No remote fire stick abroad

northwest1965

Am currently travelling and forgot to bring the fire stick remote.
Any suggestions as to how I can use it?
Need to get the fire stick using the WiFi 1st, before using app - how can that be done without remote

FIXED

DerektheDonkey

There is a Firestick app for your phone called "Fire TV", I've used this when the remore was not getting a response. I.ve had mine installed a long time so I'll caveat my response by saying I'm unsure if I needed the remote to initiate the app. Good luck. 

Neil_Jones

DerektheDonkey said:

There is a Firestick app for your phone called "Fire TV", I've used this when the remore was not getting a response. I.ve had mine installed a long time so I'll caveat my response by saying I'm unsure if I needed the remote to initiate the app. Good luck. 

You do not, on the Android app anyway.

However success for the OP may depend on how the wifi works for wherever they've gone to and the networking arrangements.  No guarantee the app can see the Fire Stick on the foreign wi-fi network especially if its something like a hot spot or a guest network.

sausage_time

Won't much of the content be blocked in any case?  Netflix may be OK for some content, see recent threads...

Netflix abroad

VPN for BBC iPlayer and Now TV (etc) abroad

flaneurs_lobster

sausage_time said:

Won't much of the content be blocked in any case?  Netflix may be OK for some content, see recent threads...

Netflix abroad

VPN for BBC iPlayer and Now TV (etc) abroad

The phone and the Firestick need to be connected to the same Wi-fi network to work (same thing applies when using a phone and a Chromecast device).

Some public Wi-fi services make each connection a different "virtual" network so it doesn't work - often a problem in the chain hotels,

If the above is not an issue then you have the problem of trying to use a single VPN connection on two devices.

There are ways around this, usually using a third device as a router that runs the VPN and connects to the local Wi-fi (or has its own 4G connection), and then provides a second Wi-fi source to connect your devices to.

Considerable faff just to watch UK telly.
.

northwest1965

flaneurs_lobster said:

sausage_time said:

Won't much of the content be blocked in any case?  Netflix may be OK for some content, see recent threads...

Netflix abroad

VPN for BBC iPlayer and Now TV (etc) abroad

The phone and the Firestick need to be connected to the same Wi-fi network to work (same thing applies when using a phone and a Chromecast device).

Some public Wi-fi services make each connection a different "virtual" network so it doesn't work - often a problem in the chain hotels,

If the above is not an issue then you have the problem of trying to use a single VPN connection on two devices.

There are ways around this, usually using a third device as a router that runs the VPN and connects to the local Wi-fi (or has its own 4G connection), and then provides a second Wi-fi source to connect your devices to.

Considerable faff just to watch UK telly.
.

Not when you are travelling 3-5 months

northwest1965

sausage_time said:

Won't much of the content be blocked in any case?  Netflix may be OK for some content, see recent threads...

Netflix abroad

VPN for BBC iPlayer and Now TV (etc) abroad

You use a VPN

northwest1965

Neil_Jones said:

DerektheDonkey said:

There is a Firestick app for your phone called "Fire TV", I've used this when the remore was not getting a response. I.ve had mine installed a long time so I'll caveat my response by saying I'm unsure if I needed the remote to initiate the app. Good luck. 

You do not, on the Android app anyway.

However success for the OP may depend on how the wifi works for wherever they've gone to and the networking arrangements.  No guarantee the app can see the Fire Stick on the foreign wi-fi network especially if its something like a hot spot or a guest network.

I need to connect stick to WiFi. That's the bit you need to do before using the app

flaneurs_lobster

northwest1965 said:

Neil_Jones said:

DerektheDonkey said:

There is a Firestick app for your phone called "Fire TV", I've used this when the remore was not getting a response. I.ve had mine installed a long time so I'll caveat my response by saying I'm unsure if I needed the remote to initiate the app. Good luck. 

You do not, on the Android app anyway.

However success for the OP may depend on how the wifi works for wherever they've gone to and the networking arrangements.  No guarantee the app can see the Fire Stick on the foreign wi-fi network especially if its something like a hot spot or a guest network.

I need to connect stick to WiFi. That's the bit you need to do before using the app

There's a couple of ways to do this, just Google it.

The simplest(!) is to set up a hotspot on a second phone that has password and SSID set to whatever the Firestick is defaulting to (home Wi-fi?), connect Firestick and Fire TV app phone to this hotspot. You can then use the app to change the Wi-fi that the Firestick connects to (and then change the app phone to match).

I've done this with Chromecasts, so the method's OK, what I failed at was getting a VPN to work over the local Wi-fi. If you are running a VPN on the Stick then this might not be an issue

Don't know where you are travelling but anywhere half connected will have a source of second-hand Firesticks/Remotes, the things are pretty much ubiquitous. 

Grumpy_chap

flaneurs_lobster said:

Considerable faff just to watch UK telly.
.

Yes, indeed:

A - how often do we hear the moan that there is never anything worth watching?
B - not very MSE to go on holiday only to sit and watch Eastenders or whatever.

I note the OP for this thread is on a longer trip overseas, possibly work-related, so maybe only A applies.

northwest1965

flaneurs_lobster said:

northwest1965 said:

Neil_Jones said:

DerektheDonkey said:

There is a Firestick app for your phone called "Fire TV", I've used this when the remore was not getting a response. I.ve had mine installed a long time so I'll caveat my response by saying I'm unsure if I needed the remote to initiate the app. Good luck. 

You do not, on the Android app anyway.

However success for the OP may depend on how the wifi works for wherever they've gone to and the networking arrangements.  No guarantee the app can see the Fire Stick on the foreign wi-fi network especially if its something like a hot spot or a guest network.

I need to connect stick to WiFi. That's the bit you need to do before using the app

There's a couple of ways to do this, just Google it.

The simplest(!) is to set up a hotspot on a second phone that has password and SSID set to whatever the Firestick is defaulting to (home Wi-fi?), connect Firestick and Fire TV app phone to this hotspot. You can then use the app to change the Wi-fi that the Firestick connects to (and then change the app phone to match).

I've done this with Chromecasts, so the method's OK, what I failed at was getting a VPN to work over the local Wi-fi. If you are running a VPN on the Stick then this might not be an issue

Don't know where you are travelling but anywhere half connected will have a source of second-hand Firesticks/Remotes, the things are pretty much ubiquitous. 

Thanks we have connected it now