Wi-Fi & connectivity

[MrClean2026]

I live in a very rural area..I bought the Roku Express 4k 2 weeks ago to watch TV (specifically football) ...since I don't have WiFi, I have been using my phones Hotspot to connect the Roku..had no idea mobile Hotspot was limited...it has run out for the month, now Roku won't connect to the internet.  I don't have a computer, only my phone...how can I connect the Roku to get an internet signal through my phone if I dont have Hotspot?  Those 20gigz went fast in 10days...

[Strega]

I’m not sure if I’m understanding the question, but I think the answer is: wait until the beginning of the next billing cycle.  The phone companies put limits like this in for precisely this reason.  They know most people won’t use much data on the phone itself, but hook up a computer or a streaming device via a hotspot, and whoosh!  20GB will cover about 7 hours of typical 1080 material.  You can see if your streaming service has settings to allow reduced quality in return for more time.

[AvsGunnar]

@MrClean2026 

Very difficult to use a streaming device with either no internet access or very limited hotspot data. (even most "unlimited" data hotspots will actually throttle down to unuseable speed for most streamers).

Depending on your phone data plan (not hotspot data plan), you may be left now using some sort of adapter (USB-C to HMDI or the like), and then streaming directly from your phone to the TV. Once again, even the phone data plan is not usually unlimited high speed data.

In the future, can help preserve some bandwidth with streaming by lowering the detected resolution of your TVs in Roku Settings (Settings/Display Type), and keep track of how much data is being used for a given program. (use a 720p resolution to reduce bandwidth consumption).   But will probably find it tough to get a full month of streaming with a 20gb allowance.  Likely will have to do some balancing between your hotspot data (using the Roku) and your phone data (stream directly from phone, not using Roku).

[DBDukes]

@MrClean2026 

The suggestions by @Strega and @AvsGunnar are your best bets. But, I'm going to add something that answers what you didn't ask.

With the likelihood of cell phone plans not being enough to handle HD streaming, you may want to consider a couple of other options for Internet.

In some places, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile do offer Internet service at decent speeds. It's not a cell phone data plan, but an actual home Internet service plan. As they aren't available everywhere (including where I am) this may not be an option. But if you haven't already looked into them, check them out and see if you might be in a service area. No idea what prices might be, but it's worth looking into.

Additionally, Starlink is available in more areas. My sister uses Starlink (she's in rural north Florida) and is very happy with the service. The price is $120/month (if it's still $99, be aware that it will go up soon if it has not already), but it's good reliable service, according to her.