James, I've been lurking around your channel for over 5 years. You led me to chase my own PI dream and build a house in Ilocos Norte. Thanks for going first! I'm currently reviewing your videos from the start about footings and columns. Really glad you are reviewing starlink. May very well be my internet solution. Come visit us, when you and Ness are in Ilocos Norte!
My wife and I are also currently in Ilocos Norte, we've been living in Batac in her parent's retirement home since we arrived in October. We thought about settling here, but eventually decided to build our new home in Lipa, Batangas because this and another RU-vid channel made it looks so appealing as well as the close proximity to NCR and other places. The other reason we decided not to build in Ilocos Norte is because her parents and siblings still reside in the U.S., and we didn't want to always be around all of her extended family who more times than not expect us to pay for everything. Lipa also has better medical facilities and has a climate that suites us better.
@@incon3037 we certainly understand about the issues of family. Being close is great and then sometimes not so great. What is it about the Lipa climate you find better? So glad to see someone else in IN!
@Andong and Udit Rudd We left the desert and heat back in Las Vegas and at times IN reminds us of that with the addition of humidity LOL. Lipa has the 3rd coolest climate in Luzon, behind Baguio and Tagaytay since its elevated 1.025 ft. above sea level. It's also not located on any earthquake fault lines, and it's shielded between Mr. Malepunyo and Mt. Macolod allowing less chance of severe typhoons since they act as a windbreak. Also easier to travel since the STAR tollway and other highways run right through. Making it easy to travel north to Manila, Tagaytay, and Santa Rosa as well as south to San Juan, Batangas City or across the bay to Puerto Galera.
Playing catch up with your videos James, so I know this is a bit older, but It's great to see I have a lot of binge watching to do!!! Thank you for allowing me to live vicariously through you in the PI!!
Thanks James! Starlink is an incredible technology and is still evolving and improving in terms of satellite coverage. Good to see those ping and latency numbers since Im an online gamer!
We hooked ours up yesterday and the connection has been amazing. 250mbps and about 40ms latency but deep out of the city Negros Occidental. So far so good! no more load!
Not to give away the farm, but the 3rd episode I just published shows our entire house wired to the Starlink. Providing Internet to all 3 floors and the backyard. It's working better than PLDT because it's steady where PLDT has low data rates during heavy community usage times like around 9pm.
James thank you so much for your videos. I have watched your channel for many years. It's like being in a classroom. God bless you and your whole family. Please keep making videos. 🙏
Great video and informative post. I’m still about 18 months from retiring and moving to Subic Bay but I think this will be at least one alternative as we build our Dream home. Keep the content coming.
Nice vlog as always James I'm looking at getting a system too although I live in Cebu City and don't have too many problems with PLDT. I love the entertainment area you've added and I'm always impressed with the way you respect the locals and have your weekly open gate. Great attitude...more power to you mate !
Thats a great back-up internet you got there James... But i notice your PLDT Fiber Upload Speed is a bit low. The DL/UL should be symmetrical. You might want to call their hotline for them to fix it remotely... BTW, I love watching your videos specially in 4K Ultra HD... 😍👍
Thank you very much James The Texas Filipino has also recently installed his. I did want to get your input, so thank you. We bought on an island off Bohol a while ago (very remote) and are finally moving there in early July to build our new home. The island (CPG island) suffered very badly with the typhoon in Dec 21. So we need a reliable system. Your info has been very helpful. I have watched with pleasure, you over the years with your very well designed and constructed Villa Feliz. Melchora even thought your Villa made sense, so we are Villa MelPedro. Keep doing what you do. You are an inspiration to us and I would think many many more. Cheers from Melchora and Peter
Hello James & Ness, I have a few friends that are using that, and they say that it is very nice. You should have total uninterrupted internet with that.
Good vlog James and this would be ideal for me when I start traveling. The price in the UK is £85 a month so it does have very good value in the Philippines. And even the upload speed is better than what you get in most hostels hotels and B&B's in the Philippines for sure.
Make sure if you're going to be traveling with it you get the RV account which is higher, but is what's needed to be able to use outside of an initial service radius.
This speed test was in many ways wrong because you are not pinging the same server. PLDT gives much better result as it's pinging the nearest hub. Change the server to be same and try again. Better some from abroad as most of services are running abroad servers.
This is awesome. I was wondering if you could get it in the pi. Seems to work great. Now if only we could buy a tesla there without all the import fees!
Could I add another vote for a demo of a Zoom call or a Teams call between you and someone in the States? I’m happy to volunteer to be that other person for the purposes of the test!
It does get better after initial setup and it's fully calibrated. I just wanted to get a setup and review. I'll do a follow up after it's been operational for a short period.
Great video as usual James but this time it concerns me more as be build a house in a more remote area in Bayabas Toril - Davao City and out there it's not possible to get PLDT like we had before living in Toril more in the center, so now we must look at althernative solutions as the Smart Bro we have now only delivers 5 Mbps if we're lucky. I am an IT-consultant and working from abroad so I need a good internet. I watched your video 2x and now I will order the Starlink and hopefully get as good results as you got over there. Keep up your video's I am a fan ;-)
Glad you found value in this episode. We've been active on Starlink for about 3 months now and I can say it's one of the best upgrades we've done here at Villa Feliz. 3 thumbs up...if I had 3 thumbs ;)
Comparing PLDT Fibr with Starlink is like comparing a motorcycle to a car. They both have the same capabilities but have entirely different infrastructure.
