Starry Station

Simplicity is the name of this router’s game. Oh, and reliability… and speed…

$299 Manufacturer Starry, starry.com Features Dual-band network with additional 5GHz, touchscreen interface to identify issues, support-center callback

Configuring Wi-Fi setups ranges from the annoying to some sort of sorcery that we dare not meddle with. But the Starry Station promises to simplify Wi-Fi in your house with an interface that makes sense.

The front of the device sports a glossy white plastic shell, while the back is a brushed aluminum plate with concentric cooling vent holes, and the good-looking touch interface makes it attractive enough to have on display. That’s good for Starry, because it’s counting on customers placing the Station in open areas for the best possible signal.

Equipped with just two Ethernet ports, one for the WAN connection to your modem or gateway, the device’s focus is on wireless. Inside are dual-band, 4x4 MIMO 802.11ac (a/b/g/n, too) transceivers, and the whole thing is powered by two dual-core processors – one for the network and one the interface.

Setting up the Station takes – quite literally – five minutes. You’re then provided with a Wi-Fi Health percentage score, which collates your ISP’s provided speed, your connected devices’ capability, and the signal strength to each device. From there, you can test the specific speed that your ISP is providing from within the device. Swiping to the left provides deeper details and trends over time. This way, if you see that you’re not getting what you’re paying for, you now have the proof to take to your ISP.

In an idle state, the Station displays the devices on its networks as planetary bodies orbiting a star. Those in red are in bad shape network-wise, while those in blue are doing fine. The size of the orb is dictated by how much bandwidth that device is using. If you have an issue with your Wi-Fi, you can request a call from customer support straight from the device by leaving your number.

We found that the Starry Station provided a stable connection, with download speeds remaining at their peak for longer, and with fewer dips in Mbps, than a standard Verizon router. Of course, your connection depends on your devices’ hardware as well, but we experienced barely a hiccup with connection or download speed.

We did find that the device’s fan is noticeably loud, something we’ve rarely encountered in routers before. We’d have preferred to see more granular control over device access and bandwidth considering the $299 price tag, too. And if your router’s been hidden away in a closet, you may have to consider moving the source connection to get the best possible positioning for the Starry.

the bottom line. If you’re only remotely tech-savvy, Starry Station is well worth considering. Joe Osborne