Starlink Mini 2 adds a swappable battery for up to 4.5 hours online, with invite-only US preorders

Picture a campsite with no plug in sight, or a field team working after a storm has cut the power. Getting online by satellite there is possible. Keeping the dish running without a car socket or a heavy power bank is the harder part.

On 10 November 2026, Starlink announced Mini 2, the second version of its portable satellite dish. The biggest change is a quick-swap battery that Starlink says gives “up to 4.5 hours” of connection on one charge. Preorders are open now, but only by invitation and only for select customers in the United States.

The first Mini made satellite internet small enough to carry. The Starlink Mini 2 tries to free it from the wall socket too, which matters most to people far from reliable power.

Starlink Mini 2 gets a swappable battery and USB-C power

Mini 2 still puts the dish and the Wi-Fi router in one laptop-sized unit. The new part is the battery: 71 watt-hours, about 490 grams, with its own USB-C port and a charge indicator. Spares are sold separately. When power is nearby, the dish runs from a standard USB-C cable instead of the first Mini’s DC power cable.

Starlink’s own comparison of Mini 2 and the first Mini, from the official Mini 2 page. Image: Starlink

Starlink’s page lists the rest. Mini 2 is 23.1 mm thick and weighs 1.6 kg with its battery and kickstand. It has Wi-Fi 6 covering up to 1,800 square feet (167 square metres), an IP67 rating against dust and water, and a standard camera tripod thread. With a clear view of the sky, Starlink says you can be online in about 60 seconds.

On Starlink Mini 2 vs Mini 1, The Verge and PCMag report that the new dish is much thinner (the original was 38.5 mm) but heavier: PCMag puts Mini 1 at 1.16 kg with its kickstand. PCMag also notes that, judging by the official pictures, Mini 2 appears to have no Ethernet port.

The price is still a puzzle

Starlink gives no price. According to invitation emails that users shared on X, reported by The Verge and PCMag, the preorder costs $999 and includes one year of Roam Unlimited service, which SpaceX values at $2,100. PCMag reports that, under the same emails, buyers pay a refundable $100 deposit now and the remaining $899 plus tax when the dish ships. It says shipments are estimated to begin in mid-December, and that the offer is exclusive to the invitation.

Rumour: the YouTube channel DISHYtech spotted code on Starlink’s website that pointed to a $249 price in a beta programme and a $50 battery. PCMag says Mini 2 “might” arrive at $249 later. Starlink has not confirmed either figure.

If you live, work or travel off the grid

For campers, van owners, sailors, field workers and disaster teams, the appeal is plain: a few hours online with nothing else to carry. If you were about to buy the first Mini, it may be worth waiting a few weeks to see what Starlink sets as Mini 2’s regular price.

Outside the US, there is no Starlink Mini 2 release date yet. Starlink only says it is “coming soon to more customers and countries”. Where Starlink works at all depends on local approvals, so check Starlink’s website for your country before planning around it.

Why the battery matters more than the launch price

There is a lot to like here. A swappable battery removes the most awkward part of using a portable dish. USB-C power means one charger can serve a laptop, a phone and the dish. A thinner body and wider Wi-Fi 6 coverage are welcome too.

There are fair questions as well. “Up to 4.5 hours” is the best case; in practice, battery life usually drops in heat, cold or heavy use. The extra weight is real for anyone carrying it all day. And a $999 bundle sold only by invitation, with no price on Starlink’s own page, makes value hard to judge yet. Starlink is growing fast, as SpaceX’s latest quarterly results show, so it has room to price Mini 2 more widely later. Whether it does is the open question.

On balance, Mini 2 looks like a meaningful step for portable satellite internet, and its real test is price and reach, not the spec sheet. For people who depend on Starlink in hard places, such as Ukraine, where full speeds were recently restored, a dish that runs without a socket could matter most of all.

What to watch before December

Watch for a regular price, the cost of spare batteries and a list of countries. Then watch first owners’ reports: how close real battery life comes to 4.5 hours will decide how far this dish can really go.