I've searched everywhere for this information and finally called Roku which thankfully has phone support.
I discovered that if you travel with it, and travel in hotels etc. is given as a use case in a lot of marketing material for the product, you better take the remote.
Even though the device use Wi-Fi direct and the hotspot is constantly broadcasting, you have no way to connect to it. Support told me that even if I were given the password the smartphone app will not let you control anything. That means unlike umpteen other devices using ad hoc mode or Wi-Fi direct to allow direct configuration of a Wi-Fi network this one does not for "security purposes".
The reasoning is asinine. The reset button on the device could be used to verify the user trying to connect has physical access to the device which is what every other product does.
I can't find any way other to get this working apart from buying a second Roku. However, I won't do that. IMHO this is a poor design decision for a product whose appeal rests on extreme portability. The last thing I want to carry for it is another slab of plastic. Even Apple TV lets you pair and use the device without the remote.
From my searching I found that older Roku boxes allowed connection and even some degree of control but I couldn't figure out if it allowed changing the network.
In any case I think the security excuse is a cop out. I would not recommend this product for traveling.
Does anyone know of any other products that will allow control via smartphone app? Please not the Apple TV. Great product but some bonehead decided to make it bigger than the old one.
I discovered that if you travel with it, and travel in hotels etc. is given as a use case in a lot of marketing material for the product, you better take the remote.
Even though the device use Wi-Fi direct and the hotspot is constantly broadcasting, you have no way to connect to it. Support told me that even if I were given the password the smartphone app will not let you control anything. That means unlike umpteen other devices using ad hoc mode or Wi-Fi direct to allow direct configuration of a Wi-Fi network this one does not for "security purposes".
The reasoning is asinine. The reset button on the device could be used to verify the user trying to connect has physical access to the device which is what every other product does.
I can't find any way other to get this working apart from buying a second Roku. However, I won't do that. IMHO this is a poor design decision for a product whose appeal rests on extreme portability. The last thing I want to carry for it is another slab of plastic. Even Apple TV lets you pair and use the device without the remote.
From my searching I found that older Roku boxes allowed connection and even some degree of control but I couldn't figure out if it allowed changing the network.
In any case I think the security excuse is a cop out. I would not recommend this product for traveling.
Does anyone know of any other products that will allow control via smartphone app? Please not the Apple TV. Great product but some bonehead decided to make it bigger than the old one.
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