Player troubleshooting

Most player problems fall into a handful of patterns. Find the symptom below, then follow the fix.

Images play but every video shows an error

The player build is out of date. Fix it on the device: tap the OTA Install now banner if it is showing, send Update player from the Manager, or reinstall the APK. See Updating the player and Install on an Android device.

One video fails on one box but plays on another

That clip is probably HEVC (or an unusual profile) and the failing box has no hardware decoder for it — there is no software fallback. Re-encode it to H.264 MP4 and republish. See What plays and how.

The screen is black

A completely black screen is not the same as the branded idle screen. In order of likelihood:

1. An operator sent Stop playback — fix it with Restart playback from the Manager.
2. No campaign is scheduled to this device right now. That normally shows the idle screen, so check the campaign’s schedule window and its targets in the Manager.
3. Check the display’s input and power.

If instead you see the M24 logo and “No content published yet”, the device is fine — it just has nothing published to it yet.

The Manager shows the device offline

The device has missed about three heartbeats — its 90-second presence lease has lapsed. Check the device’s power and network, and look at the idle screen’s status dot on site.

The idle screen's Online/Offline dot is the fastest on-site network check

Tip

The idle screen’s Online / Offline dot is the fastest way to check a screen’s network on site.

Note

A device that was mid-campaign when it went offline keeps playing its saved content — offline does not mean a blank screen. See the offline behavior in What plays and how.

“Enrollment failed” won’t go away

That one message covers several causes: a typo, an expired code (they last 10 minutes), an already-used code, or no network. Join the box to Wi-Fi first (the gear pill on the connect screen), then mint a fresh code. See Connect a screen.

The player doesn’t come back after a reboot

Either Set as Home was skipped, or the app was never opened manually after an install or update. Open the player once by hand and accept the Set as Home prompt so it becomes the device’s Home app. See Install on an Android device.

Can’t reach Android settings on the device

You can reach Android settings from the connect screen’s ⚙ System settings pill, or with a hardware MENU / INFO / SETTINGS key on the remote — even while content is playing.

Note

A touch-only box with no MENU key cannot reach Android settings while content or the idle screen is showing. Set up such a box’s Wi-Fi from the connect screen’s gear pill before you enroll it.

See also

• Connect a screen
• Updating the player
• Devices (in the Manager)
• Player FAQ — short answers to common player questions