Published: 2026-08-17 | Updated: 2026-08-17 Author: StarMax team, Starlink users since 2022 Data verified: 2026-08-17 against starlink.com
Disclosure. StarMax sells Starlink accessories and genuine replacement parts. This article carries no product links, because nothing we sell changes a policy limit. Corrections and questions
Key takeaways
- Roam Unlimited now allows 30 days outside your registered home country per trip, down from 60. New customers moved to this on 14 July 2026; existing customers move today, 17 August 2026.
- Roam 100 GB and Roam 300 GB became domestic-only. If you travel on either, international use has stopped, not shrunk.
- Global Roam is gone. Closed to new customers on 15 July, terminated for existing subscribers today. Starlink names Global Priority as the replacement.
- Grouped regions do not count as international. The US and Canada are treated as one country for roaming; 36 European countries and territories are grouped the same way. Crossing a border inside your own region never starts the clock.
- Local Priority is the option most coverage skips: up to 60 days total, counting days already spent on Roam Unlimited. It sits between the 30-day cap and unrestricted Global Priority.
- The 14-day rule you may have read about never happened. Draft terms proposing 14 days per trip circulated in May 2026 and were withdrawn. Articles describing that limit are describing a withdrawn draft.
- Travel Registration — an identity document plus a live selfie — is required for international use.
- This article does not describe any way around the cap, Travel Registration or regional restrictions. Starlink's Terms of Service also let the company update your registered service address based on where the terminal is actually used.
What changed in Starlink's roaming rules on 17 August 2026?
Roam Unlimited now limits international use to 30 days outside your registered home country per trip, replacing the previous 60-day allowance. Two cheaper plans, Roam 100 GB and Roam 300 GB, became domestic-only. Global Roam — an unadvertised plan sold as an upsell to existing customers — was discontinued entirely.
The sequence matters, because two different things happened this summer and only one of them is real.
Around May 2026, draft language appeared briefly in Starlink's published terms suggesting a far harder limit — 14 days per trip and 60 international days per year — before being withdrawn without explanation. Coverage of that draft is still circulating and still being mistaken for current policy. What actually took effect is the 30-day rule described here.
| Plan | International use from 17 Aug 2026 | Previously |
|---|---|---|
| Roam Unlimited | Yes — 30 days per trip outside your home region | 60 days per trip |
| Roam 100 GB / 300 GB | No — home region only | International allowed |
| Local Priority | Yes — up to 60 days total | Unchanged |
| Global Priority | Yes — no time restriction | Unchanged |
| Global Roam | Discontinued | No time restriction |
Table summary: only Roam Unlimited and the two Priority tiers support international travel. If you are on a lower Roam tier and cross a border, you need to change plan before you go, not after you arrive.
Which plan do you need now?
Work through three questions in order, and stop at the first one that matches your travel. Most people stop at the second.
The gap between tiers is wider than the plan names suggest, and the middle option is the one most coverage leaves out.
Does travel between grouped countries count against the 30-day cap?
No. Regional grouping is the part of this change that works in the traveller's favour, and it is the part most often missed.
The United States and Canada are treated as a single country for roaming purposes, so a US-registered terminal used in Canada — or the reverse — never starts the international clock. Cross-border commuters, snowbirds and boaters working both coasts are unaffected by the 30-day rule as long as they stay inside that pair. The European region works the same way across its 36 member countries and territories.
The cap applies when you leave your region, not when you leave your country. For a European traveller this is a meaningful distinction: a summer spent moving between France, Spain and Italy involves no international days at all, while two weeks in Morocco does.
Regional lists are maintained by Starlink and have been adjusted during 2026 without advance notice. Confirm your own account's region in the Starlink app before a long trip rather than relying on a list published in an article, including this one.
What happens after 30 days of international use?
Three officially stated options, and the one people reach for last is usually the cheapest.
Return home. Going back to your registered home country resets the 30-day window. For seasonal travel this is often the whole answer, and it costs nothing.
