A black screen with sound is almost always the video decoder: switch the player from hardware to software decoding (or the other way round) and the picture returns. A black screen without sound is usually one dead channel, an expired login or a blocked network. Follow the nine steps below in order; each one takes a minute and you rarely need more than three.
First, narrow it down in 30 seconds
| What you see | Most likely cause | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Sound, no picture | Decoder setting in the player | Step 1 |
| Black on one channel, others work | That stream is down or has a second source | Step 2 |
| Black on every channel, list loads | Login expired, connection limit or network block | Steps 3 to 6 |
| List does not load at all | Wrong details or the app itself | Steps 7 to 9 |
The nine causes, in the order to check them
1. Decoder: hardware or software
In the player settings look for Decoder, Player or Video and switch between hardware (HW), hardware+ and software (SW). Older TVs and cheap boxes often cannot decode certain HD streams in hardware; software decoding fixes the black screen at once. Also try the built-in player versus an external one such as VLC or ExoPlayer if the app offers the choice.
2. One channel: try the second source
Most channels exist twice or three times in the list, in different qualities or from different servers. If one is black, the next one usually plays. If every copy is black, that channel is down at the source; report it to support and it is normally back within the hour.
3. Login expired or renewed today
An expired subscription still shows the channel list from cache but every stream stays black. Check the end date in your app or in the message you received. After a renewal, log out and back in once so the app fetches the new expiry.
4. Connection limit reached
A one-screen plan plays on one device at a time. A second device, or the same app still running on a phone in another room, makes the new stream go black. Close the other player, wait thirty seconds and start again.
5. The network blocks the stream
Hotel, campsite, office and some school networks block streaming ports. Some home routers with a family filter or ad-blocking DNS do the same. Test on your phone's mobile data: if it plays there, the network is the cause. A VPN or a different DNS usually solves it.
6. Time and date on the device
A box whose clock is wrong cannot make a secure connection, and the result is a silent black screen. Set the time to automatic in the device settings and restart.
7. A typo in the details
A capital letter, a space at the end, http instead of https, a missing port number. Copy the details from the message we sent rather than typing them, or send us a screenshot of the login screen and we check it.
8. The app's cache
Clear the app's cache or data in the device settings, or delete the playlist inside the app and add it again. This refreshes a stale channel list, which is a common cause after a provider updates its servers.
9. The app itself
Some TV apps stop working after a firmware update or lose their licence. Install a second player from our guides and enter the same details. If the second app plays, the first one is the problem, not the subscription.
All setup guides per app and device
Picture comes and goes instead of black? That is a different problem
Freezing, stuttering and a spinning circle are bandwidth and Wi-Fi problems, not decoder or login problems. They have their own checklist: cable instead of Wi-Fi, the 5 GHz band, the evening peak, the buffer setting in the app.
Read: buffering and freezing, causes and fixes
Questions about a black screen with IPTV
Why do I hear sound but see nothing?
The audio track decodes fine but the video codec is not supported by the hardware decoder of your device. Switch the player to software decoding. On very old devices, pick the lower-quality copy of the channel.
The screen is black only in the evening
That is load, not a fault on your side: the server or your own network is at its busiest. Try the second copy of the channel; if it keeps happening on your connection, send us the time and channel and we look at it.
Everything was fine yesterday and today it is all black
Check the subscription end date first, then log out and in, then clear the app cache. If that does not help, a server address changed and support sends you the new details in one message.
Does a VPN cause a black screen?
It can, when the VPN server is slow or blocks the port. Switch it off to test; if the picture returns, choose a VPN server in your own country.
Still black after step 9?
Send us your device, the app and a photo of the screen. Support answers in Dutch, seven days a week, usually within the hour.
