dtremit

+1 on this. I haven't run into a room in ages where I couldn't get it to work within a few minutes -- with the only exception being a hotel with really wacky wifi. The "hotel" feature on the Roku sticks works really well.

A few general tips -- along with my Roku stick, I pack an ultra-slim HDMI cable and a simple coupler . Makes it much easier to plug in, in some cases, and to bridge the gap between the TV and the nearest power outlet. And the cable helps me not forget the Roku behind the TV. As a bonus, you can connect both ends of the cable together with the coupler to store it neatly. The entire setup fits in a small ziploc with ease.

I also learned to bring an extra pair of batteries for the Roku remote, as it's easy to have something hold down a button in transit and drain them.

KRSW

I don't know about your Roku, but the Fire TV sticks can be powered via USB, even lower-power ones. I just power the stick from the TV's own service/USB port and I'm good. The Fire stick will complain about it being a low-power port, but for streaming it's fine. It just refuses to do software updates without a proper power adapter, which is fine by me.

I carry rechargeable batteries with me and have a small charger for them, so the dead remote (which has happened to me as well) is no longer an issue. I carry an XTAR VC2S, which will charge AAA/AA/Lithium batteries from USB.

Wembleygal

Can I ask which Android tablet you use, which still has HDMI out capability?

thanks!

btonkid12345

If you contact either the hotel's internet provider, or talk to the Tech Support person on property (if they are there), both have access to the "whitelist" which is the list of IP and MAC addresses of devices "approved" to connect to the hotel's internet.

I have devices that sometimes can't get to the wifi sign-on screen. So, asking for whomever can "manually add to the whitelist" fixes this problem - you give them the IP/MAC address of the device you are trying to connect, and they manually add such that it is allowed to connect to the hotel's wifi without ever having to load the wifi page. Pretty quick fix.

kennycrudup

I'll also +1 on having an HDMI extension cable as part of your streaming stick kit; the one I have is long and stiff enough to be able to be snaked into tight places*, which is perfect when it's mounted against the wall**. I also have a right-angle HDMI adaptor as well.

As far as the "WiFi" issue, there's portable travel adaptors (GL-iNet makes some good ones that are as low as $15 on sale) that solve the "hotel" problem, as you use that one to connect to the properties' WiFi, then connect your phone/tablet/laptop to the router, and authenticate there- then all your other devices (incl. your streaming stick) connects to the now-authenticated router and gets internet automatically. Plus, for people without status who have to pay per device, this also solves that problem too.

I haven't been unable to connect my sticks to a hotel TV in years, and it all fits in a pouch the size of a typical J amenity kit.









* twss
** OK, I'll stop before this becomes an episode of "Archer"

dtremit

My old Roku stick was happy with TV power, but the new one seems to draw more amperage; it also complains about insufficient power on a TV USB cord, which for a Roku means it suspends the interface until you fix it. (It's way faster, though -- you win some, and you lose some.)

Thanks for the link to the charger -- that looks like a helpful thing to have!

KRSW

That requires knowing the MAC address of your devices...which I probably should put a Brother P-Touch label of on my devices (I'll be doing that when I'm back in the office next week..thanks for the indirect reminder!).

I actually travel with a small pocket router which handles this task even better for me. Every device I have is set to look for the travel router first, mobile hotspot second, then all of the normal places I'm at. By doing this, everything is behind the router's firewall and IP, thus, once one device is signed in, ALL of them are signed in. The travel router also as a small file/webserver on it, so I can easily push files between devices. I've been using a for a couple of years, but am currently looking at this as it supports OpenVPN and OpenWRT. Some of their higher-priced routers also look interesting.

VV83

Figured it out on the new LG TVs in the marriotts where the volume is WAY too loud and the tv button doesn’t work. Unplug the VGA looking cable from the back which is how they lock it down. Next unplug the HDMI 1 which is the cable and plug in your device. Now your device will show up on the screen but be at 100 volume and can’t be turned down. Leave your device on but pull the power cable from the tv then put it back in. You’ll now be able to control volume with tv joystick or remote and your device will work. Playing PS4 with no problem now

honest_abe

I too discovered the RJ-11 trick. But all Marriotts are different as to whether you have to do all those things. Wish it was easier.

My wife and I love to sit together for a quiet evening sometimes to use the Roku to watch the shows we want when we want with the service we want without having Marriott spy on us and/or have to put our personal passwords for the services into their systems.
So I suffer with having to jury-rig the Roku and I use the enhanced wi-fi to connect my Mini VPN-enabled router to encrypt the Roku connection. The mini-router is great in that I just set it up to connect to their wi-fi and then all my devices auto-connect to it instead of each of them having to connect to their network as well as not allowing them to see what web sites we connect to.

damon88

wow

we had this volume issue somewhere and it drove us crazy! Thanks

Bailout Morebanks

Now in 2020, subscribe to a VPN service that gives you a USA IP Address, and get a travel router that supports WISP mode. $5/month & $35 respectively. Using the hotel’s WiFi to make your network. Plus getting the inside info from the hotel & you’re unstoppable. The universal remote is a good one to add in the arsenal as well.

honest_abe

That is one thing I, in fact, have been doing. This way I don't have to compromise my security by logging into their TV streaming, my privacy by having them know what and when I am watching, and my convenience by only having one device that connects to their wi-fi so both our phones, my computer and my Roku can just connect to a known, secure network. Best is that some of the "un-enhanced" hotels still have Ethernet connections so my mini-router doesn't have to connect/disconnect to wi-fi and gets great signal and bet speeds.

If anyone wants info on what I use, just PM me.

air warrior

This worked on Mariott LG TVs. I carry a Roku Stick to access my Raspberry Pi Media Server at home when I'm on the road. Good to know! Thank You!