What changed
Starlink’s two help-center articles on referrals, “How do I refer people to Starlink?” and “How do I use a referral link?”, now describe a different program from the version first written on Dec 18, 2023, which was still live in an archive copy from Dec 9, 2025.
In the 2023 version both people got a free month of service, credited 30 days after the new customer activated, on Residential and Roam Unlimited only, in seven countries. The current version gives the sender a reward as credit or, where available, cash ($100 is Starlink’s US example); credits the new customer’s free month on the second monthly bill; issues the sender’s reward after two months of subscription, “as soon as 60 days” after activation; lists every Residential tier and all three Roam plans as eligible; and says the program runs in most places where Starlink is available.
When
Apr 9, 2026 is the last-edited date in Starlink’s own article metadata. The current wording mentions cash, which press reports date to August 2026, so the safest reading is “changed after Dec 9, 2025; current by Oct 5, 2026”. This post is more than 90 days old by its metadata date and is kept as background.
Who is affected
Both sides: referrers, whose reward is no longer a free month, and new customers, whose free month now arrives on the second bill.
What it means for you
If you learned the program before 2026, several things you remember are out of date. The biggest is timing: a friend pays the first month as normal and sees the free month on bill two, and the sender’s reward needs the friend to stay for two months. The second is what the sender gets: a reward of the amount shown in their account, not a free month.
The help articles are written for all countries, while the US Referral Program Terms are the binding document for US referrers. Where they differ, we follow the terms and say so.
What to do now
Re-read our program page before explaining the referral to a friend, and use the current wording: “you pay month one, month two is free”. Owners: check the Referral Reward Types setting in your account if you want cash.
What stays the same
A referral still has to come through the referrer’s own link, and the new customer must be new to Starlink.
What we don’t know yet
The exact day each change went live; Starlink doesn’t publish a revision history, and the metadata date may not match the wording.
How to check it yourself
Both articles are in Starlink’s help center; search it for “refer” and “referral link”. The Internet Archive has earlier copies, including one captured Dec 9, 2025 that still shows the 2023 wording. Our changelog lists each difference with the source and the date we read it.