Your channels play perfectly, but the guide is blank, or it shows the wrong programmes, or it fills up with channel names you have never heard of. This is not a broken subscription. It is a guide-mapping problem, and the fix is usually short.
First, Understand What an EPG Is
Your video stream is separate from its schedule. The stream is just a live channel; nothing in it tells you what is on. The EPG — Electronic Programme Guide — is a separate schedule file that your app reads to know what to print next to each channel.
So when a guide is missing, the video is usually fine. The app simply does not know what the channels are called, and therefore cannot match them to the schedule.
The Thing That Causes 90% of Failures
Channel names have to match exactly. If your provider's stream is named Sports HD 1 and the EPG calls it Sports1 HD, they are different strings, and your app will not join them up. No guide appears, and the channel sits blank.
That is why guides that work perfectly for one person fail for another: the provider updates their stream names but the EPG source is generated separately.
Method One: Use the Provider's Built-In EPG
If you signed in with Xtream Codes, the provider's guide is usually available automatically. In your player, look for an option named one of the following, under Settings, EPG, or Playlist:
- "EPG Source" → "Provider"
- "Get EPG" → "From Provider"
- "Epg URL" → leave blank, then "Update"
Choose the provider option, confirm, and allow a minute or two. This works when your provider is maintaining their own schedule, which is the common case.
Method Two: Set the EPG Shift
If programmes appear but they are wrong by a fixed number of hours, this is your answer. EPG sources are published in UTC, and if your app assumes local time, everything shifts.
Look for "EPG Offset", "EPG Shift" or "Time Shift" and try values in steps, usually between -12 and +12. Start at 0 and adjust in one-hour steps until the schedule lines up with an actual broadcast you recognise.
Check the offset at two different times of day. A shift that looks right at 8pm can be wrong at 3am, which tells you the problem is not a simple offset.
Method Three: Paste an XMLTV URL
If your provider does not supply a guide, you can add one manually. You need an XMLTV URL, which looks like http://example.com/epg.xml.gz.
In your app, open Settings → EPG, find the XMLTV field and paste the address. Then update, and give it time to download — these files are often large and are parsed on first run.
Two honest cautions here. First, many public XMLTV guides cover only a handful of countries, so coverage outside those regions is thin. Second, if you already have a provider guide, adding a second source can overwrite good data with worse data. If your guide was working, do not do this.
Then Fix the Channel Names
If the guide downloads but channels are still blank, this is your problem. Compare one channel name in your app against the same channel in the guide source. Watch for:
- Extra spaces at the start or end
HD,FHDorUHDsuffixes on one side only- Different punctuation: "Sports-1" against "Sports 1"
- Country prefixes: "UK: Sky Sports" against "Sky Sports"
Your app will have a channel-mapping or rename function. Renaming the handful of channels you actually watch is usually enough, and you can stop there — mapping 30,000 channels is not a task any human should attempt.
If the Guide Is Working but the Times Are Wrong
That is a time zone issue on the device, not an EPG issue. Check that your TV box, phone or TV is set to automatic time. A device that thinks it is in the wrong country will display a correct guide at the wrong time, and no amount of EPG adjustment will fix it.
This is a surprisingly common and easily fixed fault, and it is worth ruling out first.
Quick Checklist
- Confirm the device clock is on automatic time
- Set EPG source to "Provider" and update
- If programmes are shifted, adjust the EPG offset in one-hour steps
- If channels are blank, compare exact channel names against the source
- Only add an external XMLTV source if you have no provider guide at all
If channels still will not populate, it is worth asking your provider whether their guide is being generated correctly on their side. Sometimes the honest answer is that it is broken for everyone, not just you.