Help / Your account

Troubleshooting

What to do when a screen, a TV or a file doesn't do what you expect.

Find what you're seeing below. Most problems are a TV's input or power, the internet connection, or a change that hasn't been published yet.

The TV

The TV is blank, or shows “no signal”

• Check the TV is on and set to the HDMI input the player is plugged into.
• Check the HDMI cable at both ends, and that the player has power.
• Check the TVs aren't meant to be off right now. While the TV times say off, or after Turn TVs Off Now, the player turns the TVs off, or sends a black picture to a TV that doesn't respond. See TV power.
• If the TV still shows nothing, try Restart Player, then Restart Device, in the screen's details. See Restart.

The TV shows Wi-Fi setup, “Can't reach the internet” or a code

These appear only before a player has played anything. Wi-Fi setup and “Can't reach the internet” mean it isn't online yet: see If Wi-Fi doesn't connect. A code means it's online and waiting to be added: see Add a screen. A screen you removed shows a new code too.

The TV says “Ready” but plays nothing

The screen has been added but has nothing published to play. Publish the playlist it plays, or choose one for it on its card with Change Playlist. See Publish and roll back.

The TV says “Something's wrong with this screen”

The player can't start properly. Email support@pixigns.com with the Screen ID and Error code it shows (like S-01), and we'll help.

Two TVs show their halves the wrong way round

In the screen's details under TVs, press Show TV Names to see which TV is which, then Swap TVs. No need to move cables.

A picture across two TVs looks broken in the middle

Raise the Frame gap under TVs until straight lines across both TVs line up. It skips the strip hidden behind the TVs' frames.

A portrait TV's picture is upside down or sideways

Under TVs, check the screen is set to Portrait, then choose the other way it was turned: Clockwise or Counterclockwise.

There's no music

• Music plays only through the TV on HDMI port 1. Turn that TV's volume up and check it isn't muted.
• Check the playlist on screen has background music, and that it's published. See Background music.
• Videos on slides always play without sound; only background music plays.
• While the TVs are meant to be off, the music stops too.

The TVs don't turn on or off by themselves

The player switches TVs through the HDMI cable, using a setting most TVs have but often leave off. In the screen's details, Test TV Power says which TVs answered. For one that didn't, turn on HDMI control in the TV's settings menu: it's called Anynet+ on Samsung, SimpLink on LG, Bravia Sync on Sony, EasyLink on Philips, VIERA Link on Panasonic, or HDMI-CEC. Until then, the player shows that TV a black picture instead of turning it off. See TV power.

What plays

My changes aren't on the TV

• Publish them. Nothing reaches the TVs until you publish. Press Publish in the playlist, or at the top of the admin to publish every changed playlist.
• Check the screen plays that playlist. Its card says which playlist it plays and why under Chosen by: a schedule may be playing another one right now. See Groups and locations and Schedules.
• Give it a moment. Screens check in every 15 seconds, then download what's new; the card says Updating meanwhile. Big videos take longer.
• Check it's online. An offline screen keeps playing the old version and gets the new one when it's back.
• Check the slide's own schedule. A slide scheduled for other days or times is skipped until then.

A slide with a web page doesn't show

• Web pages need the internet, so an offline screen skips their slides rather than show an error. They come back when it's online.
• Some sites don't allow themselves to be shown inside other pages. Pixigns warns you when you add one and again when you publish (“Publish anyway?”). Pages that need a sign-in don't work either. See Live content.

“Not published: it's more than a screen can keep”

Each screen keeps a copy of everything its playlists use, so it can play offline. This playlist, with the other playlists those screens play, wouldn't fit on at least one of them; the message names each screen with what it needs and how much room it has. Make the playlist smaller: shorten or compress big videos, or take out slides you don't use. See Publish and roll back.

The admin

A screen says Offline

It hasn't checked in lately: it's lost power or its internet connection. Its TV keeps playing what it has. Check the player's power and your internet; it shows as online again once it checks in. To get an email when this happens, see Offline play and alerts.

A screen says Nothing to play

“Its playlist isn't published yet”: publish it. “No playlist to play yet”: choose a playlist for it with Change Playlist, or make a default playlist.

A restart, picture or TV command expired or didn't work

• Expired: the screen didn't check in within 10 minutes of being asked, usually because it was offline, so it won't happen. Ask again once it's online.
• Didn't work: the screen tried but couldn't, and gives its reason, like “No TV answered on HDMI”.
• “This screen has been asked that 5 times in the last hour. Try again later.” Each screen can be asked the same thing up to 5 times an hour.

“… comes with the Basic plan” or “… comes with the Premium plan”

That feature isn't on your plan. An owner can choose another in Settings, under Billing. Nothing that's already set up stops working. See Plans and billing.

“Your session has ended. Reload the page to sign in again.”

You've been signed out, perhaps from another tab. Reload the page and sign in again, then redo the change. If a change can't reach Pixigns at all, say because your own connection dropped, the admin tells you it didn't go through: check your connection and try again.

Signing in

• “That code isn't right, or it has expired.” Use the code in the newest email from us, or send a new one. You can send a new code after a minute.
• No code arrives. Check your spam folder, and that you're at your own business's address. Only people who've been invited can sign in, and nothing on the sign-in page says whether an email has an account. Ask an owner to invite you. See People and roles.
• “That Google account isn't part of this business.” Sign in with the Google account for the email you were invited with, or use an email code.
• Forgotten your business's address? Go to app.pixigns.com/find. It's also in every email we've sent you.

Contact support

Email support@pixigns.com. It helps if you include:

• Your business's address, like yourbusiness.pixigns.com.
• The screen's name and its Screen ID, from its details in Screens.
• What you see, and a photo of the TV if it shows a message or an error code.