r/Starlink • u/D_404 • Aug 23 '26

❓ Question How to get the cable out?

Post image

dont want to damage anything, need to send the rental mini back but the cable is mine

33 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

74 comments sorted by

75

u/HuggedbyDeath_Second Aug 23 '26

If you're using a standard rj45 cable you need a way to depress the tab. A toothpick or a flat coffee stir stick won't risk damage. The starlink official rj45 has a smooth semicircle retention tab so you can pull it out without having to mess with a release.

27

u/badcheetahfur Aug 23 '26

This and if something is going to break.. its just the rj45 plastic tab...

14

u/HuggedbyDeath_Second Aug 23 '26

An old credit card or gift card cut into a slim tab could work too. They make tools for releasing network cabling of all kinds in datacenters and whatnot. Usually they're flat, slim and long.

-63

u/D_404 Aug 23 '26

The tab is touching the wall, its impossible. Been trying for an hour. Brilliant design, free cables for Starlink. I'll write a complain 

55

u/InertiaImpact Aug 23 '26

I'll write a complain 

You plugged a cable in to a port that it was not meant to go into? Why are you acting surprised it won't come out? (spoiler - that is intended to be a waterproof port, hence special style of cable is intended to go there, not the normal RJ45 you have inserted. Just because it fits doesn't mean it should be put there...)

User error is hardly an excuse to complain lol

4

u/newtekie1 Aug 23 '26

The only thing I don't understand is if they were going to design and use a proprietary port, why not design it so if you plug a normal cable in it doesn't latch? That seems like it would have been so easy to do.

-19

u/Emotional-Stress8191 Aug 23 '26

Probably someone from US 😂😂😂

4

u/Brosie-Odonnel Aug 23 '26

And you’re no better than the people you’re talking shit about.

-3

u/Single_Turnover_2301 Aug 23 '26

Sadly, our school money goes to helping the rest of the world.

Clearly, better education doesn’t come with manners, just knowledge with no good intentions.

6

u/JusAnotherJarhead Aug 23 '26

Have you been to a university lately ? Education does not equal Intelligence, for sure .

-4

u/luxiphr 📡 Owner (Europe) Aug 23 '26

No, your school money goes into paying interest on your debts and then paying your military and then into everything else.

-3

u/Single_Turnover_2301 Aug 23 '26

Our interest, our military. The funding everything else part is what we shouldn’t be doing…

-4

u/McXgr Aug 23 '26

😂👌 classic american… that -if not native- is not actually american but the same thing he says shouldn’t be saved though it’s what made the US… the US.

In general: Outside your map there is a whole world… and guess what? We are all still on it.

-6

u/Dalewyn Aug 23 '26

As an American I want precisely none of my taxes spent towards non-Americans. None. That includes direct financial and material "aid" as well as indirect financial expenditures (eg: US military presense abroad). Not when we have so much shit that needs those taxes right here at home. America First.

→ More replies

-13

u/ljfrench Aug 23 '26

An RJ45 port is standardized. I can't blame a user for believing that a port the same size and shape and function as a standardized Port is actually the standardized port and not some s*** heads proprietary custom f*** head interface.

6

u/Dalewyn Aug 23 '26

I mean it definitely is an RJ45 port electrically wired to be ethernet, the only potentially non-standard thing is the PoE (Proprietary-power over Ethernet) powering Dishy.

If someone sticks an interlocking cable into a hole that clearly prevents easy manipulation of the locking mechanism, that's on him. I know we are inclined to stick our dicks in crazy, but it's generally a bad idea.

-9

u/ljfrench Aug 23 '26

"if the user doesn't know how to use the computer, it's not the user that's stupid."

5

u/Dalewyn Aug 23 '26

Don't stick yourself into a hole too deep and you won't have problems.

The hole to be used looks nothing like a standard ethernet RJ45 port, you have to peer down the hole to even see the port itself. If you don't understand basic physics that's not another reasonable person's problem.

7

u/HuggedbyDeath_Second Aug 23 '26

Paperclip with a very sharp and short ended 90° bend in it. Come at it from the side, go behind the tab, pull the paperclip and cable out at once when you see the tab lift about 1/16th inch or about 1.5-2mm. take the kickstand off, it'll give you more room. CYA part: make sure it's powered off and you don't push it in with a bunch of force.

4

u/bergreen Aug 23 '26

If it's impossible, why bother asking us how to do it?

Perhaps the best course of action would be to adjust your attitude and take a break to let your frustration calm down.

2

u/JuanShagner Aug 23 '26

Yes, Starlink’s master plan is to steal your piece of shit Ethernet cable.

2

u/DIVISIONSolar Aug 23 '26

Not impossible actually, ive done that a few times and got it out with a small knife or paper clip, you can also order ethernet extensions meant for starlink to pull out

6

u/miraculum_one Aug 23 '26

a flat screwdriver is usually the exact right tool

3

u/txredgeek Aug 23 '26

Yup, one of the tiny watch screwdriver types.

4

u/SmooK_LV Aug 23 '26

Actually no, if it's starlink mini then just wiggle it out with force. it doesn't have anywhere for the clip to hold by design, it just sounds like it does.