Great content, James! Love the topic. Is your antenna intended to be portable? If you were to spend a few weeks in Baguio, could you take it with you? Hey, I saw a few people ask about costs, a fiber optic in the Philippines; while I was working in Manila for the past six months, I was paying 2200 pesos a month for a solid fiber connection (300 down/25 up).
It's portable right out the box. The optional hardware is to static mount or make it more permanent in your home setup. We pay P2,899/month for PLDT. 500Mbps. Up is also good at around 200Mbps or better at times.
Hi, living here in Bohol operating a award winning B&B only have WiFi really interested but been reading about issues getting the stuff through customs any update on this?
It's my belief this is an early adoption of system roll out here and once the initial deliveries are in place it will be smoother. We ordered early which might be why we had no issues.
Thanks James! 👍 👍 I greatly appreciate how you show us about Starlink Internet in the Philippines. However, when it comes to the 150' extension cable (with connector Type-C), is the 150' the limit? Or can you and use a coupler to add the 75' & 150' or is it still possible to use USB (type-C) cable longer than 150'? Assuming you bought the Starlink package in the U.S., does the power cord (that comes with the router) compatible for the 220v in the Philippines, or power adapter needed for it? Does the router comes with an Ethernet port (to extend for switches)? If not, what are the options for people who prefers using wired Ethernet system (instead of wifi) inside their house/bldgs with multiple units. Thank you so much for your help!
Theoretically using a coupler to connect both the 75' & 150' is possible but it might not provide enough DC power from the router to the antenna. DC power has more power drop than AC over thin wire. Best to contact Starlink and let customer support answer that question. The Starlink router is rated at 100-240VAC so it can be used in both USA & Philippines. The router does not come with an Ethernet port but there is a Ethernet adapter available at an additional cost and connects to the USB-C cable between the router and the antenna.
I also live in the Philippines and ordered Starlink for my farmland in the mountains. Now, I know you didn't mention the cost of the hardware, but...did you have to pay DHL a customs tax for delivery? I'm scared they will extort me again for delivering imported electronics. The last time I ordered something from the US, the DHL delivery guys forced me to pay more than 7k in fees before they handed over my goods. Luckily, my employer reimbursed me for the fees. This time, I don't have that luxury. Crossing my fingers!
USD$599 for the hardware. Shipping is free and no customs. Starlink has worked with the Philippine government for this rollout. The gateways are here in the Philippines so you'll have a Philippine IP and not USA.
The speed will be the same no matter where you live as long as you have an unobstructed view of the northern sky here in the Philippines. You should be able to achieve around 180Mbps or better unless the weather is bad (rain clouds).
Hi James I’m here in San Luis Batangas closer to you guys . I have a new V3 the new one that I bought in Pasadena CA. Last month. And I’m trying to install it and having a hard time logging in also at starlink. It’s been trying to figure it out today . No Luck installing it. That would be great if you can help me.
Did you register your Starlink for your location in San Luis? If not, you need to contact Starlink as the systems are activated tied to the registration location.
Hi the problem with starlink is when it rains it stops and when middle day it stops sun spots the starlink tech said Since it is wireless. Many other options available globe has a wireless stick works better.
Normally rain/clouds (heavy weather) will affect your antennas receive strength. The research I've done so far shows Starlink is not as susceptible to this issue as the older satellite dishes. I won't be able to confirm until we have rain. The weather has been very good since the install. Since the Starlink antenna uses phase array technology and does not auto track satellites in geosynchronous orbit I suspect any issues with solar activity is null or rarely an issue. Again, I will report after more time with the system. Lastly, Starlink has an optional wired Ethernet adapter for those who wish to hard wire their connection to their device or connect to a preferred router. All in all, with 30 years of satellite experience, I am encouraged that his system is a winner for everyone.
I think the issue withe your PLDT WiFi not properly working outside is due to the WiFi itself. Meaning, its the WiFi signal being too low hence the buffers... Upgrading to a better Access Point should solve it. Look at Unifi Accesspoints on a mesh configuration.
Thanks for the comment. I get the same issue just a few meters away from the PLDT fiber modem inside the house as well. Inside the router there are settings for power adjustment on both the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz networks. Even at 100% it will not help if the network is congested. Neighbors also experience this same slow network at the same time.
@@MyPIDream Yeah the PLDT modems are crappy. Specially the newer ones with only the 2 antennas. From what I tested, those heat up and ends up disconnecting. Specially for plans that has 500+MB connections. Although I'd live to see you test the starlink modem on the same area as your PLDT modem... Mine has yet to arrive and still stuck at Cebu customs... funny cause I was part of the preorder way back 2021. =\
The usual 5 GHZ at the posts is where the hackers connect directly to their homes with their own Modems at the expense of my account or billed to my account ..this is how I caught some of my decent neighbors linked to my account...both pldt and globe🙄
You should change your password on your modem/router. You can also change the configuration on your modem/router to only allow specific hardware to connect such as only your phone/tablets/computers.
