Setup guides

Adding an M3U playlist

Six fields, two of which most people should leave alone. This walkthrough covers both routes into the app: a URL your provider sent you, and a file already sitting on the device.

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An M3U playlist is a single text file listing every channel your provider carries along with the URL for each stream. InoxTV reads it, builds the channel list, and from then on plays the URLs inside it. Nothing in the file comes from us; if you do not have one yet, the service you subscribe to is where it comes from.

Before you start

Have the M3U URL where you can paste it. If it arrived by email, opening that email on the same device and copying the link is far easier than typing it on a television, and the Paste from clipboard button exists for exactly that. If your provider also offers a username and password, read which playlist type to choose first; Xtream Codes is usually the better connection for the same account.

Adding the playlist

  1. Open the add-playlist screen

    Settings › Playlists › Add playlist. On a fresh install you can also reach it from the intro screen's Add Playlist button.

  2. Choose M3U Playlist

    The Playlist Type screen lists three options. Pick M3U Playlist. The form below changes to match.

  3. Give it the playlist

    Paste the address into Enter url, or use Paste from clipboard. To load a file already on the device, tap Select local playlist and pick the .m3u or .m3u8 file instead.

    Include the protocol. A URL beginning http:// or https:// is accepted; one beginning with the server name alone produces Enter a valid URL or select a local playlist file. Leaving the field empty produces Enter playlist URL or select a local playlist file.

  4. Name it

    Playlist name is what you will see in the playlist list and in the source selector, so make it something you recognise in six months. If you keep two accounts, naming them by what they are for beats naming them by provider.

  5. Decide what gets imported

    Include live tv and Include Vod are both ticked, and neither is read by the importer in this build: the file is parsed in full whichever way you leave them. If you came here looking for the setting that shortens a slow import, it is not this one; the answer for a very large M3U is Xtream Codes if your provider offers it, or a link limited to the categories you watch if they do not.

  6. Add programme guide data, if you have it

    EPG URL (optional) takes an XMLTV address. Most M3U playlists carry no guide data of their own, so this is where the TV guide gets its content. If your provider did not supply one, leave it blank for now and come back after reading setting up the TV guide. An address the app cannot parse produces Enter a valid EPG URL.

  7. Save and watch the counts

    The app shows Saving playlist..., then a running tally in the form Live TV: 0  Movies: 0  Shows: 0 that climbs as the file is parsed. A large playlist can take a minute or more on a TV box, and the numbers rising is the sign it is working. When they stop, the playlist is in.

If nothing arrives

Counts that stay at zero, or an error at the end, almost always come down to four things: a URL with a typo, an expired subscription, the connection limit already used by another device, or a provider blocking the request. A playlist that will not load works through them in the order that resolves fastest.

A note on local files

Choosing a file with Select local playlist uses Android's document picker, which grants InoxTV permission to that one file rather than to your storage. That is good for privacy and has one consequence worth knowing: if you later delete the file, move it, or replace it with a new download of the same name, the permission no longer applies and the app shows Please reselect the local playlist file. Open the playlist and pick the file again.

On Android TV and Fire TV there is often no file manager to get a playlist onto the device in the first place. Sideloading the file alongside the app, or serving it from a URL on your own network, is usually less trouble than trying to copy it across.

After it loads

The channel list is now populated and live TV works. Three settings on the playlist are worth a look while you are still in there, all under Settings › Playlists and then the playlist itself:

  • Update playlist on app start — refreshes the file every time the app opens. Worth turning on for a provider that changes channels often, worth leaving off if your app start is already slow, because it adds the whole parse to every launch.
  • EPG source — which guide source this playlist's channels use. It reads No source until one is attached.
  • Enable playlist — the non‑destructive off switch. Disabling hides a playlist's channels without discarding the playlist or its settings, which is how to test whether a second account is causing a problem.

Running more than one playlist

InoxTV has no limit on the number of playlists, and you can mix types, an M3U from one provider alongside Xtream Codes from another is fine. Channels from every enabled playlist appear together, so the practical limit is how long a combined list you are willing to scroll. Playlists sorting and Reordered playlists control which one's channels come first.

If you add the same service twice by two different methods, expect every channel to appear twice. That is worth doing deliberately while comparing, and worth undoing afterwards with Enable playlist.

Questions people ask

Where do I find my M3U URL?
Your IPTV provider issues it, usually in the welcome email or in the account area of their website. InoxTV cannot generate one and holds no list of providers.
Can I use a playlist file instead of a URL?
Yes. Tap Select local playlist and pick the .m3u or .m3u8 file from the device. Android grants InoxTV access to that specific file, so if you later move or replace it you will see the message Please reselect the local playlist file.
Why is my movies library just a long list of channels?
M3U files rarely mark films and series properly, so everything arrives as a channel. If your provider also offers Xtream Codes, connecting that way instead usually produces a proper library with seasons, episodes and posters.
How do I refresh the playlist after my provider changes it?
Settings, Playlists, Update all playlists refreshes every enabled playlist at once. To have it happen automatically, open the playlist and turn on Update playlist on app start.