TiviMate IPTV Player — install, set up and optimise on any device in 2026
TiviMate is the fastest, most polished IPTV player available in 2026 — and the one nearly every serious IPTV subscriber ends up using. It is not an IPTV provider; it is the app you use to watch your subscription. This guide covers how to install TiviMate on Firestick and Android TV step by step, how to unlock TiviMate Premium, and the exact settings that make it perform best for UK live sport — the section no other guide covers.
TiviMate IPTV Player
Developer: progTV · Android onlyWhat TiviMate is — and what it isn’t
TiviMate is an IPTV player app, not an IPTV service. It is the software you install on your Firestick, Android TV box or Android phone that turns your IPTV provider’s stream into a polished, cable-like television experience. TiviMate does not come with channels. It comes with the interface, the TV guide, the remote navigation and the playback engine. You bring the credentials — an M3U URL or Xtream Codes login — from your IPTV subscription.
The reason TiviMate has become the standard choice among experienced IPTV users in the UK is channel switching speed. In independent testing, TiviMate switches channels in approximately 1.5 seconds on a Fire TV Stick 4K Max — compared to 3–5 seconds on Smart TV IPTV apps, and 2.5 seconds on IPTV Smarters Pro. For anyone watching live sport and flipping between simultaneous fixtures on a Saturday afternoon, this difference is immediately and repeatedly felt. Beyond speed, TiviMate’s EPG grid is the most readable available on a large TV screen, its category navigation is built for remote control, and its settings give you meaningful control over playback behaviour.
One important clarification for anyone new to IPTV: TiviMate is a completely legal application. It is a media player — the same category as VLC or Kodi. What matters legally is the source of the content you stream through it. See our guide to IPTV and UK law for the full picture.
How to install TiviMate on Firestick — step by step
TiviMate is not available on the Amazon Appstore — Amazon removes IPTV-related players from its store periodically. Installing it on a Firestick requires sideloading via the Downloader app. This sounds more complicated than it is: the whole process takes about 4 minutes on a first attempt and under 2 minutes once you know the steps.
Enable Developer Options on your Firestick
From the Firestick home screen, navigate to Settings → My Fire TV → About. Highlight your device name and press the OK button on your remote seven times in quick succession until you see the message “You are now a developer.” This unlocks the Developer Options menu.
Return to Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options and toggle both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources to ON. Accept the warning prompt — this is safe and is the standard method for installing any third-party app on Firestick.
Install the Downloader app from the Amazon Appstore
Go back to the Firestick home screen, select the search icon (magnifying glass) at the top left, and type Downloader. The first result is the legitimate Downloader app by AFTVnews — select it and press Download. It installs in about 30 seconds. Downloader is a free browser and download manager that lets you fetch and install APK files directly on your Firestick.
Open Downloader and grant any permissions it requests — you’ll see a one-time popup asking to allow installs from this source. Accept it.
Download the TiviMate APK via Downloader
In the Downloader app, you’ll see a URL input field on the right side of the screen. Click it and enter the following URL — this takes you directly to the official TiviMate APK download page:
https://tivimate.com/apk
Press Go. Downloader will navigate to the TiviMate website and download the APK file automatically. The file is approximately 3 MB so the download completes in seconds on any broadband connection.
Install TiviMate from the downloaded APK
Once the download finishes, Downloader immediately prompts you to install the APK. Press Install and wait for the installation to complete — approximately 15–20 seconds. When it finishes, press Done (not Open — you’ll configure it in the next step).
Downloader will offer to delete the APK installer file. Press Delete to free up storage on your Firestick — the installed app remains, you’re only removing the installer package you no longer need.
Find TiviMate in your apps and launch it
From the Firestick home screen, scroll right to Your Apps & Channels (or press the Home button and look along the top). TiviMate will appear in your app list. Select it to launch. On first launch, TiviMate opens a setup wizard — proceed to the first-time setup section below.
Tip: Move TiviMate to the front of your app list for quick access. Navigate to it in Your Apps, hold the OK button and select “Move to Front.”
Install TiviMate on Android TV or Google TV
On Android TV and Google TV devices — including the Nvidia Shield Pro, Xiaomi TV Box S, Mecool boxes, and Chromecast with Google TV — TiviMate is available directly from the Google Play Store. No sideloading required.
Open Google Play Store on your Android TV device
From your device home screen, navigate to the Google Play Store app. If it doesn’t appear on the home screen, find it in your apps list.
Search for “TiviMate IPTV Player”
Use the Play Store search to find “TiviMate IPTV Player” — the developer is progTV. Select the correct result (the official app, not any clones) and press Install. The app downloads and installs in under a minute.
