The improved battery-powered Starlink Mini is here

My Starlink Mini has radically changed the way I live. It’s the biggest reason I can work remotely from my converted van, providing fast and reliable internet in places that traditional 4G and 5G data signals don’t reach. Peakdo’s latest LinkPower battery makes the smallest Starlink terminal even better by setting it free from power cables for hours at a time.

While that might not sound like a big deal, I can assure you it is. For example, I can park in the shade and place the Mini far away to avoid trees and other obstructions, just so long as I’m within reach of its Wi-Fi signal. It even works on my dashboard without any long cables to snag, providing reliable data for navigating down remote mountain passes while my wife works from the passenger seat.

I’ve been testing PeakDo’s second generation LinkPower 2 battery for the last few weeks as I travel around the Pyrenees mountain range that borders France and Spain. The $219 price — up from $119 for last year’s model — is annoying, but I can also see many Starlink Mini owners paying that premium.

Like its predecessor, the LinkPower 2 battery slots right into the back of the Starlink Mini like a standard SpaceX mount. The connection is firm, but I wouldn’t trust it without a cage if you’re planning to use it on the roof of your moving vehicle. PeakDo offers a compatible suction mount if that’s your thing.

A short DC-to-DC barrel cable connects the 99Wh battery to the Starlink Mini for truly wireless internet connectivity. The unit is the same size as the original and can still be controlled remotely over Bluetooth with a web app (iPhone users need to download a special app).

In addition to USB-C, the LinkPower 2 adds a native DC barrel input that matches the Starlink Mini’s power port. This allows you to charge the battery using the power cable that ships with the Starlink dish. It can also be charged with a new breakaway magnetic dongle, included in the box, that could save your Starlink Mini from a devastating fall if the charging cable is accidentally snagged.

A new battery bypass mode allows you to power the Starlink Mini directly when the LinkPower 2 is plugged into a power source. This reduces wear on the battery and helps keep temperatures down, without requiring you to detach the battery every time.

During my testing I consistently got about 5 hours and 30 minutes of runtime off a fully charged LinkPower 2. That’s an hour longer than the original LinkPower I tested last year. And leaving the LinkPower battery – either the first or second gen – attached to the Starlink Mini provides far more options to keep the dish powered indefinitely, including from USB jacks installed in your vehicle, an old power bank, or even a solar panel.

For example, on a sunny day I was able to extend the StarLink Mini’s runtime to over seven hours by attaching a small folding solar panel that produced a steady 7.3W to the LinkPower 2’s USB-C input. My Starlink Mini pulls an average of about 18W in rural locations, and the USB-C jacks installed in my van produce a steady 28W to easily offset that when placed on my dashboard.

Without the LinkPower battery attached, the Starlink Mini has to be plugged into an AC jack or a beefy power bank capable of 100W (20V/5A) because “Starlink Mini will not work with USB PD ratings of 65W or lower.”

By default, charging the LinkPower 2 battery over USB-C tops out at 65W, needing about one hour and forty minutes to fully recharge. You can also set the max charge rate to 100W in expert mode if you want to speed up charging while potentially degrading the battery’s lifespan. USB-C charging is the fastest, followed by a 57W charge I saw over the DC barrel jack, and 55W charge over the magnetic dongle. In a pinch, that bidirectional USB-C jack also lets the LinkPower 2 act as a traditional power bank to charge your phone or laptop at up to 65W.

PeakDo claims to have an IP65 rating against dust and water ingress. That means it should hold up to a rain shower when stationary, but not when mounted to the roof of a moving car. The rating also doesn’t apply when charging cables expose the unit’s ports.

I like this battery so much that I’ve just left the LinkPower 2 attached to my Starlink Mini over the last few weeks, even when I’m bypassing it with external power. The power bank adds an additional 667g (1.47lb) to the 1.1kg (2.43lb) Starlink Mini, making it feel solid, but not too heavy to handle with one hand. I also screwed in a magnet I purchased off Amazon into the battery’s tripod mount to ensure it doesn’t blow off my roof — it probably won’t, but if it did I’d be in a world of hurt without my Starlink connection.

When I reviewed the original LinkPower last summer, it cost $119, so the jump to $219 for the LinkPower 2 is certainly alarming, especially when reputable 99Wh power banks with 100W USB-C PD outputs cost less than half that. The original LinkPower 1 is still available, only now it costs $159. I recommend buying the cheaper version unless you really need that extra hour of battery life, the breakaway charging dongle, or the battery bypass feature available on the LinkPower 2.

Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge