This page is for a playlist that does not arrive, arrives half, or arrives wrong. Lumen·TV does not show an empty list when that happens: it says what went wrong in one sentence. Find that sentence below — each one is a heading of its own, in the app’s words — for why it happens and what fixes it. It is also the page the app’s Getting a playlist right code opens.
The basics, in short
Lumen·TV comes with no channels: it plays the playlist your own provider gives you. On a television, the first screen shows a QR code; scan it, paste the address into Playlist address on your phone, press Send to my TV, and the set loads it by itself. Xtream or Stalker login beside the code opens the fields to type a login with the remote instead. A code lasts ten minutes and works once. On a phone or a tablet the app asks for the address itself.
Everything below assumes that went through and something came back wrong.
“Your playlist could not be loaded.”
The line on the browse screen when the channel list did not come, with Try again and Change playlist under
it. Between them is one sentence saying why, and under the buttons, in small type, a reference such as
http_404 or provider_timeout. The sentence is the diagnosis; the reference is what to quote if you write to us.
The sentences, and what each one means:
The provider refused these credentials.
The provider refused these credentials. Check the username and password, and that the subscription has not run out.
Why. The provider’s server answered 401, 403 or 511 (reference http_401, http_403, http_511): it is
reachable and it does not accept this login. Usually a username or a password with one character wrong — both are
case-sensitive — or a subscription that has ended. Less often, a provider that refuses the address you connect from,
for example a VPN server’s (Your network).
Fix. Copy the credentials again from what your provider sent, and paste rather than retype them. Ask the provider whether the subscription is active. A new password goes in by sending the same playlist again (below): it updates the one you have rather than adding a second.
There is nothing at that address.
There is nothing at that address. Check it against what the provider sent, character for character.
Why. The server answered 404 (http_404): it exists, and nothing is at that path. A mistyped address, or one
your provider has since changed — providers move servers and reissue links.
Fix. Compare the address with your provider’s, character for character, port included (:8080). If they sent a
new one, send it from Settings → Playlists → Add another, then Remove the old playlist: a different M3U
address is a different playlist.
The provider’s server answered with an error.
The provider’s server answered with an error. Nothing is wrong with this television or its network — try again in a moment.
Why. A 5xx status (http_500, http_502, http_503 …): the provider’s server is overloaded, restarting or
broken. Nothing on the television causes it or can fix it.
Fix. Try again in a few minutes. If it lasts for hours, tell your provider.
The provider’s server refused the request.
The provider’s server refused the request. Check the address, then try again.
Why. A 4xx status other than the ones above — http_400, http_405, or http_429, which is a server saying
it has had too many requests in a short time.
Fix. Check that the address is exactly the one you were sent. If you have pressed Try again many times in a row, wait a few minutes before the next.
Nothing answered at that address, over https or over http.
Nothing answered at that address, over https or over http. Check the address and the network connection, then try again.
Why. Nothing answered at all: no server at that name or port, a server that is down, or a television that is not
online. The address began with https, so Lumen·TV also tried it over http before saying so.
Fix. Check the television is online — another app that streams will tell you. Then check the host name and the port against your provider’s. If both are right, the server is down or your network cannot reach it; ask your provider whether others can.
That address could not be reached.
That address could not be reached. Check the television’s network connection, and that the address is right.
Why and fix. The same as the sentence above, for an address that began with http.
The provider accepted the connection and then did not answer.
The provider accepted the connection and then did not answer. That is usually the provider being busy rather than anything here — try again in a moment.
Why. Reference provider_timeout: the server took the connection and sent nothing back in time. Typical of a
busy provider in the evening, and of very large lists.
Fix. Try again later in the day. If it happens at the same hour every day, tell your provider the times.
The provider started sending the list and stopped part-way.
The provider started sending the list and stopped part-way. That is usually the provider or the line being busy — try again in a moment.
Why. Reference provider_cut: the list began to arrive and the connection closed before its end. Lumen·TV does
not show half a list as if it were the whole one.
