When channels suddenly stop loading, it's natural to assume the service is down. Often, though, the cause is closer to home: a router that needs a restart, a lapsed subscription or an app update. These checks take about five minutes and tell you which it is.
What your symptoms point to
| What you see | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Nothing works on any device, and other apps fail too | Your broadband or router |
| Other apps work, but IPTV fails on every device | Your account, or the service: check your expiry date, then message us |
| IPTV fails on one device but works on another | That device or its app |
| Only some channels fail | A problem with those channels, not an outage |
| It works at some times but not others | Congestion or an unstable connection; see the buffering guide |
Is it your connection?
Open a website or YouTube on the same device
If other apps don't work either, the problem is your internet connection, not IPTV.Restart your router
Switch it off at the wall for 30 seconds and wait for it to reconnect fully. After a power cut, give it up to 10 minutes; some routers take a while to resync.Check for a broadband fault
Your broadband provider's app or website usually shows faults and maintenance in your area. BT, Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk all publish service status checks.Test the speed on the TV device
Use a speed-test app or website on the device itself. Around 10 Mbps is enough for one HD stream and 25 Mbps for one 4K stream; much less than that and channels may not start at all.Try your phone's hotspot
Connect the TV device to your phone's mobile hotspot for a minute. If channels play, your home broadband is the problem; if they don't, it's the device, the app or the service.
Is it your device or app?
- Try another device. If IPTV works on your phone but not the TV, the issue is with the TV device or its app.
- Restart the device by unplugging it from the mains for 30 seconds.
- Check for app updates, or clear the app's cache and sign in again. If problems started straight after an app update, re-entering your login details often fixes it.
- Check the date and time on the device. A wrong clock can break secure connections.
Is it your account?
- Expiry date: many apps show when your subscription ends on the account or home screen.
- Screen limit: if every screen you pay for is already in use, another won't start. Close the app on devices you're not using.
- Login details: if you recently re-entered them, check for typos in the server address.
What to send us
If you've run through the checks and still can't watch, a few details help us find the cause quickly:
- The device and player app you use, and whether other devices are affected.
- A photo of any error message on screen.
- Whether it's every channel or only some, and roughly when it started.
- Whether other apps (such as YouTube) work on the same device.
- What happened when you tried the phone hotspot test above.
If it's the service
If several devices on a working connection can't load any channels, and your subscription is active, the service may be having a problem. Message us on WhatsApp: tell us what you see, which app and device you use, and when it started. That helps us check quickly and tell you what's happening.
If it's working but buffering
If channels load but keep stopping, the service isn't down; the stream isn't reaching you smoothly. Go to how to fix IPTV buffering. If the problem is limited to one app, our guide to IPTV Smarters problems covers the most common errors, and most of it applies to other players too.