STARLINK losing connection

2654 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by gumbobtr, Jan 22, 2019

copwriter

Discussion Starter · Jan 19, 2019

I have a 2019 Touring, purchased mid-November. I’m presently at 2,346 miles.

I’d noticed several times that the status light on my STARLINK panel was red, indicating a communications fault. I’ve also received several emails to this effect:

Copwriter, we were notified via SUBARU STARLINK that the STARLINK emergency services in your Crimson Red Pearl 2019 Forester (VIN: JF2SKxxxxxxxxxxxx) may be inoperable.

I made an appointment and took the car to the local dealer. They were unable to replicate the problem. The light was blue on the day I took it in (Monday, Jan 14). The next day, the light was red again, and I got another email. The car goes back to the service department on Monday (Jan 25).

Has anyone else experienced this intermittent/recurring problem?

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gumbobtr

· #2 · Jan 19, 2019

Except for the VIN and name identical.

I talked to the dealer and Starlink support and neither had a solution. It was explained away as I must be driving through areas with poor AT&T coverage so the signal drops. I am not sure if this is typical of other Subies or other model years but it does inject a bit uncertainty with the system.

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copwriter

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 20, 2019

I don’t think that is the problem, or that the dealer will be able to use that as an excuse. My cell phone service is with AT&T, and I always have it with me. I occasionally get a low-strength signal, but it’s rare for me to lose connectivity entirely.

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gumbobtr

· #4 · Jan 20, 2019

My thoughts as well. I do not have AT&T but I do live in an area that has decent coverage from most major cell providers. I get the alert about once per week and usually when I get it and then check the light is green so there is not much that can be done. It certainly would be nice if the system reported a code or if Subaru could connect and read a code to determine why the red light comes on. The response was to bring the vehicle in when it happens but it typically clears before I would ever have a chance to do that.

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copwriter

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 22, 2019

I had to take the 2019 Touring back to the dealer service department again today for a repair unrelated to STARLINK. In the interim (last week), I received another email notifying me that my car couldn't phone home. When I checked in at the service department, the service writer asked me, "Are you still having trouble with STARLINK? We got another disconnect message." Kudos to them and SOA for staying on top of the problem. As before, the day I took it in, the status light was green, showing good connectivity.

They went over this for over an hour, communicating with the STARLINK gods and trying to troubleshoot the problem. One theory is that the Automatic OBD-II Adapter I have attached to the OBD-II port is interfering with STARLINK. I have disconnected the Automatic adapter, as its functions are more or less duplicated by the STARLINK service. I'm personally doubtful that this is the problem, as this was happening before I connected the Automatic adapter. However, we'll give this a try and see what develops.

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gumbobtr

· #6 · Jan 22, 2019

copwriter said:
They went over this for over an hour, communicating with the STARLINK gods and trying to troubleshoot the problem. One theory is that the Automatic OBD-II Adapter I have attached to the OBD-II port is interfering with STARLINK. I have disconnected the Automatic adapter, as its functions are more or less duplicated by the STARLINK service. I'm personally doubtful that this is the problem, as this was happening before I connected the Automatic adapter. However, we'll give this a try and see what develops.

That is interesting and certainly keep us posted. I am using a T-Mobile SyncUPDrive in my OBDII port and wondered if this is related. Yes, a lot is obsolete but on the other hand it provides detail and services above and beyond such as a hotspot. Yep, I have that in the car but as we are not AT&T I will take the free (A special deal) hotspot service over AT&T paid service. I would prefer to keep it and have come to the conclusion that if this is the problem I will live with it.

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