Wi-Fi & connectivity

[ohanquels]

Verizon is giving us 5GB a month of premium hotspot usage free with our plan. The only time we would use this is if it's raining while we are at the camp and we want to stream a movie for the kids. We have an older Roku stick. What settings works I change and how would I change them to minimize data usage so the kids could watch a movie once a week?

[DBDukes]

@ohanquels 

There is no device-wide setting that can enforce data usage restrictions. Such functionality did exist in the early days, but with today's streaming technologies, those old settings won't work. They were never official anyway, but for testing, though they did leak to the public. But know that if anyone suggests those, they are not officially supported, and may not work (and probably won't, given today's technology). So what can you do?

First, pick the lowest resolution setting you can from your Roku menu system under settings.

Next, within whatever apps you intend to use, change the settings either within the app or within the service account (often via Web browser) to the lowest data usage/resolution they offer.

Finally, if the service or app allows, turn off autoplay. You don't want them launching something then walking away and leaving it streaming the next episode/cartoon/whatever to an empty room.