Quick answer
The referral is carried by the link itself: a starlink.com address with your referrer’s code in it. If the order you paid for was started by typing starlink.com on another device, it probably wasn’t placed using the link, and the terms count only orders that were. Before paying, open the link on the device you’re ordering with.
Why the device matters
The terms require the new customer to place the order “using the Unique Referral Link,” and say orders the kit using the referrer's own link; no other referral method counts. Nothing in the terms or help center says the link follows you between devices or browsers. Our reading: treat each device as starting fresh.
Before you pay: check it
Send the link to the device you’ll order on
Email or message it to yourself, then open it there.
Look at the address bar
The page should have opened from the link, with
referral=RC-and a code in the address.Look for a referral note at checkout
The 2023 help center described this: the order page showed a referral banner and the words "Referral Code Applied" under the total. The current help text doesn’t describe the screen, so its absence isn’t proof either way.
Finish in the same tab
Don’t close it and come back later by typing the address.
Already paid on the other device?
Treat it as an order without a link
Once you’re active, you’re a past subscriber and can’t qualify again. If the kit hasn’t shipped or been activated, read the first row of the already-ordered table before doing anything.
Questions people ask
Does a referral link work if I open it on my phone and order on my computer?
Only if the order on the computer was started from the link. The terms count an order placed “using” the referrer’s link; typing starlink.com on a second device starts an order without it.
How can I tell the link was applied?
The page you order on should be the one the link opened, with the referral code in the address bar. In 2023 Starlink’s help center described a referral banner and “Referral Code Applied” under the total; the current help text doesn’t describe the screen, so look for both but don’t rely on the wording.
I already paid on the other device. Now what?
Treat it as an order without a link. See the already-ordered page for what you can still do.