Decide how bad the damage really is
Start by separating cosmetic damage from real damage. If a pet chewed through only the outer jacket and the silver shielding underneath is intact, the cable may still work — but it is now a weak point. Damage that reaches the inner wires, or a cable that drops 'disconnected' errors in the Starlink app, is beyond patching. Lay the cable flat and flex it gently along the damaged section. If you see bare copper, feel heat, or see sparking, stop and unplug everything before doing anything else.
Check both connectors too. The barrel connector at the dish end and the plug at the router end take the most strain when a cable gets bent sharply or stepped on. A bent pin, a cracked collar, or wobble when seated usually means the connector is failing, not the cable itself. Either way, the answer is the same: don't splice, don't solder, don't tape — replace.
Why the right fix is the official replacement
Starlink does not recommend repairing its cable, and there is a solid reason: that cable carries power. The dish draws more than 50 watts through the line, so a cut or spliced cable can arc, overheat, or fail in weather. Order a replacement from your Starlink account under Support — a standard cable runs roughly $40 to $65 depending on your kit's generation and arrives in a few days with weather-sealed connectors. Until it lands, unplug both ends and coil the damaged cable out of the rain.
One warning worth repeating: never cut the cable while it is connected. Treat it like a live wire — unplug first, then handle it. If the damage is at the dish end and you can't reach the connector safely, wait for the replacement instead of improvising a splice. The time you save isn't worth a fire risk or a fried router port.
Route the new cable so it survives
When the new cable arrives, give it slack at both ends so the connectors aren't under tension. Fix it with clips or zip ties every couple of feet, but leave a drip loop — a gentle U — where the line enters the house, so water runs away from the plug. Keep it out of pinch points like window frames and doors, and avoid tight 90-degree bends near the dish arm. Light UV-resistant tape over the connector seam is fine as extra insurance, but never cover the vents.
Done properly, cable damage is a two-day fix: order the part, wait for delivery, swap it in twenty minutes, and route the new line with slack and loops. The dish reconnects on its own, usually within minutes of power returning. Your network is back, and the new cable will outlast the weather that killed the old one.