Match the symptom to the cause
| What you see | Usual cause |
|---|---|
| Guide completely empty, new setup | Still downloading — wait |
| Guide empty, EPG option visible | EPG source not enabled in the player |
| Some channels have listings, others none | Channel identifiers not matching |
| Everything shifted by a few hours | Device time zone |
| Wrong programmes on the right channel | Identifier matched to the wrong feed |
| Was fine, now stale | Background refresh failing |
If the guide is completely empty on a new setup
Wait. This is genuinely the answer far more often than any setting change.
As explained in what an EPG is, the guide is a separate file — often large — covering every channel for around seven days. Your player has to download and index the whole thing. On a modest device such as a Firestick or a Smart TV, several minutes is normal, and during that time the guide legitimately looks broken.
Leave the app open, go and make a cup of tea, and check again. If it is still empty after fifteen minutes, move on to the next section.
Check the EPG is actually switched on
Some players do not enable the guide by default, and some ask you to select the EPG source separately from the playlist.
- Open your player's settings and find the EPG or TV Guide section.
- Confirm an EPG source is selected, not left blank.
- If your provider supplied a separate guide URL, make sure it is entered.
- Look for a manual Update EPG or Refresh guide option and run it.
- Check the refresh interval is not set to something extreme.
If you are using an Xtream Codes login, the guide usually arrives automatically through the API and needs no separate URL — one practical advantage over a plain M3U setup.
When some channels have listings and others do not
This is the classic identifier mismatch. Each channel in your playlist carries a tvg-id, and the guide file contains listings tagged with the same identifiers. The player joins the two. Where an identifier is missing or differs, that channel shows nothing even though the guide loaded perfectly.
Two things worth separating here:
- A handful of niche channels without listings is normal. Not every channel has a published schedule, and no provider can invent one.
- Most channels missing listings points at a real mismatch, and that is worth reporting to us so it can be corrected at source.
Some players, TiviMate among them, let you manually map a channel to a guide entry. That is useful for one or two stubborn channels but is not a sensible fix for a whole line-up.
If the times are wrong
A guide that is accurate but shifted by a whole number of hours is almost always the device, not the data.
- Check the device time zone and clock. Streaming sticks frequently default to the wrong region.
- Check the player's own time-offset setting. Many include one, and it is easy to set accidentally.
- Remember daylight saving. A guide that drifted by exactly one hour overnight in spring or autumn is the usual explanation.
If the guide has gone stale
A guide that worked and now shows yesterday's listings means the background refresh is failing. Clear the player's cache, then trigger a manual EPG update. If it recovers and then goes stale again within days, the refresh interval or the device's habit of aggressively killing background tasks is usually responsible.
If none of this helps, message us — we can confirm whether the guide data itself is publishing correctly. For faults beyond the guide, see IPTV not working.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my IPTV EPG empty?
On a new setup it is almost always still downloading, since the guide covers every channel for around a week and takes several minutes on modest hardware. If it is still empty after that, check that an EPG source is enabled in your player settings.
Why do only some channels show programme listings?
Each channel carries an identifier that must match the guide data. Where it does not match, that channel shows no listings even though the guide loaded correctly. A few niche channels without listings is normal; most channels missing them indicates a mismatch worth reporting.
Why is my IPTV guide showing the wrong time?
Nearly always the device time zone or clock rather than the guide data, particularly on streaming sticks that default to the wrong region. Check the device clock first, then any time-offset setting inside the player.
How long does an IPTV EPG take to load?
Typically a few minutes on first run, sometimes longer on older Smart TVs or first-generation streaming sticks, because the whole guide file must be downloaded and indexed. Later refreshes happen in the background and are not noticeable.
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