Roku streaming devices have become enormously popular in many countries because of the sheer amount of content they can provide access to.

In fact, they’re so versatile and wide ranging in terms of content and channels that they’re even good to take round to a friend or relative’s house to enjoy a night of entertainment watching pretty much whatever you want live or on demand. But can you easily take a Roku somewhere else, connect it to a new network and still use it as you did before?

It is possible to use your Roku device in a different location. Just bring the remote and connect the device to the new router/access point, and as long as you’re in the same country, you will have access to all the same content you did before.

And that’s really it. You just connect it up to the new router in the new place as you did to your own, and take it from there. We’ll cover this, plus other possible scenarios like using it in a hotel or another country entirely.

Connecting Your Roku Device To A New Wireless Router

Hooking up your Roku device in another house is easy. You can connect it directly to the router with a cable, or via Wi-Fi if it’s easier.

Here’s a list of stuff to pack:

• Roku Box/Stick
• Remote control (makes setup and browsing easier)
• Ethernet cable (optional but preferred if you have one).

And you just connect it to the router in your friend/relative’s house in one of two ways:

Ethernet Connection – Plug an ethernet cable into the back of your Express 4K Box, and then into the router in the new house, and you’re good to go! Preferred way to set up as easy and provides the best connection.

Wi-Fi connection – If you’re a bit far from the router to plug in with a cable, connect to the router’s Wi-Fi network by following these steps:

• Plug in and turn on your Roku device
• Select wireless from the connection setup screen
• Find the new router’s 2.4 GHz SSID/network on the list (some Rokus only work on 2.4 GHz networks)
• Enter it’s wireless password/key (found on the router label) to connect to the new network
• You should now be set to go, streaming the same content you were before.

Connect Roku To Router with Wi-Fi (Quick Demo)

 

If you forget to bring your Roku remote with you, you’ll have to download the Roku Mobile App to your phone and use that as a makeshift remote instead.

Can You Use A Roku Device In A Hotel?

Another place you can take a Roku is to hotels and Airbnb’s, for access to streaming content on the move. Again, there’s nothing stopping you doing this, and the connection process is the same as connecting in your own or someone else’s home, with sometimes a bit more work for hotels.

Rented Airbnb rooms/apartments usually have a router – just connect your Roku box to it in the same way you would your own as covered above.

For hotels, it’s largely the same as well. You just start up the device and find the hotel’s nearby network on the list that comes up. But hotel Wi-Fi networks often have a Captive Portal screen – one of those screens that comes up prompting you to login to the hotel network and sometimes confirm some other credentials like name/email/reservation/room number etc, and accept terms and conditions for using the network.

Thankfully all Roku devices have a special feature to deal with captive portals in hotels. You find and connect to the network as normal, and then check the box to say you’re in a hotel/college dorm. You then need to follow the steps given on the screen to complete the network setup process on your computer or phone, and this authenticates and completes the connection (see here for a guide from Roku).

This process also works for college dorms/halls of residence at universities. Bear in mind though that connection and therefore streaming quality will vary on public networks like hotels (you need a minimum of 3 Mbps to stream in SD).

Can You Use A Roku Device Abroad?

Taking your Roku device abroad is a slightly different matter, although you still can do this. You can still use your Roku device abroad, although content availability will be restricted using it in a different country to the one the account was set up in.

Roku is fully supported with local content and app libraries in the following countries:

• United States
• Canada
• France
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Peru

And it will work in many other countries as well, just with less content choice.

Again, the process is the same as taking it to a new house in your own country – just connect it to the new access point by typing in the 2.4 GHz band Wi-Fi password, and the Roku device should boot up as normal, although with a modified content/app selection based on the country you’re in at that time.

Therefore, you can use your Roku device abroad, but just don’t expect the same variety and depth of content that you’re used to getting in your home country. Those streaming services like Netflix will only offer a localized content catalogue, and some apps may not work at all. YouTube and news channels are fine, as are a few movie streaming apps like Tubi and Popcornstar.

See our article on using your Roku device internationally for more info on this.