BackgroundIncludes press-layer reports
- Event date (reported)
- Published
- Last updated
Background This event is more than 90 days older than this page. It is kept here as dated context, not as current news.
What changed
On November 20, 2024, Ars Technica reported that Starlink’s availability map showed Residential service as sold out in and around Seattle and Spokane, Washington; Portland, Oregon; San Diego and Sacramento, California; and Austin, Texas, including nearby towns. Tech Times, the same day, also listed sold-out areas in parts of Colorado, Montana and North Carolina.
Ars put it this way: “The change comes about a year after Starlink added capacity and removed its waitlist throughout the US.”
What it means for you
“Sold out” on Starlink’s map means Residential activations are paused for that area because the local network is full. Starlink’s current help article on sold-out regions says that in such areas “residential service activations are currently not possible”, that it cannot give timelines, and that you join a queue by placing a deposit.
For readers, the 2024 episode matters for two reasons:
- It showed that Starlink capacity is local. A metro can fill up while most of the country is open.
- The areas named in 2024 are largely the same areas that later carried the highest demand surcharges in press reports. See the surcharge timeline.
Who was affected
- New Residential buyers in the named metros and nearby towns.
- Existing customers were not reported as losing service. The status applied to new activations.
- Business plans can have different availability, according to Starlink’s help text.
What you can check now
- The official availability map and your own checkout are the places to see your address’s status today. Our guide to reading the availability map explains what the map does and does not show.
- Our sold-out and waitlist log keeps dated press entries like this one separate from reader reports.
What stays the same
The rule behind “sold out” is unchanged: activations depend on capacity in your area, and Starlink does not publish timelines for when a full area reopens.
How this fits the record
This was the first time since Starlink lifted its US waitlist in 2023 that whole metro areas were shown as sold out. Over the following 15 months the record moved in stages: more sold-out regions in February 2025, rising one-time surcharges through 2025, sold-out areas reopening with surcharges in January 2026, and Starlink’s February 2026 post saying waitlists had been removed. Each step has its own dated item on the news list.
What we don’t know yet
- The exact boundaries of each sold-out area. The reports describe metros and “small parts” of states, not counties.
- How long each area stayed sold out. Later reports (January 2026) said Washington, Oregon and North Carolina had moved off sold-out status, with surcharges instead.
- How many deposit holders were waiting.
Our data
None for this period. This is a press-layer entry.
Source
A year after ditching waitlist, Starlink says it is 'sold out' in parts of US
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
Report on the Starlink waitlist returning in parts of the US
Retrieved Oct 6, 2026
Correction log
No corrections since publication.
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