How to Get a Scan Jammer on Your Ship in Starfield

When it comes to building up your ship in Starfield, you’re presented with a lot of choices that’ll heavily impact how your ship functions. The shield you get can determine how long you’ll last in battle, the Cargo Hold will choose how much loot you can take from place to place, and don’t even get me started on weapon choice. All this time later, I’m still trying to work out what’s best there. One such ship part is less known about, but great for those going after some deliciously illegal goods. Here’s how to get a Scan Jammer on your ship in Starfield.

Where to Get a Scan Jammer in Starfield

To get a Scan Jammer in Starfield, you’ll either want to steal a ship with one or purchase one from a Ship Services Technician. If you’re looking to steal one, then you’re at the mercy of RNG to determine whether the ship has a Scan Jammer. You’ll need to keep stealing ships and inspecting them to see if they have a Scan Jammer. From there, you’ll need to use that ship whenever you want to snag some contraband.

If stealing and searching 30 ships doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, then you’ll likely want to buy and install one. For this, two specific Ship Services Technicians will sell them. Depending on your situation, you can visit Jazz aboard The Key. This requires progress in the Crimson Fleet storyline, along with certain conditions at the end of the mission line. If you don’t have access to that, then you’ll want to visit Lon at the Red Mile. This can be found in the Porrima system, on the planet of Porrima III. Porrima is marked in the Star Chart, so it’s hard to miss.

Once you speak to either of them, select “I’d like to view and modify my ships.”. This will open up your ships, through which you’ll want to open the Ship Builder for that particular ship. Open the Add menu using the key listed in the bottom right, then navigate to the Equipment tab. This will bring up several Scan Jammers with each costing a different amount.

What Does a Scan Jammer Do?

With a Scan Jammer installed on your ship, you’ll heavily increase the chances of passing through the scanners around Freestar/UC-controlled systems. This will only work if you also have a Shielded Cargo Hold installed, which can also be bought from either The Key or Red Mile. This enables you to sell your loot without these governments catching on and screwing you out of your supplies.

What’s the Difference Between Each Scan Jammer?

As you can tell from the names and prices, there’s a difference between each Scan Jammer. These differences are as follows:

• Single-Frequency Scan Jammer: 10% chance to evade contraband detection.
• Dual-Frequency Scan Jammer: 30% chance to evade contraband detection.
• Multi-Frequency Scan Jammer: 50% chance to evade contraband detection.

If it were me, I’d suggest getting the Multi-Frequency Scan Jammer over either of the others. There’s a bit of a premium, but given how small that premium is, the higher chance is more than worthwhile. Keep in mind that you’ll need Rank 2 in Starship Design to purchase this one, so you might need to level some skills first. It can be found in the Tech skill tree.

How Else Can You Smuggle Contraband in Starfield?

If purchasing a Scan Jammer isn’t your thing, there are other ways to smuggle contraband in Starfield. Most notably, you can visit The Den, located in the Wolf system. This is a station that won’t detect your contraband upon entering, and houses a Trade Authority rep more than willing to buy said contraband. Other than that, you have the Deception skill in the Social skill tree. The ranks for that skill are as follows:

• Rank 1: Ships 10% stronger will automatically surrender to piracy demands. Enemy contraband scans are 10% less effective.
• Rank 2: Ships 20% stronger will automatically surrender to piracy demands. Enemy contraband scans are 20% less effective.
• Rank 3: Ships 30% stronger will automatically surrender to piracy demands. Enemy contraband scans are 30% less effective.
• Rank 4: Ships 50% stronger will automatically surrender to piracy demands. Enemy contraband scans are 50% less effective.

If you’re looking for more help with contraband smuggling, check out our guide on how to get a Shielded Cargo Hold in Starfield.