How to connect your phone to a Roku streaming device with the Roku mobile app

Make sure your devices are on the same network

Your Roku streaming device and your phone or tablet need to be on the same Wi-Fi network to connect. You can check this by following the steps below.

Allow your Apple device to access other devices

If you have an iPhone or iPad and it is running iOS 14 or higher, you must allow the Roku mobile app to detect and connect to your Roku device. A prompt asking you to grant permission typically appears the first time you launch a new app, or you can follow the steps below from the iOS settings.

Using a VPN

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is commonly used to access an office network when working from home. If you use your phone or tablet to connect remotely for work, check that it is not connected to a VPN when using the Roku mobile app. Some VPN applications route all traffic through the virtual network causing your Roku device to not be visible.

Verify your network is set up properly

If you have verified your devices are on the same network and still cannot connect, check your network's configuration.

Using a wired Ethernet connection

If your Roku device is connected to a wired network using an Ethernet cable, check that it is assigned an IP address in the same range as the wireless devices on your network, such as your phone or tablet. For example, if your wired Roku device is assigned 192.168.2.169 and your phone is assigned 192.168.1.173, the devices will likely be unable to communicate. Try connecting your devices via Wi-Fi.

Check network names

Many Wi-Fi routers today use two signals to provide better speed and coverage. When connecting devices to your wireless network, choices may include more than one network with a similar name. For example, you may see something like MyNetwork_2.4GHz and MyNetwork_5GHz. Confirm that your Roku device and your phone or tablet are connected to the same band and network name.

Check your IP address

Devices on your network, such as your Roku device, should be using a private IP address that falls within one of the following ranges. Find the IP address of your Roku device by going to Settings > Network > About. If the IP address is not within one of these ranges, your Roku device is using a public IP address which is most common when a router is not present on your network. Install a router to manage IP addresses or contact your internet service provider (ISP) or the person who manages your network to help resolve the problem.

Is your device's connection blocked?

It is possible that devices are blocked from communicating with each other on your network. Refer to documentation for your router to learn how to check and disable this setting or contact the person who manages your network for help.

Additional troubleshooting steps

If the troubleshooting steps above did not help you connect your phone to your Roku streaming device and your device still does not appear on the discovery screen, try the following steps.

Confirm Wi-Fi access is enabled on your Roku streaming device

To use the Roku mobile app with your phone or tablet, your Roku device must be allowed to accept commands over the Wi-Fi network. There is a Control by mobile apps setting on your Roku device that, when disabled, prevents the Roku mobile app from communicating with your Roku device. If this setting was disabled, you must first use your Roku remote and enable the setting again.

Restart your Roku device

To restart your Roku device, you can either unplug the power cable, wait a moment, and then reconnect it. Or you can use the following steps to restart it from the Settings menu.

After your Roku device powers back on, make sure it is connected to the correct Wi-Fi network.

Restart the Roku mobile app

• On an Apple device, swipe up, or double click the iOS home button and then swipe the Roku app to close it.
• On an Android device, press the Recents button and then swipe the Roku app to close it.

Connect to your Roku device manually

Locate the IP address of your Roku device by going to Settings > Network > About, and then use the steps below to connect manually.