How the Starlink waitlist works, step by step

Yes, Starlink has a waitlist, but only for addresses where Residential service is sold out. You join it by placing a deposit for your service location; Starlink gives no date; and when capacity opens and you’re next in line, you get an email with 7 days to confirm your order. If you don’t confirm in time, Starlink cancels the deposit and refunds it in full.

Right now most US buyers won’t meet the waitlist at all. Starlink’s reactivation article says “there are currently no sold-out regions in the United States” (modified April 9, 2026; still the wording on October 6, 2026). The process below is what applies if that changes, or if your checkout offers a deposit instead of an order.

The waitlist, step by step

1. Your address shows sold out

Starlink’s sold-out article: if your region shows as sold out on the availability map, “residential service is at capacity and residential service activations are currently not possible.” It adds: “We are unable to provide timelines for residential service availability in any sold out regions.” What “sold out” really means is covered in capacity, not stock.

2. Place a deposit (pre-order)

“In order to get notified when service availability has capacity again, you must place a deposit for your desired service location.” If you already have an account, Starlink’s steps are: open Subscriptions, click Add Subscription, enter your service address, click Check Availability, and place a pre-order.

Starlink’s activation article also mentions that “if the area you’re trying to activate in is at capacity, you can place a deposit when placing an order.” The deposit amount isn’t in our data files, so we don’t quote one; checkout shows it.

3. Wait, with no date

From Starlink’s deposit article:

“If your pre-order is still not confirmed, it means you are still on the waitlist, and we are unable to provide service to your address at this time.”

“At this time, we do not have a specific date for when we are able to provide service to your address.”

Your pre-order is in the billing tab of your account. Starlink notes it “will not be listed under ‘Your Orders.’” People who look under orders often think the deposit vanished.

4. The email: your turn

When “it is available and you are next in line on the waitlist, you will receive an email indicating that your deposit will be converted to an order.” The subject line, per Starlink: “Your Starlink is ready! Confirm your order in the next 7 days.”

5. Confirm within 7 days

You have 7 days from that email to confirm. Starlink’s checkout steps after clicking “Confirm My Order”:

1. Log in; select “Check Out Now” under the Deposits section.
2. Confirm your service plan and verify your service address (the pencil icon).
3. Add optional accessories and select “Add to Cart.”
4. Check the shipping address and payment method.
5. If you already own a kit, select “I Already Have My Starlink” and enter the Starlink identifier.
6. Select “Place Order.” Starlink says this “will activate your service immediately and apply your deposit.”

“If you do not confirm your order within the allotted timeframe, your deposit will be automatically cancelled and fully refunded.”

Where you stand, and what to do

How long is the wait?

Nobody outside Starlink can tell you, and Starlink says it can’t either. What exists is a dated press record of areas going onto and off the sold-out list, all unverified:

So for parts of Washington and Oregon, the gap between the first press report of sold-out status and the report that it had lifted was about 14 months. That is the gap between two articles, not anyone’s measured wait. Individual places in line could have been reached much sooner or later. This is exactly the question our crowd record is meant to answer: when people report a sold-out result by month and county, the dataset can eventually show how long sold-out status lasts. As of October 5, 2026 we had 0 sold-out reports.

What to do while you wait

• Keep whatever internet works. With no date, cancelling your current service early is the biggest avoidable risk.
• Make sure the email reaches you. The 7-day window starts on the email date. Check spam filters for Starlink messages.
• Look up alternatives. The FCC National Broadband Map lists providers that report service at your location. See is Starlink available in my area?
• Don’t buy a store kit to jump the line. Starlink says Standard and Priority plans “cannot be activated in capacity-limited areas.” A kit can be offered Roam instead, and you can’t switch to Standard or Priority “until your area has available capacity.”

Edge cases

• Existing customers resuming service. Resuming Residential also depends on capacity. Starlink says Standby “does not reserve your spot on a Residential plan,” and that if there’s no Residential capacity, Roam or Priority is offered. In the US, it currently says customers can resume “without delay.”
• Business plans. “Availability for business plans may differ from residential service.”
• You moved while waiting. The deposit is for “your desired service location.” If the address changes, the old place in line was for the old address. Starlink’s article doesn’t describe transferring a pre-order to a new address.
• Hardware already on another line. Starlink: cancel the other service line, transfer the hardware, then use “I Already Have My Starlink.”

Before you place a deposit

1. Is this the address where the dish will live? The deposit is “for your desired service location.”
2. Would you buy if the email came tomorrow? If not, the deposit just holds money.
3. Have you checked your sky? Starlink recommends the app’s obstruction check before ordering in heavily obstructed areas.
4. Do you know what checkout will add? When your turn comes, read the summary for a demand surcharge before you confirm.
5. Have you looked at alternatives? With no date, a backup matters more than the deposit.

Deposit vs order: what’s different

Common mistakes

• Looking for the pre-order under “Your Orders.” It’s in the billing tab.
• Missing the 7-day email. The deposit is refunded, but you lose your turn.
• Placing the deposit at an address that isn’t where the dish will live. The waitlist is per location.
• Assuming confirmation means no surcharge. Read the checkout summary.

What to do next

1. Check your address on Starlink’s map and at checkout. If it offers an order, you don’t need the waitlist.
2. If it offers a deposit, compare your options in sold out vs waitlist vs not available.
3. Follow the dated record on the sold-out and waitlist log.
4. If checkout tells you an area is full, report it with the month and plan. We ask for your county only.