Open TiviMate and proceed to first-time setup
Launch TiviMate from your home screen or app list. The setup wizard guides you to add a playlist — follow the steps in the first-time setup section below.
Device compatibility at a glance: TiviMate works on Fire TV Stick (sideloaded), Android TV, Google TV and standard Android phones/tablets. It is not available on Apple TV, iOS, Samsung Tizen Smart TVs, LG webOS or Windows natively. If you have an Apple TV or Smart TV, IPTV Smarters Pro is the recommended alternative for those platforms.
First-time setup — adding your IPTV playlist to TiviMate
TiviMate supports two methods for connecting to an IPTV service. Your provider will give you credentials in one of these two formats — both work equally well, choose whichever your provider sends you:
Add playlist via M3U URL
On the TiviMate welcome screen, select Add Playlist, then choose M3U playlist. In the URL field, paste the M3U URL provided by your IPTV provider — it will look something like http://yourprovider.com:8080/get.php?username=xxx&password=xxx&type=m3u. Give the playlist a name (e.g. “IPTV UK Now”) and press Add.
TiviMate will download and parse the playlist. On a large channel list (20,000+), this takes 20–60 seconds. Once complete, your channels appear organised by the category groups the provider has defined.
Add playlist via Xtream Codes (recommended)
If your provider gives you a username, password and server URL, this is Xtream Codes format — the better of the two methods for most users. Select Add Playlist → Xtream Codes API. Enter your server URL (e.g. http://yourprovider.com:8080), username and password. Press Add.
Xtream Codes connects more efficiently than M3U for large playlists and gives TiviMate access to your provider’s VOD library and catch-up archive directly within the app interface — not just live channels. If you have both options, use Xtream Codes.
Enable the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide)
After your playlist loads, go to Settings → EPG and enable the default EPG source. TiviMate will pull the programme guide from your provider’s EPG URL — this populates the “Now” and “Next” information visible next to every channel in the guide view.
If the default source doesn’t populate the guide, ask your provider for their XMLTV EPG URL and add it manually under Settings → EPG → Add Source. IPTV UK Now includes a full 7-day EPG — if you’re using our service, this step is automatic.
Build your Favourites group
With 20,000+ channels loaded, you don’t want to scroll to find your 20 regularly watched channels every time. Navigate to a channel you watch, press the Menu button on your remote (three horizontal lines), and select Add to Favourites. Spend 5 minutes doing this across your key channels — sports, news, entertainment. They’ll appear in a dedicated Favourites group at the top of your channel list from then on.
Get a free 24-hour trial from IPTV UK Now — credentials sent in minutes
TiviMate is the player. You need an IPTV subscription to provide the streams. IPTV UK Now delivers your username, password and server URL instantly via WhatsApp — paste them into TiviMate’s Xtream Codes login and your 20,000+ channels load within 60 seconds. Free 24-hour trial, no card required.
Key TiviMate settings to change immediately after setup
TiviMate’s defaults are reasonable, but these six settings make a meaningful difference to the daily experience. Change them before your first live session:
Buffer size
Player → Buffer Size → 10 secondsThe default buffer is too small for live sport. Set to 10 seconds — this gives TiviMate a longer runway to absorb brief connection fluctuations without dropping to a loading screen. Increase to 15 seconds for peak Saturday afternoon matches.
Hardware decoding
Player → Hardware Decoding → ONEnables H.265/HEVC hardware decode on supported devices (Firestick 4K Max, Shield, Formuler). Without this, the device uses software decoding for 4K streams — which strains the processor and can cause dropped frames at higher resolutions.
Aspect ratio
Player → Aspect Ratio → Fit to ScreenThe default aspect may leave black bars around some channels. “Fit to Screen” fills your TV while respecting the original ratio. “Stretch” removes all bars but distorts the image — avoid this for sport where ball tracking matters.
EPG update interval
EPG → Update Every → 12 hoursDefault EPG update is every 24 hours. Set to 12 hours to ensure rescheduled fixtures and updated kick-off times appear in your guide before you miss them. A more frequent update is only beneficial if your provider updates their EPG frequently.
Player type
Player → Player Type → ExoPlayerTiviMate defaults to ExoPlayer on most devices — keep it. ExoPlayer handles HLS and MPEG-TS streams (the formats most IPTV providers use) more reliably than the built-in player. If a specific channel stutters on ExoPlayer, switch that channel to the system player as a fallback.
Channel number display
Interface → Show Channel Numbers → ONEnables channel number navigation — type a number on your remote to jump directly to a channel without browsing the list. Useful for switching to a known channel during an ad break without navigating the full EPG.
