rewrite this title I Tested United’s New Starlink Wi-Fi. Here’s My Honest Review. – NerdWallet

Earlier this week, I bought Wi-Fi on a transcontinental United Airlines flight. It was terrible and virtually unusable.

But that’s soon about to change, as United begins its rollout of Starlink Wi-Fi aboard its United Express regional jets. The first commercial United flight with Starlink is expected to launch May 15, 2025, on flight UA 5717 from Chicago to Detroit. The Embraer 175 plane operating that flight is the first of United’s two-cabin regional jets that will be getting the service by year’s end.

Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, is a satellite internet network that operates thousands of low Earth-orbit satellites to provide higher internet speeds to its users around the globe.

The Chicago-based airline says Starlink will eventually be enabled across its entire fleet, with the first mainline United plane expected to get Starlink sometime this year. The new Wi-Fi, which will be free for all United MileagePlus members, is expected to be a game-changer, providing gate-to-gate connectivity for as many devices as you want.

United invited me on a media flight to check out the Starlink service before it rolls out to the general public. Despite a few hiccups, the experience was a huge upgrade over the usual in-flight Wi-Fi.

To access the Wi-Fi, you’ll need to have a MileagePlus account and connect to United’s Wi-Fi network, typically called “Unitedwifi.com.” Once you connect on your phone, a browser will pop up automatically and present what United is calling a “code of conduct” for using Starlink Wi-Fi.

The rules prohibit voice and video calls, require headphones for audio, and advise against viewing content that others might find offensive. Once you agree to these terms, you can sign into your MileagePlus account to access the Wi-Fi. There’s supposed to be a seamless one-click option for those who have the United app installed, but it didn’t work for me.

After you sign in, you’ll need to watch two advertisements. I had a 30-second Marriott ad, followed by a 17-second ad for United credit cards. Once that’s done, you’re ready to use the Wi-Fi.

If you have additional devices, connecting is easy. Just join the Wi-Fi network on your device. If a window doesn’t pop up, you can go to onboard.united.com. When you click on the sign-in button, a QR code will appear that you can scan with your phone. This will automatically connect that device after you watch the required ads.

There are still some kinks that United needs to work out (there are reminders throughout the page that it’s still in beta mode), but I found it simple and intuitive to use.

You can use the Wi-Fi even if you don’t have your MileagePlus number attached to your itinerary. That’s helpful for those who want to collect miles with a frequent flyer program besides MileagePlus.

United is billing Starlink as “the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky,” and based on internet speed test results during the flight, it certainly seemed true at times. Throughout the 90-minute flight, I regularly clocked download speeds of over 100 megabits per second, with speeds peaking at 222 megabits per second (Mbps). Upload speeds typically ranged from 6 to 18 Mbps.

I was able to download the YouTube app (308.4 MB) in seconds, watch YouTube videos, stream shows, listen to Spotify and even FaceTime some friends and family, who said my picture quality was extremely clear. (Keep in mind you aren’t allowed to make calls on regular commercial flights; this was a media flight.) Someone was even playing World of Warcraft in the air.

But there were also times when the internet speeds seemed to slow, dropping to 8.15 Mbps download and 3.95 Mbps upload. Compared to the top speeds, that’s not great. That became apparent on sites like YouTube, where video thumbnails took a few seconds to load.

But context is important here. Because it was a media flight, a lot of people came prepared to stress test the system, including local TV camera crews, content creators and journalists, many with several devices and one person near me declaring that he would be uploading tons of content during the flight. Hopefully, a commercial flight with more regular Wi-Fi use would provide a more consistent experience.

When compared to my flight earlier this week, which had abysmally slow speeds of 0.53 Mbps download and 0.01 Mbps upload, calling Starlink a significant improvement feels like an understatement. But the fluctuating speeds during my flight made it clear that Starlink still has some limitations.

With Starlink, United passengers will have access to the internet from pushback to arrival. That makes a big difference, especially when you’re flying on a regional jet that requires you to be above a specific altitude before you can connect to Wi-Fi.

“We want you to start the experience as soon as you sit down, and the experience will end at your destination when you’re ready to stand up,” Grant Milstead, United’s vice president of digital technology, said at the event. “No waiting for that ding at 10,000 feet.”

Once Starlink is expanded to the mainline fleet, the seatback screen will be connected to the internet in a way that U.S. airlines haven’t been able to do before, Milstead told NerdWallet.

That could unlock things like displaying baggage carousel numbers, tracking baggage tags and even rebooking flights if necessary.

If you’re flying on a regional jet, you may wonder if your flight has Starlink enabled. An easy way to check is by going to your flight’s status page and checking the “entertainment” section under “inflight amenities.”

Starlink-enabled aircraft will say, “Internet by Starlink, free for United MileagePlus members.”

As a United frequent flyer, I love the airline’s global route network, which means I’m often taking flights that are 10 to 17 hours long. That’s a long time to go without high-speed internet connectivity, so I’m extremely excited about the potential Starlink has to improve the onboard United experience.

However, it remains to be seen how the new Wi-Fi will fare on those international long-haul flights over the ocean and over certain countries. I’m looking forward to the moment when Starlink is added to the entire fleet, although that timeline is still unclear.

As someone who loves to travel, I’m also excited about what this means for air travel at large and the industry’s embrace of free Wi-Fi.

Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways have already installed Starlink aboard some of their planes and offer it as a complimentary service, just as United plans to do (as long as you sign up for its free MileagePlus loyalty program). Air France and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) are also expected to start adding Starlink to flights this year, free of charge.

Other airlines offer free Wi-Fi, albeit not via Starlink, including Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways. Even American Airlines, which doesn’t offer free messaging to all passengers, announced free Wi-Fi was coming, starting 2026.

With all these airlines on board with free Wi-Fi, it seems likely that this isn’t a fad but here to stay.

Top photo courtesy of United Airlines.