Elon Musk’s Starlink network has apologized after experiencing an outage that left thousands without internet connection for several hours.
“The network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored,” the company’s official X account wrote around 8.15 p.m. ET Thursday. “We understand how important connectivity is and apologize for the disruption.”
Musk reposted the message, having previously apologized for the outage personally and reassuring users that it would only be temporary. “SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” the tech billionaire wrote.
Thousands of reports flooded the Down Detector website on Thursday before 4 p.m., with 65 per cent citing a “total blackout”.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation that works as an international telecommunication provider, part of the American aerospace company SpaceX, founded by controversial billionaire Musk. The network provides coverage to around 130 countries and territories, aiming to provide global mobile broadband.
Netizens across the world, from Colorado to Germany to Zimbabwe reported access issues.
A customer on X said that they were lucky to have 5G on their phone, observing: “the only downfall to Starlink is when it goes down, your only alternative is your phone network”.
Key Points
- Starlink apologizes after resolving network issue
- Thousands report 'total blackout' of Starlink on Down Detector
- People on social media complain about the outage
- What is Starlink?
Our coverage is now finished
04:49 , Mike BediganThanks for following along with The Independent’s coverage of today’s Starlink outage.
Our coverage has now ended.
Starlink is down
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:37 , Bryony GoochElon Musk’s Starlink network is experiencing an outage, the company run by SpaceX has confirmed.
We’ll be bringing you the latest as it unfolds.
Starlink confirms outage on X
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:38 , Bryony GoochStarlink has released a statement confirming a network outage.
The statement reads: “Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution.
“We appreciate your patience, we'll share an update once this issue is resolved.”
Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution. We appreciate your patience, we'll share an update once this issue is resolved.
— Starlink (@Starlink) July 24, 2025
Thousands report 'total blackout' on Down Detector
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:42 , Bryony GoochThousands have taken to Down Detector to report the Starlink outage, with reports streaming in from just before 9pm.
Around 65 per cent of reports cite a “total blackout” while others just state there are problems accessing the internet.
People on social media complain about the outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:44 , Bryony GoochAs Starlink’s network experiences an outage, netizens have taken to social media to complain.
One person commented on Reddit: “Did Elon forget to pay his electric bill?
Another said: “Looks like Elon’s got an issue on his hands…We’ve had it for 9 months and never a single hiccup until now…”
A customer on X said that they were lucky to have 5G on their phone, observing: “the only downfall to Starlink is when it goes down, your only alternative is your phone network, might be something @elonmusk needs to look fixing into the future?”
What is Starlink?
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:46 , Bryony GoochStarlink is a satellite internet constellation that works as an international telecommunication provider, part of the American aerospace company SpaceX, founded by controversial billionaire Elon Musk.
The network provides coverage to around 130 countries and territories, aiming to provide global mobile broadband.
As of May 2025, the constellation consists of over 7,600 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned, with a possible later extension to 34,400.
Elon Musk shares progress of Starlink's growing Direct to Cell service
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:48 , Bryony GoochElon Musk, who has yet to comment on the Starlink outage, posted on X around 6pm local time that Starlink’s Direct to Cell service was “growing fast” as he shared a graph that tracked growing data usage from May to July this year.
The service is supposed to enable certain phones to connect via satellite for text, voice and data in areas without terrestrial coverage.
SpaceX direct to cell phone growing fast pic.twitter.com/zzOAerzvME
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2025
Musk: 'Service will be restored shortly'
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:51 , Bryony GoochElon Musk has apologised for the Starlink network outage that has left thousands without internet connection around the world.
“Service will be restored shortly. Sorry for the outage.
“SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Service will be restored shortly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2025
Sorry for the outage.
SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again. https://t.co/q1bsTVtMZ7
Concerns rise over how Ukraine's military might be affected by Starlink outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 21:59 , Bryony GoochPeople online have shared their concerns for Ukraine’s armed forces amid Starlink’s outage.
Starlink has become vital to Ukrainian forces fighting Russia in order to replace internet and communication services impacted by the war.
European officials expressed concern in March this year that Starlink might cut off services in Ukraine.
Reuters reported in February that the US had threatened to cut off Ukraine's access to Starlink satellite internet terminals if Kyiv does not reach a deal with the U.S. regarding critical mineral resources,
Musk clarified on X: "To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.”
Number of Starlink network outage reports going down
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:03 , Bryony GoochStarlink appears to be regaining its connection as the number of outage reports are going down, according to DownDetector.
