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TV Not Showing Content

A paired TV is on, connected, but shows the wrong content (or nothing). What to check.

TV Not Showing Content

What you'll learn: A checklist for when a TV is paired and online, but doesn't show what you expect — wrong logo, missing menu items, blank welcome screen, or the wrong language.

Time needed: 5–15 minutes.

Before you start

You'll need:

  • Login access to the admin panel.
  • Physical access to the TV (or someone in the room).

Check 1: Is the TV actually online?

Go to Devices in the sidebar. Find the device for the affected room. Look at the Presence column:

  • Online (green) — talking to the server in the last minute. Skip to the next check.
  • Stale (amber) — last seen 1–5 minutes ago. Wait, may come back.
  • Offline (red) or Never — the TV isn't reaching the server. Treat as a network/power issue.

If offline:

  • Confirm the TV is powered on and not in standby.
  • Confirm the TV is connected to your hotel's network (Wi-Fi or wired).
  • If your hotel has separate networks for staff vs. guest, make sure the TV is on the right one.

Check 2: Cache reload

The TV's app caches the menu, logo, and content. If you made changes in the admin panel and don't see them on the TV, force a refresh:

  1. Go to Devices, find the device row.
  2. Click the three-dot menu at the right of the row.
  3. Pick Cache reload.

This is the lightest restart — about 1–2 seconds of downtime — and fixes most "it didn't update" issues.

If that doesn't help, try App restart (5 seconds downtime), then Full reboot (30–60 seconds) as a last resort.

[SCREENSHOT_PLACEHOLDER: Device row with the three-dot menu open showing "Cache reload", "App restart", "Full reboot"]

Check 3: Is anything actually configured?

If the home screen looks empty or has placeholder text:

Check 4: Wrong language?

If the TV is in English but the guest wants German:

  • The room's language is set per-room. Go to Rooms, click the room, change Language in the guest info panel.
  • The system has to have that language enabled. Go to Languages and enable it if missing. See Enable Languages.

Check 5: Wrong package / wrong channels?

If a Premium room shows Standard channels (or vice versa):

  • Check the room's assigned package. Rooms → click room → Edit → Package dropdown.
  • Check the package itself includes the right channels. Packages → click the package → review channel list.

See: Understand Channel Packages.

Check 6: Emergency banner stuck on screen?

If a red emergency banner is on every TV and won't go away:

  1. Go to Messages → Emergency tab, or click [Emergency] at the top of the Rooms page.
  2. Click [Deactivate All].

If banners are still on individual TVs, Cache reload them.

Check 7: Multiple TVs on the same room

Each room can technically have multiple paired devices (a bedroom TV and a bathroom TV, for instance). They all show the same content. If only one is misbehaving, the issue is on that specific TV — try Cache reload or unpair/repair just that one.

What if none of the above helps?

Contact COTT support and include:

  • The room number.
  • The device's MAC address (visible in Devices → click row → MAC Address).
  • Time of day the issue happened.
  • A photo of the TV screen if possible.

See: When to Contact Support.

Next steps