Cast Netflix from iPhone to Roku. How do?

October 13, 2017 7:27 AM

I have a iphone with unlimited data that I want to use to cast netflix to my TV. I have a Roku on that TV. I also have a wi-fi network, but want to ditch my monthly internet bill. What do I need to do to make this happen.

Is a iphone to HDMI cable the easiest choice? Assume I have some tech skill, but the people using the setup once it's in place want it dirt simple: start video on phone, it shows up on TV.

posted by cosmicbandito to Technology (12 answers total)

Set up a wifi hotspot on your phone

Join Roku to the hotspot

use Netflix on the Roku
posted by Oktober at 7:39 AM on October 13, 2017 [7 favorites]

If your data plan allows tethering, the easiest thing to do is to just tether the Roku to the iPhone. I don't know if this will allow you to use the Netflix app on the phone to cast to the TV; although they're on the same network, I don't know if the app will see the Roku since it's not using the Wi-Fi network for data, but it's worth a shot.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Yeah, as others are saying.. if the Roku is playing the content, then the Roku is consuming the data through its provider (which may not be the iphone if you're on your home network)
If you want to use the iphone's network plan, then the Roku has to tunnel network traffic through it rather than the other way around.
posted by jozxyqk at 7:43 AM on October 13, 2017

Response by poster: quick followup: no tethering plan on the iphone
posted by cosmicbandito at 7:50 AM on October 13, 2017

If you were on the same wifi network, you'd be able to tell your iPhone's Netflix app to play it on the Roku rather than the iPhone itself, but apparently when devices are tethered to iPhone's hotspot, they don't see each other like they're in the same network:

Personal Hotspot is designed for sharing a cellular data connection, not for acting as a wireless access point or router. This means that multiple devices connected to the same iOS device cannot connect to one another - they can only access the Internet (assuming the cellular data connection is active).

So it looks like you'll never be able to achieve the "start video on phone, it shows up on TV" if you want to use the unlimited data.

edit: on preview, it looks like using the tethering plan is moot, but I'll leave this up as an FYI.
posted by bluecore at 7:53 AM on October 13, 2017

Best answer: Given the stated constraints, I think the HDMI adapter is the only possible way to do this. Anything over wifi (e.g. AirPlay if you had an AppleTV) is going to require them to be on the same wifi network, and if the iPhone is on wifi, it will want to use that for streaming Netflix. So you're going to have to be ok with having your phone directly connected by a cable to your TV any time video is playing.
posted by primethyme at 8:00 AM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think Primethyme is right: an HDMI adapter solution is cheap and non-fiddly. I've used one with a Samsung phone. It mirrors your phone screen to the television. Audio and video both are passed via HDMI to the TV. Get a long HDMI cord to plug into the adapter to be able to sit on your couch with the phone and not have to get up every time you want to change the volume or the program.
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:15 AM on October 13, 2017

Best answer: You need the Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter for Select iPhone, iPad and iPod Models. Connect an HDMI cable between this adapter and your TV, and whatever you're doing on your iPhone will show up on the TV, no Roku (or anything else) required.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 8:46 AM on October 13, 2017

Response by poster: thanks everybody, looks like I'm buying some cables.
posted by cosmicbandito at 9:06 AM on October 13, 2017

For the price Apple wants for cables, you might be able to acquire a shitty used Android phone, slip your unlimited-data SIM into that, and use it for a hotspot that everything else connects to.
posted by flabdablet at 9:49 AM on October 13, 2017

Not defending Apple's prices, but there's a lot more in that Lightning A/V "cable" than you think.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:54 AM on October 13, 2017

Just as an FYI if your unlimited data gets throttled at 50 GB, streaming video will burn through that faster than you think.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:25 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]