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Referral code guides, one real problem each
Every article answers one question people actually hit when they hold a Starlink referral code: where it goes, why a promo code won’t work, which plans it covers, and how to avoid fake codes. Prices and rules come from Starlink’s own pages, with the date we read them.
New here? The two-minute version is on the code page and where to enter it. These guides go deeper. US service addresses only. RSS feed.
Using the code
Where the code goes, and how to get it onto your order before you pay.
Someone texted you just the RC- code. What now?
A code on its own can't be typed in anywhere. Ask for the full link, check it, then open it in the browser you'll pay in.
Using a Starlink referral link from a QR code
Your camera shows the web address before it opens anything. Read that address first, and a QR code works exactly like a link someone sent you.
Seven mistakes people make with a Starlink referral code
Most failed referrals come down to the same handful of habits. Here's each one, why it breaks the referral, and what to do instead.
Can Starlink support add a referral code for you?
Reading a code out to support, or pasting it into chat, isn't a route Starlink's terms recognize. The link is. Here's why, and what support is still good for.
Helping someone order: whose device opens the link?
The new customer's own browser, account and card should carry the order. The helper's job is the link, the reading and the final check.
Code vs link
Why the code lives inside a link, and how to read one.
Anatomy of a Starlink referral link, piece by piece
Five parts, one job. Once you can read the address, you can tell a working referral link from a broken or fake one in seconds.
Shortened referral links: see where they go first
A shortened link could be a working referral, a plain starlink.com page or a different website entirely. You can't tell by looking. Here's how to find out without risk.
Referral code vs promo code, side by side
They sound interchangeable. At Starlink's US checkout they aren't: one exists and travels in a link, the other has no public version and no box.
Promo codes & discounts
The honest answer on promo codes, coupons and the discounts that do exist.
Why coupon sites list Starlink codes that do nothing
A coupon page for Starlink looks like every other coupon page. The difference is that Starlink's US checkout has nowhere to use what it gives you.
Starlink military and veteran discount codes: what's published
Service members and veterans get offered discounts almost everywhere, so it's fair to ask. Here's exactly what we checked, what we found and how to check for yourself.
Discount code, promo pricing, Regional Savings, referral: compared
Four terms, four very different mechanisms. Only two can apply to a US order, and neither involves typing a code.
“Starlink promo code not working”: what's going on
It isn't a typo, an expired code or bad luck. A typed promo code has nowhere to land at Starlink's US checkout. Here's how to tell what happened in your case.
Fixes
What to check, before you pay, when the code isn’t showing.
Phones & computers
Device and app habits that drop the code, and how to avoid them.
Work laptops that rewrite referral links
Company email often wraps every link in a security address. Usually the referral survives the trip. Sometimes it doesn't, and you can't tell by looking at the email.
Copy a referral link on your phone without breaking it
Dragging selection handles across a long link is where codes get cut off. Press and hold the link itself instead, then check the end of what you pasted.
Plans
Which plans the referral works on, as Starlink lists them.
Does a referral code work on every Starlink plan?
No. Starlink names eight plans, all Residential or Roam. Here's the list as Starlink publishes it, with US list prices from our data file and the date we read them.
Business, boat and aviation plans and referral codes
Starlink's referral plan list is short and specific. Business, maritime and aviation plans aren't on it, and the terms add that referred customers must be individuals.
Scams & fakes
Fake codes, look-alike sites and paid-code schemes.
How to spot a fake Starlink promo code
Fake codes are easy to spot once you know the one fact behind them: Starlink's US checkout has no box for a code. Everything else follows from that.
Look-alike domains: spotting starlink.com imitations
A fake site can copy Starlink's look perfectly. It can't copy the address. Learn to read the address, and the disguise stops working.
Never pay for a Starlink referral code
Every current Starlink customer has a referral link they can share for free. Anyone charging for one is selling something that costs nothing, or nothing at all.
An AI chatbot gave you a Starlink promo code. Check this first
A chatbot can invent a confident, tidy-looking code in seconds. The US checkout has no box to type it into, which is the quickest way to know it isn't real.
Explainers
Plain-English meanings of the words around codes and checkout.