When channels play but the TV guide stays empty, the guide data hasn’t downloaded yet or doesn’t match your channels. In most cases a forced EPG update, the right clock and time zone on your device, or clearing the app’s cache brings it back within a few minutes. The fixes below go from quickest to most thorough.
Why the guide and the channels are separate
The programme guide, or electronic program guide (EPG), is a separate download from the video. Your player fetches it in the background and matches each listing to a channel by an ID. That’s why a channel can play perfectly while its row in the guide says “No information”: the stream arrived, but the listings didn’t, or they didn’t match.
| What you see | Most likely cause | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Guide empty on every channel | Listings not downloaded yet, or the download failed | Fixes 1–3 |
| Guide shows, but always an hour off | Time zone or daylight saving | Fix 4 |
| Guide stopped updating after a few days | Cache full or storage low | Fix 5 |
| Only a few channels are empty | Those channels have no listings | Fix 6 |
| Using an M3U link and never had a guide | No EPG address added | Fix 7 |
1. Give the first load a few minutes
The first time you sign in, the player downloads listings for thousands of channels. On a Fire TV Stick or an older smart TV that can take several minutes, and some apps only show the guide once the whole file has been processed. Leave the app open on any channel for five minutes before you change anything else.
2. Force an EPG update
Most players have an Update EPG or Refresh EPG option, usually in the app’s settings or in the menu for your playlist. Run it once, wait for it to finish, then reopen the guide. If you can’t find the option, signing out and back in does the same job in most apps.
3. Check the date, time and time zone
Players use your device’s clock to work out what’s on now. If the clock is wrong — common after a power cut, or on a box that was first set up in another country — the guide can look empty because it’s showing the wrong day. Turn on automatic date and time and choose your real time zone: Eastern for Toronto and Montréal, Pacific for Vancouver, and so on. On Fire TV you’ll find it under Settings → Preferences → Time Zone; on Android TV and Google TV, look for Date & time in the system settings.
4. Shift the guide if it’s always off by the same amount
If every programme shows up exactly one hour early or late, the clock is fine but the listings are being read in another time zone. Many players have an EPG time shift or time offset setting. Set it to +1 or −1 hour and check against a programme you know. This tends to appear around the daylight saving changes in March and November.
British Columbia made its last clock change on March 8, 2026 and now stays on the same time all year (B.C. government announcement). A device or app that hasn’t installed recent updates may still move the guide by an hour there in November, so update both before shifting the guide by hand.
5. Clear the cache and free up storage
The guide is saved on your device and refreshed every day. When storage runs low — a basic Fire TV Stick only has a few gigabytes free — the app can quietly stop saving new listings. Clear the player’s cache (not its data, which erases your login) under Settings → Applications → Manage installed applications on Fire TV, and remove apps you no longer use. Our buffering fixes walk through the same steps.
6. Check whether that channel has listings at all
Some channels never have guide data: event channels that only go live for one match, 24/7 channels that loop a single show, and some international channels. If most of the guide works and only a handful of rows are empty, that’s normal, and no refresh will change it. Tell us which channels you mean and we’ll check whether listings exist for them.
7. Using an M3U link? Add the guide address
With an Xtream Codes login — server, username and password — the guide comes with your account automatically. With an M3U playlist link, many players need the guide address entered separately, in a field called EPG URL, XMLTV or TV guide source. If you’ve only ever added the M3U link, that’s probably why the guide has always been empty. Ask Online Support for the guide address for your account, or for an Xtream Codes login, which loads the guide on its own.
Why the guide matters for catch-up
On channels with catch-up, past programmes are usually opened from the guide: you scroll back along the channel’s row and pick the show you missed. Without listings there’s nothing to scroll back to, so fixing the guide often fixes catch-up too.
Still empty?
If the guide is still empty after a forced update on two different devices, the problem is probably on our side, not yours. Message Online Support with your player app, your device and a photo of the guide screen, and we’ll look into it. Help like this is included with every plan of our IPTV service, and the setup guide covers each device step by step.
Questions people ask
Why do channels play but the TV guide is empty?
Because the guide is a separate download from the video. The stream can reach your device while the listings haven’t downloaded yet, failed, or don’t match the channel. A forced EPG update and a correct device clock fix most cases.
How long does the EPG take to load?
Usually one to five minutes after the first sign-in, depending on the device and the size of the channel list. After that, players update the guide in the background, often once a day or each time the app starts.
Why is my TV guide one hour off?
Either the device’s time zone is wrong, or the listings are being read in another zone, which often shows up after a daylight saving change. Set the device to automatic time in your real time zone, or use the player’s EPG time shift to move the guide by one hour.
Do I need the TV guide to use catch-up?
In most players, yes. Catch-up programmes are opened by scrolling back along a channel’s row in the guide, so when listings are missing there’s nothing to select.