@@MyPIDream had my pldt disconnected bcoz pldt kept billing me despite we didn't have any connection anymore and no lineman ever came to fix it ...later I learned their Subcontractor Engr was my neighbor👀🤷 so that was their anomalous deals until now ...I kept changing my password daily but then they also can change it daily thru the web🙄🙄 until I just gave it up.. now we have globe and we initially had same issues so I emailed them and complained and mentioned this schemes and later Globe sent an IT guy from Manila HQ came to my house and inspected the lines and gave us a password from a new modem that until now works and we never had connection problems ever since..🥷🥴 hayyy you're lucky Ness that James knows all these complicated IT things and networks...and at exclusive subdivisions.. no one messes with your cables or wifis😜😊🧐
Do you think, that it has enough power to watch the CCTV cams, to check what‘s going on at home, when you are somewhere on the way, and do you think, that it has enough power to operate your ‚smart-home‘, when you are somewhere on the way ?
Won’t Philippines weather affect much the Starlink? I know when we had a dish satellite cable we would have frequent interruptions when there is a storm. Also I did not realize how fast your fiber internet is in 5ghz that gives us hope if we decide to bring work there. But how much does that cost? Good vids as usual.
Weather is always a factor with satellite communications. Fortunately for the Philippines we have mostly good weather more than 50% of the year. Rainy/Dry seasons. Our PLDT service is P2,899/month for 500Mbps.
Hi James H I Ness James great pre- review video ! Thanks for the info. I was interested in knowing if other than going through the middleman (Filipino resellers) is there a cost difference? In your next review could you if possible touch on if you have noticed any atmospheric effects on the system..ie cloud cover or rain if applicable . I rely heavily upon a VPN to get my US television and the starlink system seems to offer a great solution for that , do you usually connect to the same VPN connection or switch locations? I use a linux based system (Magbox) and discovered that they ( my internet provider) blocks my Magbox connection, hence having to use a VPN but it can get flaky sometimes causing me to switch VPN connection locations at times routing from other countries which throws my regular internet browsing into a havoc.
Great questions Wayne. We use both commercial VPN and our private VPN from our VPN server back in the USA. I have videos on setting up client/server VPN's on the channel. I tested both during this initial setup/review and results were good. If you are using a commercial VPN you'll need to use an obfuscated VPN to avoid geofencing of your content. In NordVPN it is found under "Specialty Servers".
The AC68U is one of the best routers still for user configuration. Make sure you replace the stock ASUS firmware with Merlin. You have much more control on your configuration with Merlin.
@@MyPIDream Thanks for your pointing me in the direction I need to go, BTW I did view your VPN video and picked up a few pointers. my PPR now is to connect the VPN configured RT-AC68U to my existing router(The TP Link) , any points on that phase of the connection? maybe trying thru WDS or WPS?
James, where did you purchase the Starlink, was it a Mail purchase or is there service you sell the components in the PI. If it had to be mailed to uou, how long did it take and they mailed to uour PI address or do you have a mailing service in the states as most expats have.
Online. Starlink.com. Ordered in August '22 and received March '23. You don't need a mailing address in the US as Starlink is now authorized in the Philippines.
Is this Starlink on subscription basis? For example: subscribe for march and stop in April then subscribe again in June something like that. Hope you can creat a video for that.
Ours came in around 3 weeks sitting in customs. I hear there is currently a bottleneck and Starlink is working the issue. If your subscription starts before delivery they will credit you.
I have not gotten it because I don't see where I can ask them questions and get answers. Maybe someone here knows. What is the site to inquire. I lost it from when I looked before. Can I move from one city to another and take it with me. Say from Cagayan De Oro to Bohol for example. Is there a live person that I can ask questions to if I have any issues?
You can move your Starlink from one location to another, yes. You will not be able to speak to a live person. When you click on the "thumbs down" when asked if your question was answered you will be able to open a trouble ticket.
The distance from the router to the pavilion in the backyard where I am using Internet is about 75ft. I imagine the router will cover about 150ft LOS but would be much shorter if there are any obstructions in-between.
I immediately paid any balances which might have expedited delivery but if you do have a subscription charge and you do not have physical delivery yet Starlink will credit your account.
I'm in Davao. If I buy it but only want to turn on the service during months that I'm having issues with my ISP can I do that with no issues or do I have to keep the subscription going year round? Termination fee or I can turn it on and off daily, monthly?
so like take the mobile version with me on like ship travel or driving around making real live videos to youtube do you think it will be a good version and a good solution for that?
From talking to others this is possible although you might have to register with Starlink if your area of responsibility is other than where you originally registered. Best to contact Starlink customer service.
Just check your account status on Starlink.com. As long as it shows your order with $99 deposit you're on track. Looks like supply and demand is a bit bottle necked right now so I recommend just being patient if you order is still active.