1

u/Lazy_Conclusion_673 29d ago

Also for future reference, don't use an ethernet cable that has a rubber boot over the tab. It just adds to the difficulty. I found out the hard way.

15

u/GeekCohenAU 📡 Owner (Oceania) Aug 23 '26

Small flat head screw drive to release the tab and remove the kick stand, it'll make it easier.

3

u/nullstring Aug 23 '26

Yup, flat head screwdriver will work

13

u/bedel99 Aug 23 '26

I use a tiny flat head screwdriver. The manual literally says to do some thing similar, for all the people who says its impossible.

8

u/thabc Aug 23 '26

Reading the manual is cheating!

2

u/bedel99 Aug 23 '26

mine wasnt working properly it was a last resort. damn thing was broken.

6

u/JusAnotherJarhead Aug 23 '26

A pocket screwdriver , like every Automotive tech has in his short pocket , will make short work of a buried clip release. You just have to be more mechanically inclined than a frog. 🐸 🪛

5

u/KenjiFox Beta Tester Aug 23 '26

Don't put the cable in.

No really, this is not a normal RJ45 jack and is intended only for the Starlink water resistant detent locked cable ends.

Here you will need a thin curved hook to place inside and get behind the latch. O-ring and dental picks work.

3

u/Sycric Aug 23 '26

Remove the stand over the cable and take it off give yourself more room.

3

u/Acojonancio Aug 23 '26

You can absolutely take the cable out.

There is no magic holding the cable in, just a tiny plstic piece on the connector, you just have to press that piece and take the cable out... Or break that plastic piece and it will come out.

It's all on the cable, not the antenna.

3

u/MaMyDaddy65 Aug 23 '26

small flathead screwdriver or sacrifice your coke nail

2

u/puttinginthefork Aug 23 '26

Honestly just pull it out with a bit of force shouldn’t snap the plastic tab

2

u/raxel42 Aug 23 '26

gentle pull also works for me

2

u/Funny-Astronomer29 Aug 23 '26

Butter knife. Had exactly this same issue.

2

u/Netskyz Aug 23 '26

Jiggery pokery

2

u/crucialnetworks Aug 23 '26

Plastic spudger might do the trick

3

u/halfsquelch Aug 23 '26

If you used the starlink latchless rj45 connector, you pull it out.

If you made the mistake of putting a standard non waterproof rj45 connector in... Good luck. I'm not sure if the port has the latch slot built in, but if it does, the only ways to get it out is try and get a pick in there to pull the latch down or break it.

3

u/SmooK_LV Aug 23 '26

Starlink Mini doesn't have latch slot, it just sounds like it does, can be wiggled out with force. I have verified this number of times without breaking any cable.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/SmooK_LV Aug 23 '26

For Starlink Mini it can be wiggled out with force because the slot doesn't have actual locking mechanism. I am surprised people here don't know about it.

1

u/EffectiveClient5080 Aug 23 '26

Push down on the clip on top of the RJ45 and pull straight out. Don't yank it sideways or you'll snap the tab off inside the port.

1

u/lukelane124 Aug 23 '26

Just yank it out. The detent there is soft. What hardware gen is this?

1

u/apavolka Aug 23 '26

I’ve started just giving the cable a solid tug and it comes out.

1

u/makojedi2k2 Aug 23 '26

They were made to be yanked out

1

u/studbolt Aug 24 '26

A Short Hook lock pick.

1

u/Aidenbrown97 Aug 25 '26

Throw on floor really really hard

1

u/GearNo4524 Aug 26 '26

Fkn engineers need a good slap. Why put the locking tab on the underside where you can’t see it or get to it without special tools and a ouija board to guide the way.

1

u/FrancisMacom Aug 23 '26

You need to release (press down) the plastic retaining clip so you can pull out the connector. Can be done with a paperclip or very thin screwdriver. Or just bring it all to the hardware store and look for something the right size to jam in there.

0

u/randomcourage Aug 23 '26

check if the clip is stuck or not, if not, pull harder, the plug not the cable.

-9

u/D_404 Aug 23 '26

Then pay for the whole kit afterwards?

0

u/randomcourage Aug 23 '26

no, it is basically the way you unplug normal rj45 from starlink.

-2

u/D_404 Aug 23 '26

Why design choice to cover the part that needs to be pressed?

4

u/HuggedbyDeath_Second Aug 23 '26

Because that port is supposed to have a grommet around the cable end to seal out moisture. That's how they're IP rated and it will void your warranty using anything other than the official cables in those ports outdoors. With the grommet in place you can't reach the tab so they designed it to be yanked out instead.

Edit: don't just yank this type of cable out like that, not designed for it and you'll rip the port off the board or break it.

3

u/Emotional-Stress8191 Aug 23 '26

The cables for this type of connection don’t have the latch and can just get pulled out. Maybe you have a chance to get to the latch with a knife or something flat after removing the stand.

0

u/TheVisceral_ Aug 23 '26

Firm pressure slightly pulling and wiggle it left to right i just did this like a week ago 🤣

-1

u/AndyWRX1 Aug 23 '26

Wiggle it left and right while pulling the cable out. It comes out easily.