Fix. Try again. A cable instead of Wi-Fi helps when it keeps happening on a large list.
The provider answered with an empty list.
The provider answered with an empty list. That is usually its server restarting, or a subscription that has run out — try again in a moment.
Why. Reference provider_empty_list: a valid answer with no channel in it. Providers do this while a server
restarts, and when a subscription has expired but the login still works. If the same login still sends films or
series, it is not treated as a failure: Live TV says This playlist has no live channels. and the films and
series stay.
Fix. Try again in a few minutes, then ask your provider about the subscription.
The provider answered with far fewer channels than last time, so the list you had is kept.
The provider answered with far fewer channels than last time, so the list you had is kept. Try again in a moment.
Why. Reference provider_list_shrank: the new list had less than half the channels of the one on the television
(by more than ten). A sudden collapse like that is nearly always a provider answering badly, so the list you had
keeps playing rather than being replaced.
Fix. Nothing, usually: the next load brings the full list back. If your provider really did shrink your package, the next answer with the same smaller count is believed, and that list replaces the old one.
The provider answered, but not with a list this app can read.
The provider answered, but not with a list this app can read. Check the address, then try again.
Why. The address returned something that is not a playlist — most often a web page: the provider’s site or
customer area instead of the playlist link, a login page, or an expired link that now leads to a page. References
include provider_not_a_playlist and provider_not_a_list.
Fix. Open the address in a browser on a computer. An M3U playlist is plain text beginning #EXTM3U; a web page
means it is the wrong link. Ask your provider for the M3U or the Xtream Codes details.
This provider’s list is larger than this television can hold.
This provider’s list is larger than this television can hold. Ask them for a smaller one, or use a playlist with fewer categories in it.
Why. Reference provider_too_large: the list is more than the device’s memory can safely take. Lists of several
hundred thousand entries exist, most of them films and series.
Fix. Many providers let you choose the countries or categories a list contains, in their own customer area. A list with fewer of them loads.
This playlist is of a kind this app does not know how to open.
This playlist is of a kind this app does not know how to open. That is a fault here, not with the address.
Why and fix. Reference unknown_source_type: the saved playlist is of a type this version cannot read. Install
the newest version from the download page over the old one, and
write to us with the reference if it stays.
The playlist could not be loaded. Try again, and quote the reference below if it keeps happening.
Why. A failure the app has no more precise sentence for.
Fix. Try again. If it keeps happening, e-mail support@lumentv.app with the reference under the buttons and the support code from Settings → About.
Something stopped it before the list arrived. Try again.
Why. The load was interrupted with nothing to say why — the app sent to the background, or the connection dropping at that moment. There is no reference.
Fix. Try again.
This portal did not accept the television’s MAC address.
This portal did not accept the television’s MAC address. Providers register it, so it usually has to be given to them before it will work.
A Stalker portal only answers a MAC address it has registered. The MAC address in the Stalker form has to be the one your provider registered — usually printed on your subscription page — character for character. Its companion, This portal answered with something the app could not read., means the address is not a Stalker portal, or the portal is down.
When the list arrives, but not all of it
“Preparing your catalogue”
The first time a playlist loads, a screen counts what arrives, line by line: Channels, Films, Series and Guide. It closes by itself once everything has answered — All set when all did, Ready — the provider held some of it back when a line came back empty — and after thirty seconds, Taking longer than usual, with Continue to go on without the rest. Only the first load shows it.
| What a line says | What it means |
|---|---|
| None on this playlist | The provider answered and has none — a playlist with no films, say. |
| No guide for this playlist | No guide address for this playlist (the guide). |
| No answer this time | The provider answered with nothing, and that was not believed: it is asked again later by itself, after 5, 15, then 60 minutes. |
| Could not be loaded | No answer at all. |
“The provider did not answer. The list shown was loaded …”
A refresh failed, and the copy kept on the television is on screen, with its age. Everything in it still plays. The line under it — It will be asked again by itself in N minutes. — is the next try: after 5, then 15, then 60 minutes. The same with no age, The list shown is from an earlier load., is a copy with no date on it.