Reports originally spiked at 9pm UK time this evening, peaking at around 9,808.
Everything we don't know about the Starlink network outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:06 , Bryony GoochHere are the questions we still have as Starlink experiences a network outage:
- How many countries have been affected?
- What has caused the outage?
- Has it impacted Ukraine’s armed forces?
Watch: The moment SpaceX launched its Starlink internet satellites
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:09 , Bryony GoochRecap: Earlier this year, Musk claimed X was subject to a cyber attack
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:13 , Bryony GoochThis isn’t the only major infrastructural system linked to Elon Musk which has experienced an outage.
Earlier this year, Musk claimed that his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, was targeted in a “massive cyber-attack” which resulted in service outages.
There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2025
We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.
Tracing … https://t.co/aZSO1a92no
“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” the platform’s CEO posted. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
Starlink outage happens day after rollout with T-Mobile
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:18 , Bryony GoochStarlink’s network outage has happened just one day after the company unveiled its satellite service from T-Mobile called T-Satellite.
The company rolled out its collaboration with the mobile network on Wednesday and early on Musk said its direct-to-cell-phone service was “growing fast”.
T-Mobile has said the T-Satellite service was built to keep phones connected “in places no carrier towers can reach.”
Related: The sun is causing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites to drop from space
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:23 , Bryony GoochEruptions from the sun are causing SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to fall to Earth “faster than expected”, according to Nasa scientists.
A team from the US space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center made the discovery after investigating the impact of solar activity on the lifespan of satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Their findings revealed that Elon Musk’s space internet constellation is particularly prone to the effects of geomagnetic storms, which heat up the planet’s atmosphere and increase the drag on satellites.
Deputy technology editor Anthony Cuthbertson reports:
The sun is causing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites to drop from space
Everything we know so far about the Starlink network outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:30 , Bryony Gooch- Thousands across the world started reporting an outage around 8.30pm UK time on Thursday.
- Outages have been reported in the US, Germany, Zimbabwe, Romania and even in the UK.
- Elon Musk has said service will be restored shortly and SpaceX will remedy the root cause to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Customers complain about time to get Starlink up and running
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:33 , Bryony GoochAs Elon Musk has confirmed that Starlink’s network outage shall end shortly, many disgruntled customers have taken to X to respond to his post.
One person commented: “Just adjust the next bill to have a discount based the time of the outage…”
Another complained: “I pay $120/mo. That's $4/day. I expect a $4 credit on my next bill. I should not have to pay for service I did not receive.”
The outage has entered its second hour.
“Define ‘shortly,’ your track record with timetables sucks,” a third person complained.
Pictured: Leuk, Switzerland, where SpaceX aims to build Starlink satellite dishes
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:41 , Bryony Gooch
Outage could be Starlink's longest ever
Thursday 24 July 2025 22:52 , Bryony GoochTicking over two hours, some commentators are already saying this is Starlink’s longest ever disruption.
Director of Internet Analysis Doug Madory at Kentik said: “The Starlink outage is now in excess of two hours in duration, making this incident Starlink's longest outage since becoming a major service provider.”
The @Starlink outage is now in excess of two hours in duration, making this incident Starlink's longest outage since becoming a major service provider. #starlinkdown https://t.co/NVyy76zU9L pic.twitter.com/sRBlri3hm8
— Doug Madory (also on Bluesky) (@DougMadory) July 24, 2025
Recap: What is Starlink?
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:00 , Bryony GoochStarlink is a satellite internet constellation that works as an international telecommunication provider, part of the American aerospace company SpaceX, founded by controversial billionaire Elon Musk.
The network provides coverage to around 130 countries and territories, aiming to provide global mobile broadband.
As of May 2025, the constellation consists of over 7,600 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned, with a possible later extension to 34,400.
Early reports that Starlink is up and running
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:01 , Bryony GoochWe’ve seen reports that Starlink is up and running in certain countries.
Netizens from the UK and Vancouver have said their Starlink connection is working as normal.
FlightRadar hit by Starlink outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:10 , Bryony GoochAs well as regular customers, Starlink’s outage has impacted companies like FlightRadar.
The company shared on social media: “We have lost about 5% of our data feeds because of the ongoing Starlink outage.
“Some regions might have reduced ADS-B/MLAT coverage during the outage.”
