Wi-Fi & connectivity

[jonal]

Hello, I am currently in college and have my Roku TCL TV connected to an ethernet port. I would like to use my app, but my phone is connected to Wi-Fi so when I try to do the manual connect, it doesn’t work. Does anyone have any solutions?

[AvsGunnar]

@jonal 

It is likely that some security protocols like "client isolation" are in place that prevents devices from interacting with each other on public/shared networks.

Unless your college whitelists your MAC address of your TV and your phone to allow them to interact with other (creating a network rule exception), you will probably be limited to using your physical remote with your tv.

[makaiguy]

@jonal-

Let me caveat that I have never done this myself so have no experience with it but ....

One thing you might be able to do is set up your own travel router and connect that to your dorm system, either by Ethernet or WiFi.   Then you connect your phone, your Roku, and any other devices to your own little private network where they WILL be able to "see" each other. .

Here are some at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=travel+router+for+hotel+wifi

[Edited to add...]

But a $10 Roku TV remote is cheaper, and in my estimation, easier. 
https://www.roku.com/products/accessories/roku-tv-remote

[AvsGunnar]

👍 @makaiguy .

Yes, you can certainly add your own equipment like a travel router, an actual router, an access point, or turn a spare laptop into an ad-hoc hotspot that will allow all your devices to connect to (ie. all these methods allow you to create and connect to your own network rather than connecting devices to the public network individually).

All the above are legitimate ways to get around client isolation and the usual firewall settings found in public networks.

If you already have a laptop, you can try using the ad-hotspot capability of it. (will save you the purchase of additional equipment while using your public wifi as the data source for the "hotspot").  With this method, can still your use laptop while sharing the connection with other devices.

 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-your-windows-pc-as-a-mobile-hotspot-c89b0fad-72d5-41...

If the above works for you, then you can certainly look into additional equipment as suits your needs.