How to set up TCL Roku TV without internet

Q: How do I connect my phone to my TCL smart TV without WiFi?

All youll need to do is to plug the USB cable into your phone and plug the HDMI end into the HDMI plug on your smart TV. That way, you can cast your phone to a TV without a WiFi connection. Also, you can use your mobile data to view other streaming apps.

A Roku TV needs internet, which lets it deliver content, making the device one of the most popular streamers you could get.

Table of Contents Show

Using Roku TV Without Wi-Fi
Turn On Mobile Hotspot
Mirror From Your Phone
Connect A Computer
Using Roku TV Without Remote
Set up The Roku App
Order A Replacement Remote
Contact Support
Final Thoughts
You May Also Enjoy Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I control my Roku TV without a remote?
How can I connect my Roku TV to Wi-Fi without a remote?
Is there a universal Roku remote?
What remote can I use for a Roku TV?
Can you set up TCL TV without Internet?
Can you set up a Roku TV without Internet?
How do I connect my phone to my TCL smart TV without WiFi?
How can I program my Roku without WiFi?

The remote is another crucial aspect that helps with the user experience of the Roku, but what if you lose access to your remote and your Wi-Fi at the same time?

It is quite possible, so I decided to know what I could do in such a desperate situation.

I went online to Roku’s support pages and their user forums to understand my options in the rare chance that I lost my remote and no longer had access to my high-speed Wi-Fi.

This article sums up all that I had found so that every base is covered if you ever want to use your Roku without the remote or Wi-Fi.

You can use your Roku without your remote or Wi-Fi by connecting the Roku to your phone’s cellular hotspot. Afterward, set up the Roku mobile app on your phone to control the Roku device.

Continue reading to find out how you can mirror content to your Roku and how to successfully set up your phone as a remote for your Roku.

Using Roku TV Without Wi-Fi

If you are wondering whether you could use your Roku without Wi-Fi, you’ll be surprised to know that there are some ways that would still allow you to enjoy content on your Roku if there is no Wi-Fi.

Turn On Mobile Hotspot

Your wired Internet connection isn’t the only point of access if you have a 4G or 5G phone data plan, and it is possible to use it to play content on your Roku devices.

Be aware that using your phone’s hotspot plan with your Roku can use up a lot of data on your hotspot allowance if you let the Roku stream and download at the highest quality.

To use your Roku with your phone hotspot:

Make sure the phone hotspot is turned on in your phone’s settings menu.
Press the Home key on your Roku remote.
Go to Settings > Network.
Select Set up connection > Wireless.
Select your phone’s hotspot from the list of access points that appear.
Enter the password and select Connect.

Once the Roku finishes getting connected, you can use the device like before when you had Wi-Fi, but speeds can fluctuate since you are now on a mobile data network.

Keep an eye on data usage with a utility like Glasswire so that you’ll know how much data your Roku is using.

Mirror From Your Phone

If you don’t have internet but still have access to your Wi-Fi network, you can mirror your phone to your TV and watch content on your phone if you have some downloaded.

You can also do this by connecting over a mobile hotspot, but since doing so already gives you access to the internet, watching on the Roku would be better.

You’ll need to make sure if the Roku and the phone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, regardless of whether you can access the internet with that connection.

Roku supports both AirPlay and Chromecast casting, so most devices you might own are covered and can be used to cast to your Roku.

To cast to your Roku, start playing any content on your phone, and then tap the Cast icon on the player controls.

Tap your Roku from the list of devices that appear to cast the content to your TV.

To mirror your screen, launch the screen mirroring feature on your phone, like Smart View on Samsung phones, for example, and select your Roku TV.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad, play the content and look for the AirPlay logo on the player controls.

Tap it and select the Roku from the list.

AirPlay can only be used to cast and does not support screen mirroring.

While Chromecast does support this feature, it isn’t supported on some Roku streaming devices, specifically the Roku Express 3700 and the Roku Express+ 3710.

It is also only supported on the HDMI output for the Roku Express+ 3910.

