For millions of Starlink users, last week’s internet outage came as an unwelcome surprise. Around noon PST on Thursday, July 24, the satellite-based internet service suffered its longest disruption to date, briefly knocking users offline across North America and other regions.
While the outage prompted frustration and forced many to scramble for backup connectivity, the underlying cause may actually be a positive development.
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According to internal communications shared with Starlink resellers, the issue wasn’t due to a catastrophic failure or hardware malfunction.
Instead, it was the result of a planned network “upgrade procedure.”
More specifically, the disruption occurred during a software rollout reportedly aimed at improving performance and scalability across Starlink’s global satellite internet infrastructure.
A Starlink upgrade triggered an outage affecting millions.
Image source: Shutterstock
What went wrong, and what that means for Starlink
Initially, a SpaceX executive described the outage as a failure of key internal software services that operate the core network, without providing further detail.
However, a later message to industry partners clarified that the disruption occurred during an upgrade procedure targeting Starlink’s ground-based compute clusters.
These systems manage the massive flow of data between satellites, ground stations, and users’ home terminals.
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The upgrade was designed to enhance Starlink’s network capabilities, according to sources speaking to PCMag, but a rare combination of factors led to an unexpected overload. As traffic shifted across the upgraded computing infrastructure, the system buckled under the stress and disrupted service for many users.
Most connections were restored within a few hours, though some users reported lingering issues that lasted into the next day.
This kind of issue is not uncommon in large-scale network management, especially during live upgrades.
Importantly, however, it was not a hardware or satellite failure, which would have been far more difficult and expensive to resolve. Instead, the outage revealed the growing pains of a maturing and rapidly scaling service, and the benefits of the upgrade are already starting to show.
Starlink’s speeds have increased for some users
In the days following the outage, many Starlink customers have reported significantly faster internet speeds — with some indicating performance improvements of as much as 3x to 8x their previous speeds. Still, others have reported more persistent connection issues and slower speeds since the outage.
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This suggests that the upgrade, while temporarily disruptive, may have achieved its intended effect for most users, even as the company continues to work out the kinks.
It reinforces the idea that SpaceX is not simply maintaining its Starlink network, but also actively improving it. The fact that a single system upgrade could lead to noticeable speed increases for end users shows that meaningful progress is underway.
Although any service disruption is inconvenient, particularly for users in rural or remote areas who rely on Starlink for daily connectivity, this incident highlights the complexity of managing a global satellite internet network that now serves over six million customers.
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SpaceX responded quickly to the outage; company executive Michael Nicolls issued a public apology and assured customers that the company is committed to identifying the root cause and preventing future disruptions.
The encouraging takeaway? The outage was not a sign of system failure, but a result of efforts to build something better.
As Starlink evolves into a more advanced and higher-capacity platform, occasional interruptions may be part of the process.
In short, the system went down because SpaceX is working to make it stronger. And for many users, it already has.