Local Priority. Up to 60 days of international use in total — not per trip — and the count includes days already spent on Roam Unlimited. This is the middle tier, and it is missing from most coverage of the change, which jumps straight from the 30-day cap to the most expensive option.
Global Priority. No time restriction on international use. This is the plan Starlink names as the replacement for Global Roam, and it is priced accordingly. Check current pricing on starlink.com for your country rather than relying on any figure quoted in an article, including this one — Starlink's pricing has moved several times in 2026 alone.
Localise the account. If a trip has become a relocation, registering the service in the new country ends the question rather than managing it.
Running past the allowance without choosing one of these stops the connection outside your home region until you return or change plan. Separately, Starlink's Terms of Service have long permitted the company to update a registered service address based on where a terminal is actually used, and this has moved from a clause people quoted to a practice people report.
Frequently asked questions
Is Global Roam still available?
No. It closed to new customers on 15 July 2026 and ended for existing subscribers on 17 August 2026. Customers who did not switch before that date lost service. Global Priority is the plan Starlink positions as the replacement for unrestricted international use.
Do I need to verify my identity to travel with Starlink?
Yes. Travel Registration requires an identity document and a live selfie, and it applies to international use under the current policy. Verification requirements have changed more than once this year, so check the current process at starlink.com before a trip rather than relying on a description written earlier.
What happened to the 14-day rule reported earlier in 2026?
It never took effect. Draft language proposing 14 days per trip and 60 international days per year appeared briefly in Starlink's published terms around May 2026 and was withdrawn. Articles describing that limit as current are describing a withdrawn draft, and several are still ranking.
Can I extend my 30 days abroad by crossing into another country?
No, and this article does not describe any method for extending international use beyond Starlink's stated options: returning home to reset the window, moving to a Priority plan, or localising the account. The allowance is counted against your account, not against any individual border.
I only travel inside my own region. Does any of this affect me?
Only if you leave it. Movement inside a grouped region does not count as international use and does not draw on the 30-day allowance. What did change for the lower Roam tiers is that they are now limited to your region rather than usable worldwide — so the tier matters even for travel that feels local.
Which is cheaper, Local Priority or staying on Roam Unlimited and flying home?
That depends on your route and how the 60 days fall across the year, and no article can answer it without your itinerary. The point worth carrying away is that Local Priority exists as a middle step — most coverage of this change presents Global Priority as the only alternative to the 30-day cap, and it is not.
Sources
- Starlink Help Center — "Global Roam Discontinued" — https://starlink.com/support/article/9619ef4f-e772-f0a7-42b7-09fe781bf067 (accessed 2026-08-17)
- Mobile Internet Resource Center — "Starlink Restricts International Roaming Rules – Roam Unlimited Now Limited To 30 Days Abroad" — https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/starlink-restricts-international-roaming-rules-roam-unlimited-now-limited-to-30-days-abroad/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- SatelliteInternet.com — "Can I Travel Internationally With Starlink? Roam's New 2026 Travel Policy Explained" — https://www.satelliteinternet.com/resources/starlink-roam-international-travel-policy/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- Seabits — "Starlink Roam Plan Changes" — https://seabits.com/starlink-roam-plan-changes/ (accessed 2026-08-17)
- Starlink Help Center — "Traveling with Starlink Roam" — https://starlink.com/support/article/0dd1c2c0-7bae-8c8f-43d4-9a64eb66662f (accessed 2026-08-17)
Related articles
- How to Reboot Starlink: Four Methods, and Which One You Need — moving a terminal between countries means more setup and teardown cycles than a fixed install ever sees, and most connection faults after a move are cleared by the right kind of restart
This article is for general information and does not constitute guidance on circumventing Starlink's Terms of Service, regional restrictions or identity verification requirements. StarMax is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by SpaceX or Starlink. Starlink and SpaceX are trademarks of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., used descriptively. Roaming rules and pricing change; verify current terms at starlink.com before travel. Not investment, legal or financial advice.
Data verified: 2026-08-17