Home›Blog›TiviMate EPG

TV guide

TiviMate EPG: how to set up the TV guide and fix “No Information”

The EPG is what turns a plain channel list into a proper TV guide — what’s on now, what’s next, and the grid you scroll through. When it works it’s brilliant. When it’s blank, or every channel just says “No Information,” it’s almost never a TiviMate bug. Here’s how the EPG really works, how to set it up, and how to fix the one problem that trips up nearly everyone.

By Marcus Webb·All devices·Updated September 2026·Not affiliated with TiviMate

The short version: TiviMate doesn’t create guide data — it only displays an EPG that comes from your IPTV provider as a separate XMLTV file. So a blank guide or “No Information” is usually one of three things: the EPG URL is missing or wrong, the guide hasn’t finished loading, or — the big one nobody explains — your channels aren’t matched to the guide data. All three are fixable below.

What you see	Most likely cause	Fix
Every channel says “No Information” (the guide did download)	Your channel’s tvg-id doesn’t match the EPG file, or is blank	Map the channel in Edit, or switch to an Xtream Codes source whose ids already match
Whole guide blank right after you added it	It hasn’t finished importing yet	Settings → EPG → Update EPG, then wait 5–10 minutes
Whole guide blank and stays blank	EPG URL missing, wrong, or a typo	Re-check the URL, test it in a browser, or Clear EPG then Update
Guide loads but times are off by hours	Time-zone offset mismatch	Adjust Time offset in EPG settings and set the device time zone
A few channels have no guide	Your EPG source doesn’t cover those channels	Add another EPG source (e.g. epgshare01 or iptv-org) that includes them

What the EPG actually is

EPG stands for Electronic Program Guide — the on-screen schedule that shows program names, start and end times, and short descriptions for each channel. It’s the difference between a bare list of channels and something that feels like real TV. Without it you lose the timeline of what’s coming up, the ability to jump to a specific show, and scheduled recordings, which lean entirely on guide data.

The key thing to understand: TiviMate is a player. It holds no channels and no guide of its own. The EPG is a separate file — almost always in XMLTV format — that your IPTV provider supplies. TiviMate downloads that file and paints it onto your channels. If the file is missing, wrong, or doesn’t line up with your channels, the grid goes blank.

How the EPG works: automatic vs manual

There are two ways the guide gets into TiviMate, and which one you have decides how much work you do.

Automatic (Xtream Codes): if you added your playlist with Xtream Codes — a server URL, username and password — the matching EPG usually comes along for the ride and loads on its own within a few minutes. This is the easiest setup by far.
Manual (M3U): a plain M3U link often carries no guide, so you add the EPG yourself as a separate XMLTV URL. That URL comes from your provider, listed with your login details or available on request.

Either way, three things have to be true for a guide to appear: a working playlist, an EPG source, and an internet connection. Miss one and you get an empty grid.

How to add or update an EPG source in TiviMate

If your guide is empty and you’re on an M3U playlist, you probably need to add the EPG URL by hand. Get the XMLTV link from your provider first, then:

Open EPG settings

From the TiviMate sidebar, go to Settings → EPG → EPG sources.

Add the XMLTV URL

Add a source and paste your provider’s EPG URL exactly — it usually ends in .xml or .xml.gz. One wrong character breaks it, so copy and paste rather than type. If you’re setting up the playlist itself first, our guide to adding a playlist covers Xtream and M3U.

Update and wait

Go back to Settings → EPG → Update EPG, then give it time. A large guide can take five to ten minutes to populate on first import — people give up after thirty seconds and assume it’s broken when it just wasn’t finished.

Why you see “No Information”: the channel-ID match

This is the part almost every guide skips, and it’s the real reason for most “No Information” complaints. You can have a perfectly good EPG file loaded — TiviMate even says it downloaded thousands of programs — and still see nothing on your channels. How?

Every channel carries a hidden identifier called a tvg-id. The EPG file lists its programs against those same ids. TiviMate matches the two by id, not by name. If your channel’s tvg-id doesn’t exactly match the id used in the EPG file — or if your provider left the tvg-id blank, which happens a lot — there’s nothing to link the schedule to, so the channel shows “No Information” even though the data is sitting right there in the file.

That’s why grabbing a big free EPG and dropping it in often does nothing: the ids don’t line up. You have two ways out.

Map the channel by hand in TiviMate

Long-press the channel, choose Edit, and look for the EPG or programme-source option. You can point that single channel at the correct guide entry. Tedious across hundreds of channels, but perfect for fixing the handful you actually watch.

Use a source whose ids already match

If your provider offers Xtream Codes, use it — its EPG is built to match its own channels, so mapping mostly takes care of itself. That single change fixes more “No Information” cases than any amount of manual editing.

