January 14, 2026
18 satellites, zero chill
Technical Analysis of Starlink Terminal GPS Spoofing/Jamming Detection in Iran
Starlink dish screams “fake GPS” — commenters scream louder
TLDR: A GitHub post says a Starlink dish in Iran detected suspicious GPS signals amid an internet shutdown. The community split: some call it proof of interference, while skeptics say the analysis looks AI-spun and misreads hardware logs. Big stakes, bigger drama.
A fiery GitHub post claims a Starlink dish in Iran flagged “fake” GPS signals — 18 satellites showing up as normal but the system flipped to “inhibit GPS,” plus heavy lag and sketchy tracking. Cue the internet fight. Some readers shouted state-level signal trickery and hailed Starlink’s stubborn connection as a win for access. Others dragged the analysis like a reality show reunion. The top skeptic, bri3d, argued the write‑up looks like a log dumped into an AI, not solid evidence, and pointed out the “CADY” clock module bit is misunderstood — on newer boards it’s missing, so those values are expected, not spooky. Memes followed: “18 satellites, zero chill,” “inhibit GPS is what I do to my ex,” and “Elon vs Ayatollah: Season 2.” The vibe? RF nerds vs hype train. Supporters think the logs show Iran messing with signals during an internet blackout. Skeptics want reproducible tests, not vibes and acronyms. Either way, the post turned a nerdy telemetry dump into a geopolitical cage match, with folks asking if Starlink can really shrug off interference — or if we’re just reading tea leaves in binary ink.
Key Points
- •Telemetry was captured from a Starlink terminal in Iran during a government-imposed internet shutdown in January 2026.
- •gpsStats showed gpsValid: true, gpsSats: 18, and inhibitGps: true, which the report interprets as GPS spoofing detection rather than jamming.
- •Network performance was severely degraded, with about 20% sustained packet loss and no stable connection over 24 minutes.
- •Beam tracking accuracy was reduced, with pointing error (~1°) exceeding attitude uncertainty (0.32°).
- •Despite interference, connectivity persisted in a limited, unstable state with restricted bandwidth.