A battery-powered Starlink Mini is likely on the way

Code in Starlink’s latest firmware suggests SpaceX may soon launch a version of its smallest Internet dish with a built-in battery. The battery-powered Starlink Mini will provide unrestricted portability to truck crews, emergency responders and anyone who wants fast, low-latency internet from virtually anywhere on the planet.

University researcher Jinwei Zhao spotted a number of strings referring to the built-in battery in the May firmware release, according to PCMag. the “DishBatteryStats message“The line suggests code designed to return specific fields from a built-in battery, including the current charge status. If the dish is simply connected to an external third-party power bank, the Starlink firmware will not be able to read the exact battery charge percentage or charging status natively.”

The firmware also contains an icon indicating Three distinct power statesWhich suggests that the unit can operate from a direct USB-C power supply, its internal battery, or both simultaneously. This type of pass-through support would increase battery health to prevent the platter from becoming an expensive paperweight after a few hundred cycles.

Currently, the Starlink Mini must be plugged into a wall AC outlet or portable battery to stick to those 10,000-plus satellites operating in low Earth orbit. You can also buy batteries such as The impressive PeakDo LinkPower serieswhich opens directly into the back of the Starlink Mini. But the PeakDo software is out of date, and the batteries are expensive compared to external power banks with similar specifications.

The Starlink Mini with a built-in battery should work seamlessly in the Starlink app, be backed by SpaceX’s warranty, and allow the dish to be built as compactly as possible — likely around the airline-friendly 99Wh battery, which could produce Over five hours of run time based on my testing.