or 60 days? The newest shutdown notice says 30 days, while other Starlink pages still say 60. Plan around 30 until Starlink aligns the documents or confirms different account terms.
6. Does returning home reset the international window? The policy is written around time outside the home country, but the public notice does not state a minimum home stay. Ask support for a written answer for the exact itinerary.
7. Is a passport required for international Starlink use? Travel Registration normally requests a passport or prompted government ID, a document copy and a live portrait.
8. Does Poland count as Europe for Starlink Roam? Yes, under Starlink's current published list. The company briefly treated Polish accounts as Poland-only, then restored Poland to the Europe group on August 13. Check the account before travel in case the country list changes again.
9. Can I localize the account during a holiday? The process is designed for a move: cancel, transfer the kit and open a new country account with a new email and local address. Transfer timing and capacity rules apply.
10. Can a Roaming eSIM replace Starlink? It can replace the phone-data part of a trip where terrestrial networks are available. It cannot replace satellite broadband in a genuine dead zone.

Sources and updates

The shutdown date, billing outcome and replacement paths came from Starlink's Global Roam notice, rechecked on August 17. The 30-day wording and home groups came from Traveling with Starlink Roam. Starlink's current Polish Roam page and Gawkowski's August 13 update support the restoration. Identity requirements came from Travel Registration, and the localization limits came from Starlink's country-transfer help.

The August 17 competitive refresh reviewed the ten leading exact-topic results, including Starlink Help, Seven Seas Cruising Association, SatelliteInternet.com, Starlink's plan and legal pages, Tweakers, MyBroadband, SailRoam and Mobile Internet Resource Center. Most remain pre-cutoff explanations. None supplies a public account-level enforcement dashboard. This page keeps the useful gap: a dated traveler checklist that combines billing, identity documents, localization, Poland's restoration, the 30-versus-60-day conflict and a phone-data fallback.

Roaming eSIM package availability was rechecked through the public Poland catalog at 17:10 UTC on August 17, 2026. The current product card remains the source of truth for price and package terms.

Update policy: We will revise this page when Starlink publishes account-level enforcement details, a renewed Poland-specific rule, a changed Travel Registration process, a definition of the 30-day reset, aligned 30- and 60-day documents, replacement-plan changes or another material revision to the country groupings.