No remote for setup on new network

(I successfully used this method recently when visiting my timeshare. I brought a Roku from home and needed to configure it for the timeshare's network, but found the remote's batteries were dead, rendering the remote useless.)

This method is complicated, but if you really need it …

You will need ALL of these:

-- 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 compatible physical remote to set the Roku network connection up.

-- Knowledge of the network name (SSID) and password from the 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 Mobile app (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.

I'd still suggest acquiring a compatible remote if only to make it much easier to recover if your Roku ever drops its network connection and needs to be reconnected.