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Starlink was offered free to those hit by Hurricane Helene. It was anything but
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- exe34 2y ago[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- josefritzishere 2y agoThis is classic Musk. Is this guy even capable of conducting honest business?
- Katydid 2y agoThis came as a huge shock to those who only got the "free Starlink" through word of mouth here on the ground. We were told, "just go to starlink.com/activate" and type in your address. It was complete horseshit. The worst part about it was phones were in SOS mode, there was no internet anywhere, yet we could load that page to activate, which meant THERE WAS INTERNET. Just not to those who didn't pay for hardware and delivery (to places that are impossible to deliver to even today a week out). Infuriating.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoThe offer is specifically targeted at people buying at retail who have issues activating. And has never been misleading. You can check the source yourself
- falcolas 2y agoSource checked. Sending in free hardware, and we're creating an update to make service free. Oh, and after 30 days, you'll be renewed on a normal retail plan Sources: Starlink on X, Musk on X, and the Starlink details page on the free service respectively.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoI have the same sources it's an offer for free service for people with equipment. https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841503492445176151 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841503492445176151 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841567233417576497 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841567233417576497 You don't need to activate a plan or even make an account. The dish will just work
- falcolas 2y agohttps://www.starlink.com/support/article/58126733-e4d2-db62-b919-9da261a4e096 https://www.starlink.com/support/article/58126733-e4d2-db62-... Go to starlink.com/residential Enter your address and click “Order Now” Select the “Helene Relief” service plan and check out
- inemesitaffia 2y agoStarlink kit required in the post you did contrary to the post activation isn't required. If you have a dish, you don't have to sign up for anything
- falcolas 2y agoThose are the instructions for new customers. Existing customers can add up to 20 kits to their account you'll note. These are absolutely tied to accounts, to addresses, to billing information.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoLike I said. You have a dish currently without a plan in the area, you switch it on. It will give you Internet
- inemesitaffia 2y ago[flagged]
- 12_throw_away 2y agoLet's put aside the ethical and legal implications of lying to disaster survivors, and calling your normal free trial month as "disaster relief", and enrolling people recovering from a disaster in a monthly auto-renewing service after a 1 month free trial ... Actually, no, let's not put that aside. This is repulsive behavior.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoArticle is misleading. There's no auto renewal
- falcolas 2y agoAccording to the starlink announcement: "After 30 days, we will move you to a paid Residential subscription, tied the location you are using it in at that time. We will reevaluate as necessary based on conditions in the area. Starlink will notify you as the 30 day mark approaches to remind you of the change."
- inemesitaffia 2y agoThese are people with equipment already. You don't need an account to use it so how will you be billed?
- falcolas 2y agoYou have to create an account to use the promotion. Go to starlink.com/residential Enter your address and click “Order Now” Select the “Helene Relief” service plan and check out
- inemesitaffia 2y agoIt's not required. The map isn't the territory. There's people on ground using it like that w/o activation
- inemesitaffia 2y ago[flagged]
- Katydid 2y agoI think you missed the point of the article. As someone here in the heart of it let me elucidate: 1) Residents here on the ground were told Starlink is already active in your area. Just connect through the site with your address. No one was worried about getting "retail dishes" they were told Starlink was providing free satellite internet across the devastated areas, all they had to do was open a website, enter their address and type $0 and boom, they're connected. 2) No one here even COULD get a dish delivered on the fly if they wanted to. Most roads are still to this day broken and impassable. 3) NO ONE HERE THOUGHT THIS WAS A STANDARD "FREE TRIAL" SITUATION. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS ACTUAL RELIEF, NO STRINGS ATTACHED, NO PERSONAL HARDWARE OBLIGATION. Ultimately, you're making the mistake of thinking this is an article explaining a free trail for those with power, existing internet, passable roads, or existing hardware. The point this piece is making is that it was false advertising to people desperate to let their families know they weren't dead. It's probably easy from the comfort of your mother's basement out of Helene's wake to spout all of this but a) you missed the point of the article and b) no one gave a fuck about retail dishes. They were told it was available via a website as HELP. As a kindness. I'd love to see your source on 2000 free dishes. Ask anyone local here when the storm hit if they knew that, how to connect to them (without internet already). I guarantee no one knew until days later.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoThanks for the insults. 2k from the SpaceX engineer on the ground. 1k from SpaceX itself. I can understand if somehow by a game of telephone people got that idea. But the offers are here https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841567233417576497 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841567233417576497 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841503492445176151 https://x.com/Starlink/status/1841503492445176151 Notice the service talk It even seems to me you'd think people would just get Internet without any hardware
- falcolas 2y agoRespectfully, this correction is wrong on most counts. Per Musk and the official starlink detail document, it's available for existing and new customers in affected areas. Starlink on X said they sent ~500 kits as of 10/1, not 2000. Do you have a source for the 2k number?
- fidla 2y ago[flagged]
- mcphage 2y agoI think after dropping $400 on hardware you’re not a beggar and you’re entitled to a damn lot of choosing.
- inemesitaffia 2y agoYou definitely aren't buying retail hardware for $400
- exe34 2y agohi Elon! fuck you.
- carlosdp 2y agoStarlinks are being dropped for free by volunteers all over the Helene disaster area. They were being blocked by having to setup payment, so Elon made it free in that area to unblock them. This is an absurd article, the people who need Starlinks in NC and such can't even log on to this page to order one, they by definition do not have internet access at the moment!