The blank-guide fix list

If the whole guide is empty rather than a few channels, run through these in order — the most common cause is first.

Update the EPG

Settings → EPG → Update EPG. Sometimes the app just needs a nudge to fetch fresh data.

Check the URL for a typo

One wrong character — .com instead of .tv, a missing letter — breaks the whole source. Compare it exactly to what your provider sent.

Clear the EPG, then update

Settings → EPG → Clear EPG, confirm, then Update EPG. This dumps stale or corrupted guide data and forces a clean download.

Test the URL in a browser

Paste the EPG link into any browser. If a .xml or .gz file downloads, the source is alive. A 404 means the link is dead — that’s a provider job.

Give it time

After loading a playlist or a big EPG, wait five to ten minutes. Large guides genuinely take a while on the first pass.

Confirm the source has your channels

A guide built for one country won’t cover another. If a channel isn’t in the EPG file at all, no fix on your side will conjure it.

Wrong program times? Fix the offset

If the guide loads but every show is an hour or several hours out, it’s a time-zone mismatch, not a broken EPG. In TiviMate’s EPG settings, adjust the Time offset until the programmes line up with real time, and make sure your device’s time zone is set correctly. It’s a two-minute fix that people mistake for a bigger problem.

Adding EPG for extra countries

If you watch channels from several countries, one provider EPG may not cover them all. TiviMate lets you add more than one EPG source, and it merges them. The catch is the same as before: each channel still needs an id that matches an entry in one of those sources. So adding three more EPG URLs won’t help a channel whose tvg-id is blank — you’ll still need to map it, or lean on an Xtream source that matches. If you go the free route, public XMLTV aggregators like epgshare01 or the iptv-org project exist for legal free-to-air channels, but expect to do some mapping to make them stick.

Where to get a reliable EPG

In order of least to most effort:

Your provider, via Xtream Codes. The guide matches the channels automatically. For most people this is the whole answer.
A free public XMLTV source (epgshare01, iptv-org) added as a manual EPG URL. Free and legitimate for free-to-air channels, but you’ll likely map ids to get full coverage.
A third-party EPG tool — services like m3u4u, IPTV Boss or similar editors build and host a guide matched to your playlist. Useful if you’re mapping hundreds of channels, overkill for basic use. Try the simpler options first.

One honest note from years of these threads: if your guide is chronically patchy no matter what you plug in, the real fix is often a better provider. A good service ships a clean EPG that covers the main UK, US, Canada and Australia channels out of the box. Event and pay-per-view channels frequently have no schedule at all — that’s normal, not something you can fix.

Does recording need the EPG?

Yes. Scheduled recordings and catch-up both read from the guide, so they only work on channels that have EPG data. Recording is a TiviMate Premium feature, and it’s one of the best reasons to get your guide mapped properly rather than living with a half-empty grid.

Still blank? What to ask your provider

If you’ve added the URL, confirmed it loads in a browser, cleared and re-updated the EPG, and channels still say “No Information,” it’s time to ask your provider two specific things: what the correct XMLTV EPG URL is for your account, and whether their channels actually carry tvg-ids that match it. Those two questions cut straight to the cause. A provider that can’t answer them is a large part of the reason your guide is empty.

TiviMate EPG FAQ

Why does every channel say “No Information”?

Usually the guide data isn’t matched to your channels. TiviMate links programs to channels by a hidden tvg-id, and if your channel’s id doesn’t match the EPG file — or your provider left it blank — the channel shows “No Information” even when the data exists. Using an Xtream Codes source, or mapping the channel by hand, fixes it.

Does TiviMate provide the EPG?

No. TiviMate is a player only. The guide is an XMLTV file supplied by your IPTV provider; TiviMate just downloads and displays it.

Where do I get my EPG URL?

From your IPTV provider — it’s an XMLTV link, usually listed with your login details or available on request. With an Xtream Codes playlist you often don’t need it at all, because the guide loads automatically.

Does Xtream Codes load the EPG automatically?

Usually yes. An Xtream Codes playlist pulls its matching guide within a few minutes. Plain M3U links often don’t, so you add the EPG URL manually.

My guide is an hour out. How do I fix it?

That’s a time-zone issue, not a broken EPG. Adjust the Time offset in TiviMate’s EPG settings and check your device’s time zone.

Can I use a free EPG URL?

Yes. Public XMLTV sources like epgshare01 or iptv-org work for legal free-to-air channels. Expect to map some channel ids, since free guides rarely line up perfectly with a provider’s channels.

How often should the EPG update?

Once every 24 hours is plenty. The schedule only changes daily, so more frequent updates add load without any benefit.