Hi - I have my Plex Server set up on my QNAP NAS device. I have Plex set up to play from my FireTV (2015) streaming box.
Before leaving for a hotel on a trip, I tested playing videos from my Plex Server / FireTV over AT&T using my phone’s WiFi hotspot. Plex came up and played videos fine.
When I got to the hotel, I set up a WiFi hotspot that used the hotel WiFi (I have a portable network WiFi Access Point router for this purpose). After I set up the Access Point router and log into the hotel WiFi with that router. I never need to log into the hotel WiFi after that. I could surf the internet fine from all devices connected to my Access Point router once I establish the link to the hotel WiFi.
However, while my FireTV could stream other shows/movies at the hotel, I couldn’t connect to my Plex Server (possibly the QNAP). I saw a “Direct Connection Unavailable” message on Plex.
If I changed the hotspot back to my AT&T phone, Plex started to stream fine again.
How do I get the FireTV/Plex/Plex Server to work at a hotel?
You may not be able to do it. They could be blocking it just as work work environments sometimes do. If you have a VPN service you could try using that from the hotel which may allow you to get through if it is a blocking issue.
Hotels are hit and miss. Sometimes you have no problem at all. Sometimes some services are blocked. Sometimes they let you access everything but throttle you (killer).
A couple of years ago I was staying 3 nights a week at a hotel that was problematic like this so I would use my laptop running a Media server with a 2.5" USB3 attached small drive (didn’t require separate power) with media on it and would use a stick attached to the TV. Basically a portable Media Server. The laptop would serve as a WIFI hotspot as well.
Oh yea, I learned to attach a stick to an HDMI extension cable just so I always saw it in the morning and wouldn’t leave forgetting to unplug the stick from the TV. Did that once and learned not to do that again.
Might seem like overkill but if you tend to stay in hotels often it’s worth it. Makes for a good mini system to take on vacations as well.
