What to test before cancelling broadband for Starlink

Start with what would be awkward to lose

Try your employer’s VPN and the systems you need for work. Make a call long enough to reveal short interruptions and send a file of the size you normally upload. Test from the desk, rather than carrying the laptop beside the router for every check.

If you have a landline number, alarm, care device or remote-access system tied to the old connection, ask its supplier what happens when that service ends. Arrange any number transfer before cancelling the line.

Use it when the house is busy

Watch television while someone else uses a laptop. Try the rooms where reception is usually weakest. Include evenings as well as a quiet weekday morning. You are looking for interruptions and failed tasks, not the highest number a speed test can produce.

Investigate failures before deciding

If only one room is poor, compare it with a test near the router. If all devices disconnect together, look at the Starlink app for obstructions and alerts. A VPN-only problem belongs with your IT team if other internet access continues to work.

Keep the time and symptom of recurring faults. “The call disconnected twice between 10 and 11” gives support more to investigate than “it felt slow”. Avoid changing several settings at once.

Check the dates before cancelling

Confirm the end of your existing minimum term, notice period and any early-exit charge. Separately note Starlink’s billing start and return deadline. An installation appointment may not line up with either.

Agree how the old service will end. Under One Touch Switch, the new provider manages the switch. If you arrange an overlapping service yourself, Ofcom says you must arrange cancellation separately with the old provider. Do not assume an order for a second connection closes the first account.

Once the essential tasks work and any phone transfer is arranged, confirm the end date and equipment returns. If an unresolved fault would stop you working, investigate it before giving up your fallback.