Troubleshooting: offline, blank or not updating

Most screen problems come down to four things: the player can't reach the internet, nothing is scheduled right now, a change wasn't published, or the pairing code ran out. Here is what to check for each.

How players stay in touch

• Each player checks in with CastWize about every 15 seconds.
• Studio shows a screen as Online if it checked in within the last minute. Otherwise it shows Offline with how long ago it was last seen. After a day offline, the label turns red.
• Images and videos are stored on the player (up to 500 MB), so a short Wi-Fi drop doesn't blank the screen. Web pages, YouTube and Google widgets need a live connection.

The screen shows as Offline

1. Look at the TV. If it still plays your content, the player is running but can't reach CastWize. If it shows a pairing code, see "The TV shows a pairing code again" below.
2. Check the internet on the player: is the Wi-Fi or network cable connected, and does another device on the same network get online? Wired Ethernet is more reliable than Wi-Fi.
3. Check the power. A TV switched off by its own remote doesn't stop the player, but a player that lost power does. Unplug the player for ten seconds and plug it back in.
4. Check that the player starts by itself. Android starts it on boot. On Windows, Mac and Raspberry Pi, the computer must sign in automatically. See the Windows and Mac and Raspberry Pi guides.
5. Get told next time. On the Dashboard, under Alert rules, click New rule, choose Screen offline, and pick Email (or Slack or a webhook) as the channel.

The screen is blank or black

1. Is anything assigned? In Screens, the screen's card says Nothing assigned if no playlist is set. Click it, choose a playlist for each zone and click Publish.
2. Is anything scheduled right now? If a zone only has timed schedule rules and none of them matches the current time, that zone is empty. Keep an everyday playlist on the zone, or add a rule with Default / fallback ticked. See Schedule content.
3. Do the slides have conditions? A slide with date, day or time conditions is skipped outside those times. If every slide is skipped, the zone is empty. Check the Shows line for each slide in the playlist.
4. Is the motion sensor on? If the screen's motion setting shows a Black screen when nobody is there, black is expected. See Motion sensor.
5. Only one slide is blank? A web page may need a login or refuse to be shown inside another page. A Google Sheets, Slides or Docs widget only shows a file that is published to the web. A widget whose Config (JSON) has a typo shows nothing useful. Check the slide in the playlist preview.
6. Take a screenshot. In the screen's ... menu, choose Take screenshot, wait a few seconds, then Open screenshot to see exactly what the TV shows.
7. Android only: if the TV shows "Player page did not finish loading", update Android System WebView on the device. The player uses it to draw your content.

New content isn't showing up

1. Did you publish? Changes in a screen's settings are a draft until you click Publish. The header says Draft with the number of changes until then.
2. Give it a moment. Published screen changes arrive within seconds. Playlist edits arrive at the next check-in, about every 15 seconds. New videos are downloaded first, so a large video takes longer.
3. Is the screen on the right playlist? The screen card shows what it plays ("Playing ..."). A schedule rule with a higher priority may be playing something else right now.
4. Press Refresh. In the screen's ... menu, choose Refresh. The player reloads and syncs straight away. Older player versions only sync, so keep your players up to date.
5. Google Drive file? A new version of the same Drive file shows at the next sync. A new file with a new name has to be picked again in the Media Library. See Google Drive.
6. Is the screen online? An offline screen keeps playing what it already has and catches up once it reconnects.

The pairing code expired

Codes are valid for 15 minutes. When one expires, the player fetches a new code and shows it on the TV by itself. Type the code that is on the screen now. If Studio says Code expired or Unknown pairing code, wait for the new code to appear and try again. See Pair a screen.

The TV shows a pairing code again

The player is no longer linked to a screen in your account, usually because the screen was removed in Studio. Pair it again with the new code. On a Raspberry Pi or Linux PC, a code after every restart means the player can't save its login; see Raspberry Pi setup.

The screen went dark during the day

The player keeps the display awake while it runs. If the TV still turns off, check the TV's own energy-saving or sleep timer, and on Android the device's screensaver and sleep settings.

Video stutters

Try a smaller file: 1080p H.264 MP4 is the safest choice. In the Media Library, the Shrink video button re-encodes a large video into a smaller file; it can take a minute. On a Raspberry Pi, video is decoded in software, so heavy 4K video and several video zones at once may not play smoothly.