We have lost about 5% of our data feeds because of the ongoing Starlink outage. Some regions might have reduced ADS-B/MLAT coverage during the outage. pic.twitter.com/D2SbacDEn0
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 24, 2025
Watch: SpaceX launches 54 next-generation Starlink satellites to boost space internet
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:20 , Bryony GoochRecap: Starlink outage happens day after T-Mobile collaboration
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:30 , Bryony GoochElon Musk, who has yet to comment on the Starlink outage, posted on X around 6pm local time that Starlink’s Direct to Cell service was “growing fast” as he shared a graph that tracked growing data usage from May to July this year.
The service is supposed to enable certain phones to connect via satellite for text, voice and data in areas without terrestrial coverage.
The company rolled out its collaboration with the mobile network T-Mobile called T-Satellite on Wednesday and early on Musk said its direct-to-cell-phone service was “growing fast”.
T-Mobile has said the T-Satellite service was built to keep phones connected “in places no carrier towers can reach.”
SpaceX direct to cell phone growing fast pic.twitter.com/zzOAerzvME
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2025
Starlink 'mostly recovered' from outage
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:37 , Mike BediganStarlink has now “mostly recovered” from the network outage, which lasted approximately 2.5 hours, according to company VP Michael Nicolls.
“The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,” Nicolls explained on X.
“We apologize for the temporary disruption in our service; we are deeply committed to providing a highly reliable network, and will fully root cause this issue and ensure it does not occur again.”
How much does Starlink's equipment cost?
Thursday 24 July 2025 23:50 , Bryony GoochAs customers complain about the Starlink outage and the fee they pay for the experience, here’s a breakdown of how much it actually costs to access the satellite telecommunications network.
For UK residential use, there is a standard plan of £75 per month, with a one-time equipment cost of £460.
Business users can opt for the Premium plan, which is £150 per month and £2410 for the equipment.
Watch: SpaceX launches Starlink internet satellites
Friday 25 July 2025 00:00 , Bryony GoochWhat we know about the Starlink network outage
Friday 25 July 2025 00:30 , Mike Bedigan- Thousands across the world started reporting an outage around 3.30pm ET time on Thursday.
- Outages were reported in the U.S., Germany, Zimbabwe, Romania and even in the UK.
- This may well be Starlink’s longest ever outage as it ticked on for two hours.
- It happened the day after Starlink unveiled a new rollout of T-Satellite with T-Mobile.
- Musk had shared just hours before that Starlink’s Direct to Cell service was “growing fast” as he shared a graph that tracked growing data usage from May to July this year.
- Starlink VP Michael Nicolls announced the service had been “mostly restored” around two and half hours after the first reported outages.
- Nicolls said in a post on X that the outages were due to “failure of key internal software services that operate the core network.”
Musk apologizes to Starlink users for outage
01:27 , Mike BediganShortly after Thursday’s major Starlink outage, Elon Musk apologized to users for the inconvenience.
“Service will be restored shortly,” he wrote on X. “Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
The outage lasted around two and half hours, according to Starlink VP Michael Nicolls.
Service will be restored shortly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2025
Sorry for the outage.
SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again. https://t.co/q1bsTVtMZ7
Starlink network issue 'resolved'
01:46 , Mike BediganStarlink’s network issues, which left thousands of users without internet for several hours has been fixed, the company announced.
“The network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored,” the official Starlink X account wrote.
“We understand how important connectivity is and apologize for the disruption.”
The network issue has been resolved, and Starlink service has been restored. We understand how important connectivity is and apologize for the disruption.
— Starlink (@Starlink) July 25, 2025
Watch: United installs Elon Musk's Starlink on first regional aircraft
02:31 , Mike BediganFlightRadar hit by Starlink outage
03:28 , Mike BediganAs well as regular customers, Starlink’s outage has impacted companies like FlightRadar.
The company shared on social media: “We have lost about 5% of our data feeds because of the ongoing Starlink outage.
“Some regions might have reduced ADS-B/MLAT coverage during the outage.”
We have lost about 5% of our data feeds because of the ongoing Starlink outage. Some regions might have reduced ADS-B/MLAT coverage during the outage. pic.twitter.com/D2SbacDEn0
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 24, 2025
Reminder: What is Starlink?
04:29 , Mike BediganStarlink is a satellite internet constellation that works as an international telecommunication provider, part of the American aerospace company SpaceX, founded by controversial billionaire Elon Musk.
The network provides coverage to around 130 countries and territories, aiming to provide global mobile broadband.
As of May 2025, the constellation consists of over 7,600 mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit.
Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned, with a possible later extension to 34,400.