“The provider stopped part-way, so this list is incomplete.”
The first load of this list was cut short and what arrived is on screen. It is asked again by itself, on the same 5, 15, 60-minute steps.
“The portal did not send its films this time. Try again in a moment.”
An Xtream login whose provider refused the films (or series) this time, with Try again beside it. It is not the same as This provider exposes no films. Xtream portals list them through their own API; M3U playlists have to name a group for them., which means the provider has none to give — for an M3U, none of its groups is a films group.
When adding it
Playlist URL must start with http:// or https://
The address field takes the full link, with its beginning. provider.example/get.php?… is refused;
http://provider.example/get.php?… is not. Server must start with http:// or https:// is the same rule for the
Xtream server address, and Portal URL must start with http:// or https:// for a Stalker portal.
Username and password are required
The Xtream form needs all three: server, username and password. If your provider sent a single get.php link
instead, type it into Server address whole — the app reads the three out of it — or send it from your phone.
MAC must look like 00:1A:79:XX:XX:XX
A Stalker MAC address is six pairs of hexadecimal digits separated by colons, as your provider registered it.
“This address is an Xtream portal.”
This address is an Xtream portal. Setting it up as Xtream Codes gets you the guide, the films and series, and the
trailers — none of which a plain playlist carries. The address typed in Playlist address is a get.php link with
a username and password in it. Choose Use Xtream Codes instead: it is the same login, read through the provider’s
Xtream interface. A link like that sent from the phone becomes an Xtream login by itself.
“Code expired”
Codes last ten minutes. Start again and the new one will be on screen. Press Try again on the television for a new code, and scan that one; an old code never works again, even once.
“Could not reach Lumen·TV. Check the television is online.”
The television could not get a code from our server. Check its connection. When no code can be made, Type it here instead opens the fields, so a playlist can still be added with the remote. This television has not finished starting up. Try again in a moment. is our server not knowing the set yet, just after a first start: wait a few seconds and try again.
“There is no stream here”
There is no stream here — Nothing playable could be found at this address. — is what the player says when a channel’s address is not a stream at all. It is the playlist’s fault, not the television’s, which is why this page is the one the screen’s code opens. Two variants say more:
- This channel has no stream address. The entry in the playlist has a name and no address.
- This entry points at a … page rather than a stream. Playlists pad themselves with these; nothing can play them directly. The entry links to a page on a video or social website, not to a stream.
Only your provider can correct the playlist. Refresh in Settings → Playlists reads it again in case they already have.
Reference: how playlists behave
- Eight playlists, one loaded at a time. They are not merged: the same channel from two providers has two identities, and favourites, locks and channel numbers are keyed on that identity. Use switches; each keeps its own copy, so switching is quick. Remove takes one off.
- Sending one the television already has updates it. “The same” is the same M3U address, or the same Xtream server and username — the way to give an Xtream playlist a new password, or any playlist a guide address. There is no field to edit a playlist on the television.
- When the list is read again. The copy on the television is read again from your provider when it is more than six hours old — at start, when you switch to it, or while the app stays open. Refresh beside the loaded playlist asks now.
httpsthat fails is tried overhttp. If that works, the playlist says so in Settings → Playlists: Connected without encryption (https failed).- The line under a playlist. loaded … is the last good load; did not answer … — … is the last failure, with the
same sentence as above. A
get.phplink reads read through the Xtream API when the provider’s interface answered, and read from the file: the Xtream API refused when it did not and the app read the provider’s M3U file of the same login instead, which is slower. - Groups. Channels arrive in the groups your provider put them in. Settings → Channels hides groups, keeps only the ones you choose, or puts one first.
- The address passes through our server on its way from the phone, and is erased from it the moment the television has collected it.
If the list loads but a channel will not play, see the troubleshooting matrix.