IPTV EPG Not Working? Fix an Empty or Wrong TV Guide (2026)

The channels play, but the guide is blank, stuck on "No information", or shows Match of the Day at 3 in the afternoon. Programme guide problems are frustrating because the video works, so it feels like it should be simple. It usually is: nearly every EPG issue is one of six causes, and each has a short fix. This guide takes them in order of frequency.

How the EPG reaches your screen

Three parts must line up:

1. The guide source. The provider maintains a schedule for every channel (in XMLTV format) and refreshes it daily, normally 7 days ahead.
2. The channel-to-guide link. Each channel in your playlist carries an ID (tvg-id) that points to its row in the guide.
3. The app. It downloads the guide data, matches the IDs and displays the result in your time zone.

A break anywhere in the chain gives you an empty grid. Knowing which link is broken tells you which fix to apply.

Symptom 1: The whole guide is empty

Cause A: You loaded a plain M3U link with no EPG URL. An M3U playlist contains channels only. The guide is a separate file. Apps like IPTV Smarters and TiviMate fetch it automatically when you log in with Xtream Codes, but with M3U you must paste the EPG URL yourself.

Fix:

• Easiest: delete the M3U playlist and log in again using Xtream Codes (server URL, username, password from your welcome email). The guide loads with no extra step.
• If you must use M3U (Kodi, MyIPTV Player, some Smart TV apps): copy the EPG URL from the playlists page in your account and paste it into the app's EPG field. In Kodi's IPTV Simple Client it is under Settings > EPG > XMLTV URL.

The full difference between the two methods is explained in M3U vs Xtream Codes.

Cause B: The app has never downloaded the guide. Some apps only fetch guide data on a schedule, and a fresh install can sit with an empty grid for a while.

Fix, per app:

• TiviMate: Settings > EPG > Update EPG. Also enable Update on app start.
• IPTV Smarters Pro: Settings > EPG Settings > Refresh EPG (some versions: tap the Refresh icon in the EPG section of the home screen). Make sure Load EPG is on.
• XCIPTV: Settings > EPG > Force update.
• Kodi: Settings > PVR & Live TV > Guide > Clear data, then restart Kodi.

The first download can take one to two minutes on a large playlist. Leave the app open.

Symptom 2: The guide shows the wrong times

Everything is listed, but shifted by one or several hours. The guide data uses one time zone, the app assumes another.

Fix:

1. Check the device clock. On a Fire TV Stick: Settings > Preferences > Time zone. On Android TV: Settings > System > Date & time, with automatic time on. A wrong device time zone shifts every programme.
2. Set the EPG time shift in the app to correct the remaining offset:
   • TiviMate: Settings > EPG > Time shift (per playlist, or per channel via the channel options).
   • IPTV Smarters: Settings > EPG Settings > EPG Time Shift. Try +1 or -1 and see which aligns the current programme.
   • XCIPTV: Settings > EPG > EPG offset.
3. Watch out for daylight saving. If the guide was correct last month and is now one hour off, the device clock probably did not change with the season. Turning automatic time zone off and on again fixes it.

If you watch channels from several countries, expect the guide to be correct for your local time in all of them; a British viewer sees a French channel's 20:00 programme at 19:00, which is right. Only adjust the shift if a channel from your own country is wrong.

Symptom 3: Some channels have a guide, others say "No information"

The channel exists but its ID does not match any row in the guide source. Typical for regional variants, newly added channels, or the SD/HD/4K duplicates of a channel.

Fix:

• Use the variant of the channel that has a guide. Search for the channel name; usually the main HD feed carries the EPG while an extra backup feed does not.
• In TiviMate, you can map a channel manually: long-press the channel > Channel options > EPG source and pick the right entry from the list.
• In Kodi, set the channel's tvg-id by editing the playlist or using the add-on's channel mapping.
• Report the gap. If a mainstream channel from your country shows no guide, tell support with the channel name; it is normally an ID fix on the provider side and takes minutes.

Symptom 4: The guide stops advancing after a few days

You installed the app, the guide filled up, and a week later it shows nothing for today. The initial download worked, but automatic updates are not happening.

Fix:

• TiviMate: Settings > EPG > Update interval. Set to Every 24 hours and enable Update on app start. Also check that Android's battery optimisation is not stopping TiviMate from running in the background.
• IPTV Smarters: the guide refreshes when the app opens. If you leave it running for days, close it fully once a day, or tap Refresh EPG.
• XCIPTV: Settings > EPG > Auto update on.
• Kodi: Settings > PVR & Live TV > Guide > Hours to import / Update interval.

Symptom 5: The guide loads very slowly or the app freezes while loading

A 25,000-channel playlist carries a large guide. On a low-powered device (Fire TV Stick Lite, older Smart TVs) the first import can stall.

Fix:

• Hide channel groups you never watch. In TiviMate: Settings > Playlists > Manage groups, untick countries you do not need. The guide download shrinks accordingly.
• In IPTV Smarters, set EPG Settings > Days to load to 2–3 instead of 7.
• Clear the app cache (device Settings > Applications), then reload.
• Free storage on the device. Guide data is stored locally; a full Fire TV Stick cannot write it. The Fire TV Stick optimisation guide covers this.

Symptom 6: Catch-up says "no programmes" even though the channel supports it

Catch-up (replaying programmes from the last few days) relies on the guide to know what aired and when. No EPG means no catch-up list, even though the recordings exist on the server.

Fix: solve the guide first using the sections above, then reopen the catch-up view. The catch-up window depends on your plan: 3 days on the monthly plan, 7 days on the quarterly and 6-month plans, 14 days on the annual plan. Details on the pricing page.

App-by-app quick reference

When to contact support

Do this first: switch to Xtream Codes, force an EPG update, confirm the device time zone. If the guide is still empty for mainstream channels from your country after that, check the status page for a guide-source incident, then contact support with the app name, device and a channel that shows no data. Guide problems on the provider side are normally fixed the same day.

If you are still comparing apps, the guide quality is one of the biggest differences between them: see TiviMate vs IPTV Smarters and the best apps for Fire TV Stick.

Tags:epgtv guidetroubleshootingtivimateiptv smarters