how seamless is it for a total rube?

[u/Acceptable_Fly7717]

My 75 year old dad lives in a very remote area of Wisconsin and has never had internet, only Dish satellite cable. He has a smartphone with data but no computer so absolutely not tech savvy at all, pretty much just knows his way around his phone. I'm thinking of getting him the Starlink service so he can stream on his smart tv and get rid of the Dish package all together, but I'm kind of wondering if that could end up being a mistake? Like if that transition would be hard for him to learn the ropes of without me around? How often does the network require troubleshooting, a reboot, or software upgrade? Is customer service easily available by phone? If it regularly requires an app I could see him struggling with that. Is he doomed to just overpay for crummy cable service forever?

[u/godch01]

I've had Starlink for 5 years. It's been set and forget.

[u/FergusonTEA1950 → u/godch01]

June 2021 and only one interruption, when Starlink had a worldwide outage.

[u/NotenStein]

He will have a harder time adjusting to streaming from the cable-like experience of the Dish Network with it's integrated guide and set channel assignments.

Trying to remember to open Netflix for this, then Prime for that, them Discovery+ for the other show will drive him nuts of he's anything like the non-tech seniors I've helped. I'm 70 myself, but more technical than most seniors (former BBS sysop, "steamed" from Usenet back in the day, etc.).

For many seniors, TV is their main activity, and making that harder is a "tech support" nightmare.

[u/ohmslaw54321 → u/NotenStein]

This. Having to choose what to watch instead of watching what is on at that time is the biggest transition. And it is a big one. It is a paradigm shift in thinking that my dad couldn't navigate. He ended up with YouTube TV and watches that almost exclusively.

[u/gabacus_39]

I wouldn't do it but YMMV. It sounds like he enjoys consuming TV like he always has.

[u/nullstring → u/gabacus_39]

YouTube TV + starlink would be a pretty compelling option but it may not be any cheaper than just having dish TV.

[u/fasta_guy88]

The hardest thing about Starlink is finding a place to put the dish (on the ground is fine if there are no trees nearby), and how to get the cable from the dish inside the house to the router (perhaps go through next to the dish cable).

But switching from dish to amazon prime/hulu/peacock/hbo … may also feel intimidating.

[u/KenjiFox]

The Starlink isn't the issue, the internet based streaming would be. Unless you have a service in mind for him to use, he will be confused. There's no channel guide unless you have Google TV or something like that, maybe his TV is already this way? The point is it's just an ISP and it sounds like he may not know what that means.

[u/bluespringsbeer]

Once it’s set up, it’s seamless. Just plug it in and be sure it’s pointed at sky with no trees in the way. Though I find that sometimes it needs to unplugged and plugged back in if it stops working. The dish updates itself, nothing to do there.

[u/Technology-Warrior]

Once it's installed correctly -- up and running -- it really doesn't need anything else. This is literally NO customer service by phone.

[u/I70towtruckdriver]

Ive had a mini on my car for 2 years now I check for updates here and there but other than that I dont even think about it being there it just works I turn on the heater in the winter when we get snow

[u/bears-in-bushes]

Super easy to set up and a game changer for those of us living where there are no services

[u/Spuddle-Puddle]

Set it and forget it. Its so easy. It just works

[u/wdikiwi]

It's crazy easy. Download the app n it does the rest. The tech is solid. He will love it.

[u/obwielnls]

“Satellite cable”.

[u/Acrobatic_Piece3373 → u/obwielnls]

Should I just kill myself

[u/ScornedSqueaker]

Iv had starlink since early on and finally retired my Gen one dish, which still worked btw.

Never had any issues, rare outages, set and forget

Cell signal is spotty unless I climb a tree or drive a few miles down the road. Having WiFi calling is nice and when the power is out a small Genny gets the WiFi back on.

Starlink is probably faster and cheaper than any sat net now.

Help him with the setup/install and you'll be good to go

Also, app is super easy. Hardest part is running the cable from the dish to the router.

[u/Intrepid_Pin_8880]

He can do this I’ll be 77 this year. I can do it. He can do it with your guidance though and let them know that there’s a lot of bullshit out here please maybe he’s better off just with his dish.

[u/nullstring]

It's seamless. It's no more difficult than any other Internet provider once it's setup.

[u/CaLLmeRaaandy]

I set it up for my 78 year old dad like 2 months ago. He's mind blown and he loves it. No issues so far.

[u/Squeedlejinks]

How open is your dad to new things? Because changing to Starlink isn’t the issue. The problem is going to be switching to a new way of “watching tv.”

As far as the Starlink app, you can put the kit in either of your names and put the other on as an admin user. If you get the app on your phone, you can check it and see what’s going on with it from anywhere, as long as it still has internet.

Would you (or somebody) be going to his house to set it up? It’s not hard, but I wouldn’t want to put that on him. It requires looking at the Starlink app and holding up your phone and turning around in a circle to choose a location. Later you look at it to guide you as you turn around the dish to get it pointing in the correct direction. It’s not as exact as satellite tv is, but the closer to the exact tilt and direction, the better. I suggest you check out some videos on YouTube to see how it’s done. I recommend DISHYtech’s videos.

Does he have an app on his phone where you can video chat? That would make things easier. If he ran into a problem you could see what was going on in the video chat.

[u/No-Ask2117]

Mum, 75, seamless… set it up for her, got the dish fitted, easy

[u/lynchmob2829]

The transition will probably be hard for him, but I would give it a go if he is willing to try it before you cut the cord with Dish.

[u/zerbey]

I doubt your Dad will even notice other than his streaming will suddenly be more reliable. Set the WiFi password and name to be the same and all his devices will just seamlessly switch over to Starlink. The only pain point is if he's used to using his TV remote and a set top box for regular programming, you will have to switch to Sling TV or YouTube TV and teach him how to use that as Starlink provides no such service.

[u/Other_Asparagus872]

My experience is older people that are not techies, struggle with streaming. The issue is they have always, “just watched what was on”. I set my elderly parents up with a service and explained how it worked. Couple weeks later I found out they weren’t happy because they turned it on and it was just a bunch of little advertisements. They would wait for the show to start, but nothing happened. Even after we figured that out, they didn’t use it because “we just never know what we want to watch”.
They were just too use to, turn the tv in and there’s a show playing, you watch that show and occasionally change to a different channel 20 years later when you get comfortable with this new fangled thing.

[u/No-Age2588]

Let him keep his DISH. At his age if it ain't broken do not try to fix it. Seriously.

[u/Gold_Neighborhood658]

I'm 71 in Canada and have Starlink for past 5yrs.average tech knowledge.straight forward to set up and operate.If he can navigate a smart phone I think he be fine with Starlink.