How to connect device without remote
Our dog ate the remote so we having been using the Roku remote app. We then got new internet yesterday. The app can no longer find the device because it is offline. Is there a way to change the devic...
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You may be able to use the Roku app for your phone or tablet. There's a Remote Control feature on the Android app. I'm not sure about Apple products.
That won't work. The app, which is available for Android and iOS, only works if the mobile device and the Roku are on the same network. And, since the Roku isn't on the network yet -- that's the whole issue, remember -- the mobile app won't work.
Once it's connected, which requires a remote, then yes the app will work. But not until then.
There is one more, semi-complicated possibility, if all the right conditions are met. You must have:
-- A Roku that is still set up for its prior network. If it was no longer connecting to that network when you shut it down, if you have cleared its network settings, or if you have done a factory reset, your only recourse is to use a remote to set the Roku network connection up.
-- Knowledge of the network name (SSID) and password from your former network that the Roku is currently configured to use.
-- A mobile phone with WiFi hotspot capabilities.
-- A second WiFi-equipped mobile device, either a phone or tablet, with the official Roku (not TheRokuChannel) app installed.
If you have all these things, here's how you do it:
1) Configure the WiFi hotspot on your mobile phone to use the same network name (SSID) and password from your former home network that the Roku is currently configured to use. If your hotspot can use the 5 GHz WiFi band, switch it to the 2.4 GHz band for compatibility with all Roku models.
2) After you turn on this hotspot, pull the power plug on your Roku for a few seconds then plug it back in. When the Roku starts up it should connect to the hotspot and through the phone to the internet. You just won't be able to control the Roku yet.
3) Connect your second device (phone or tablet) to the first phone's WiFi hotspot network.
4) Now that this second device and your Roku are both connected to the same WiFi hotspot, you can run the Roku app on the second device to gain control of your Roku using the app's remote control capabilities.
5) Using the app on the second device, set up the new network on the Roku, via Settings > Network > Set up network, using the new network's SSID and password.
6) When the Roku connects to the new network, disconnect the second mobile device from the WiFi hotspot and connect it to the new home network (SSID and password).
7) You can now continue to use the Roku app on the second device to operate your Roku on the new network.
8) The Roku is no longer connecting to your phone's WiFi hotspot, so you can shut that down. If you wish, you can also use the Roku app on this phone to control your Roku.
If you decide to try this, please report back how it worked.
If you get this method to work I'd still suggest acquiring a compatible remote to make it MUCH easier to recover if your Roku ever drops its network connection and needs to be reconnected.