Connect A Computer

You can also connect your laptop or computer to your Roku TV and use it as a second screen of your computer.

This only works if your Roku TV has an HDMI input port, like the ones that TCL makes.

It doesn’t work with streaming devices since they cannot receive an HDMI signal and have no display of their own.

Get an HDMI cable from Belkin and connect one end to your Roku TV and the other to your computer.

Switch inputs on the TV to the HDMI port where you connect the computer and start playing the content on your computer to see it on the big screen.

For Roku Streaming devices, computers can use the built-in cast function in the Google Chrome browser that lets you cast to any Chromecast-supported device.

Play some content and click the three dots menu on the top right of the browser.

Click Cast and then select your Roku TV from the list of devices.

Using Roku TV Without Remote

Unlike losing internet access, losing your remote won’t be that restrictive on what you can do with your Roku device.

Replacing your remote is pretty easy, so choose any of the methods that I will discuss in the following sections.

Set up The Roku App

Roku has an app for your mobile phones to control your Roku devices without your remote.

To set up the app with your phone, follow the steps below:

Make sure your Roku and your phone are on the same Wi-Fi network. It can be the network that your router has created or your phone’s hotspot.
Install the app from your phone’s app store.
Launch the app after it installs.
Go through the initial setup process.
Select Devices once you reach the home screen of the app.
The app will find your Roku automatically, so tap it from the list to select it.
After the app finishes connecting, tap the Remote icon on the home screen to start controlling your TV.

Order A Replacement Remote

Another possible option is to order a replacement remote for your Roku TV.

You only need to pair the remote to the Roku once you get the remote to start using it.

You can also get a universal remote like the SofaBaton U1 that’s compatible with Roku devices that can also control devices other than your Roku.

Contact Support

If you can’t connect your Roku to Wi-Fi, or need your remote replaced, contacting Roku support would be an excellent place to start.

They can walk you through a few more ways to fix your Roku if it is the only device you have that’s having trouble connecting to the internet.

In cases where your internet has been down for a few hours, contact your ISP to know why your internet is down.

Final Thoughts

To fix other issues with your Roku remote, like the volume key not working or the remote not pairing, try getting a new Roku remote.

Troubleshooting methods like resetting your Roku are still possible even if you don’t have a remote. All you need is the Roku mobile app.

Casting to your Roku doesn’t require an internet connection; all it needs is that both devices should be on the same local network.

It is an excellent option if you’ve lost internet access, but you have content offline on your other devices that you can watch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I control my Roku TV without a remote?

To control your Roku TV without a remote, connect your Roku or Roku-enabled TV to your phone with the Roku mobile app.

Once you get the Roku paired, you can use your phone just like your remote to do everything you could do earlier with the remote.

How can I connect my Roku TV to Wi-Fi without a remote?

You can connect your Roku TV to your Wi-Fi without your remote by pairing your phone with the Roku TV.

Pairing is done with the Roku mobile app, and after the process completes, you can control everything on your Roku, provided the phone, and the Roku stay on the same Wi-Fi network.

Is there a universal Roku remote?

Roku’s Voice Remote is a simple universal remote that can control only your TV’s volume and power.

Other third-party universal remotes can control all of the devices in your entertainment area, including the Roku.

What remote can I use for a Roku TV?

I would recommend the original Roku remote that came with your Roku streaming stick as a suitable replacement.

Can you set up TCL TV without Internet?

Yes - you do need Internet to access the features of a TCL Android TV. For the best streaming quality, we recommend a minimum of 2mb.

Can you set up a Roku TV without Internet?

Why do I need an Internet connection? Roku streaming players and Roku TVs need Internet access to stream content. They use wireless to connect to your home network, or you can choose a model that offers a wired Ethernet connector.

How do I connect my phone to my TCL smart TV without WiFi?

All you'll need to do is to plug the USB cable into your phone and plug the HDMI end into the HDMI plug on your smart TV. That way, you can cast your phone to a TV without a WiFi connection. Also, you can use your mobile data to view other streaming apps.