IPTV not working? Diagnose the problem step by step

The short answer

Five-minute triage

1. Try three other channels. If only one channel fails, the fault is probably that stream. Report it to the provider and move on.
2. Try another device on the same login. If it works there, the fault is the first device or its app. Go to app crashes or buffering.
3. Check what else is playing. Count every screen in the house using the login. If you have reached your plan's connections, see “too many connections”.
4. Test the internet on the device itself with a speed-test app or website, not on the router. If it is much slower than usual, start with your home network.
5. Check the account. Has the term ended? Did a trial expire? Login errors on every device usually mean the account, not the device. See login errors.

Buffering and freezing

If it happens on one device

• Restart the device fully (unplug it for 30 seconds), then the router.
• Use a wired connection if you can, or a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network closer to the router.
• Close other apps, and pause big downloads or game updates on the same network.
• If the player offers a lower quality or a different stream format, try it.
• Update the player app, or reinstall it from the official store.

If it happens on every device

• If buffering hits all channels at the same busy evening times while your speed test looks normal, the problem is more likely on the provider's side. Note the times and channels and contact support.
• If a service stops working entirely on your broadband but works elsewhere, your broadband provider may be blocking it. Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 gives the High Court (the Court of Session in Scotland) power to grant injunctions against a service provider that knows its service is being used to infringe copyright. Do not try to get round a block; ask the provider about it, or choose another route.

Guide times wrong

If every programme in the guide is an hour early or late, it is almost always a time-zone mismatch. It shows up most around clock changes: the clocks go back to GMT on Sunday 25 October 2026 and forward to BST on Sunday 28 March 2027.

1. Set the device's own time zone to the UK (Europe/London), with automatic date and time.
2. In the player's guide settings, look for a time shift or time-zone offset. Set it to zero, then adjust by one hour only if the guide is still wrong.
3. Refresh or re-download the guide data in the player, then restart the app.
4. If your provider sent a separate guide (EPG/XMLTV) link, check it is entered correctly.
5. If only some channels show the wrong programmes, their guide data is probably mismatched. Report those channels to the provider.

Login errors

• “Invalid username or password”: retype both. They are usually case-sensitive, and a pasted space at the end is a common culprit.
• Server address: enter it exactly as sent, including http:// or https:// and any port number after a colon.
• Expired or disabled: a prepaid term or a trial simply ends. Check the end date in your confirmation email or in the player's account screen.
• Works on one app, not another: the second app may not accept that login type. Check which login types each app supports.

“Too many connections” or “max connections reached”

This means more screens are trying to play than your plan allows. A connection is one stream at a time.

• Fully close the player on devices you are not watching. Some apps keep a stream open in the background, or on a TV left on standby.
• Wait a few minutes. Some services take a little time to notice a stream has stopped.
• If your household regularly needs more screens at once, you need a plan with more connections. Sharing a login outside your household breaks most providers' terms.

Channels or guide missing

• Refresh or reload the playlist in the player. Many players only update the list when asked or on a schedule.
• If whole categories disappear, the provider may have changed its line-up or server address. Ask support.
• If the guide is empty but channels play, the guide data has not loaded. Wait for the first download, then refresh. Large guides can take several minutes.

Subtitles and audio

• Look for a subtitle or audio-track option in the player while the programme is playing; it is often under an options or settings button.
• Not every stream carries subtitles or audio description. If a channel never shows them in any app, ask the provider whether that stream includes them.
• If sound is out of sync, try the player's audio delay setting, or switch the device's audio output from a passthrough or surround mode to stereo.

App crashes

• Update the app and the device's system software.
• On Android and Fire TV, clearing the app's cache in the device settings (Apps, then the app) often fixes a stuck app. Clearing its data also removes your saved login, so have the details ready.
• Check the device has free storage; large guides need space.
• Reinstall the app from the official store. If it still crashes, try another player that accepts the same login type.

Contacting support

Support can fix things much faster with specific details. Send:

• the device model and the player app with its version number,
• the channels affected and the UK time it happened,
• any error message, word for word or as a photo,
• your speed-test result on that device,
• what you have already tried from this page.

Never send card details or passwords for other accounts in a support chat.

Sources

Checked on the dates shown. Offers, apps and rules change; follow the link for the current version.

1. When do the clocks change? (GOV.UK). Checked 14 October 2026.
2. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 97A: injunctions against service providers (legislation.gov.uk). Checked 14 October 2026.
3. VLC user documentation: opening media and network streams (VideoLAN). Checked 14 October 2026.
4. PVR IPTV Simple Client (Kodi wiki). Checked 14 October 2026.
5. TiviMate IPTV Player (tivimate.com). Checked 14 October 2026.