EPG not working? How to fix an empty or wrong IPTV guide

The guide and the channel list are two separate things. Your playlist or login says which channels exist; the EPG (electronic programme guide) says what is on them. When the two don’t fit together, channels still play, but the guide stays empty, shows the wrong times or skips some channels. Each symptom has its own cause, and most can be fixed in a few minutes.

Why is my EPG empty?

Usually because the app has no guide to read. Either no EPG link was added, the link doesn’t open, or it belongs to a different provider than your playlist, so none of its channels match. An Xtream login brings its own guide; an M3U or XSPF playlist needs an XMLTV link.

In iptvolt, a source without any guide shows No TV guide yet with the hint “Add an EPG (XMLTV) URL to your source, or use an Xtream login, to see what’s on now and next.” Work through it in this order:

1. Is there a guide at all? For a playlist, check that you entered an EPG link or that the playlist names one in its first line with url-tvg or x-tvg-url. iptvolt reads that header on its own.
2. Does the link open? Open the EPG link in a browser on the same device. It should download a file or show XML, not a web page or an error.
3. Is it the right guide? The guide should come from the same provider as the playlist. A guide made for another list uses other channel ids, so nothing lines up.
4. Has it finished loading? Large guides take a moment after you add a source. iptvolt loads them in the background.

Compressed guides are not the problem. iptvolt reads XMLTV as plain XML or gzip, so a link ending in .xml.gz works the same as one ending in .xml. If you have an Xtream login from the same provider, using it instead of the playlist gives you the server’s own guide with no link to manage.

Why do some channels show no programme?

Because those channels can’t be matched to the guide. A guide lists programmes per channel id, and the player has to find that id for each channel. When the channel’s tvg-id is missing or matches no id in the guide, and its name gives no clear match either, the channel gets no guide.

iptvolt matches in this order:

1. The channel’s tvg-id attribute in an M3U playlist, or the epg_channel_id the server reports for an Xtream channel, compared with the guide’s channel ids, ignoring case.
2. The channel name, with country prefixes, quality tags like HD or 4K, accents and punctuation removed.

If the same name appears under two country prefixes and there is no id, iptvolt leaves that channel without a guide on purpose. Showing nothing is easier to notice than a schedule from another country. The fix is at the source: the playlist needs a tvg-id that exists in the guide. Your provider can usually add it, since they make both files.

For Xtream logins there is a second chance. Channels the server’s XMLTV guide doesn’t cover can still get now and next from the server’s short guide for that channel. A channel that shows No programme info after that has no guide data at your provider.

Also check the time window. iptvolt keeps the guide from three hours back to about a day ahead, plus past days for catch-up channels. A guide file that only covers last week’s programmes looks empty, even though it loaded.

Why is my IPTV guide showing the wrong times?

Usually because the guide file carries the wrong time zone offset. When every programme is off by the same whole number of hours, the times were written as local time but marked as UTC, or the other way round. A shift of exactly one hour after the clocks change points to daylight saving time.

Compare a few channels to find the cause:

• Every channel is off by the same amount. The offset in the guide file is wrong. Whoever makes the guide has to fix it; the player converts each timestamp with the offset it is given.
• The shift started when the clocks changed. The guide was generated with a fixed offset that ignores daylight saving time.
• Only one channel is off. It is matched to another channel’s guide, often through a name match. A correct tvg-id fixes it.
• Programmes appear twice, hours apart. The server holds a second copy of its schedule shifted by whole hours.

For Xtream logins, iptvolt handles the most common server quirk itself. Many servers write their local wall-clock time into the guide as if it were UTC. iptvolt reads the server’s time zone and converts the times, including daylight saving changes, and keeps one schedule when a server holds its guide twice. Catch-up waits for that time zone too: until the server clock is known, the catch-up sheet says Provider time unavailable rather than guessing. Also check that your device’s own time zone is set correctly.

How do I add more EPG links?

Enter them in the EPG URL field when you add an M3U or XSPF playlist, separated by commas. iptvolt merges up to four guide links per source, counting your own links and the guide named in the playlist header. Your links come first; later guides only fill gaps for channels the earlier ones don’t cover.

Several links help when one guide file covers only part of your list, for example one file per region from the same provider. They don’t help when the ids don’t match: a second guide with other channel ids adds nothing. Duplicate links are ignored, and only http and https links are used.

For an Xtream login the server’s own guide comes first and needs no link. If you are not sure what an EPG link is or where it comes from, what EPG and XMLTV are explains the format, and how to add an M3U playlist shows where the field sits.

How do I refresh the guide?

Pull down on any list to refresh the channels and the guide right away. iptvolt also refreshes on its own: the Catalog & EPG refresh setting runs every 6, 12 or 24 hours, or only by hand, and it is set to 12 hours unless you change it. Refresh now in the same place does it immediately.

Refresh after your provider fixes a guide or changes ids, after you add an EPG link, and when the guide runs out because the file covers only a short time ahead. If a refresh brings nothing new, the guide file itself hasn’t changed yet.

A quick checklist

• The EPG link opens in a browser and returns XML or a .gz file.
• The guide comes from the same provider as the playlist.
• Channels have a tvg-id that exists in the guide.
• Times off by whole hours point to the offset in the guide file.
• Your device’s time zone is set correctly.
• You pulled down to refresh after any change.

iptvolt ships no guide data of its own; it shows what your source provides. Now and next on every channel is free, and the full timeline grid is part of Pro. More on the EPG TV guide page and the support page.