TiviMate optimisation for UK live sport — what other guides skip
Most TiviMate guides stop at installation and basic setup. These five adjustments are specifically useful for sport viewing — the use case where IPTV player performance matters most:
Use Multi-View for Saturday 3pm kick-offs (Premium)
TiviMate Premium’s multi-view splits the screen into 2 or 4 simultaneous streams. For Premier League, EFL Championship and lower-league Saturday kick-offs — all simultaneous at 3pm — this is the feature that justifies Premium on its own. Press the Menu button during playback and select Multi-View. Each panel is independent: you can jump to full-screen on any of the four streams in one button press when the action demands it. Note: requires 4× the bandwidth of a single stream — a 50+ Mbps stable connection is recommended for 4-panel use.
Add sport channels to a dedicated Favourites group
Build a “Sport” favourites group containing only the sports channels you watch. With 20,000+ channels in the main list, navigating to a sport channel by scrolling costs time during match windows. A curated group of 10–15 sport channels means you’re always one press away from your target stream. Create the group under Settings → Favourites → Add Group, name it “Sport”, then add channels to it from the main channel list via the Menu button.
Pre-load the stream 5 minutes before kick-off
At exactly 3pm on a Saturday, thousands of IPTV subscribers simultaneously connect to the same sports feeds — creating a brief server load spike. Open your target sports channel at 2:55pm rather than exactly at kick-off. You’ll be through the initial connection handshake before the spike, and TiviMate’s buffer will have 5 minutes of stream cached. The result: no loading screen when the whistle goes.
Clear Firestick RAM before a live session
On Firestick 4K Max, hold the Home button to open the App Switcher and close every background app before a match. Fire OS fills available RAM with background processes — clearing them frees the full 2 GB for TiviMate’s buffering and EPG loading. This step takes 30 seconds and noticeably affects how smoothly TiviMate handles channel switching during a 90-minute session with multiple streams open.
Use Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi for live sport
A micro-USB to Ethernet adapter (~£10) for the Firestick eliminates the most common cause of mid-match buffering: Wi-Fi interference and household network congestion. On a busy Saturday evening with other household devices streaming, a wired Firestick on the same connection as a Wi-Fi Firestick will produce a measurably more stable stream. It is the single most cost-effective performance upgrade available for any IPTV setup.
TiviMate troubleshooting — common problems and fixes
TiviMate won’t install on Firestick — “Install blocked” message
This means Apps from Unknown Sources is not enabled. Go to Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options → Apps from Unknown Sources and toggle it ON. If the Developer Options menu is not visible, you first need to unlock it: go to Settings → My Fire TV → About, highlight your device name and press OK seven times rapidly until you see the developer confirmation message.
Channels won’t load — “URL error” or blank channel list
The most common cause is an incorrect M3U URL or Xtream Codes credentials. Double-check every character of your URL, username and password — a single incorrect character prevents the playlist from loading. If you’re using an M3U URL, try opening it in a browser on your phone first to confirm it returns a channel list. For Xtream Codes, confirm the server URL format is exactly as provided (including the port number, e.g. http://server.com:8080 — not http://server.com:8080/ with a trailing slash, which some providers’ systems reject).
If your credentials are from IPTV UK Now, message us on WhatsApp and we’ll resend the correct format for TiviMate Xtream Codes setup.
EPG is empty or shows “No data” next to channels
Go to Settings → EPG and check the EPG source is enabled. If the default source is active but the guide is still empty, wait 10–15 minutes and press Update EPG Now — large EPG files (covering 20,000+ channels) take time to download and parse. If the guide is still empty after 30 minutes, ask your IPTV provider for their explicit XMLTV EPG URL and add it manually under Settings → EPG → Add Source.
TiviMate Premium isn’t activating after purchase
Make sure you’re logged into the same TiviMate account on both the Companion app (where you purchased) and the TiviMate app on your Firestick/Android TV. Open TiviMate on your viewing device, go to Settings → Account, and press Refresh. Premium should activate within a few seconds. If it still doesn’t, log out and back in to the account on your Firestick. The account email must match exactly across both devices.
Buffering / stream keeps stopping mid-playback
Buffering in TiviMate usually comes from one of three sources: your internet connection, the IPTV provider’s server under load, or the Firestick running low on available RAM. In order: first, increase the buffer size under Settings → Player → Buffer Size to 15 seconds. Second, close all background apps on your Firestick (hold Home → App Switcher → close everything). Third, if buffering consistently happens during peak hours (Saturday 3pm–6pm) but not at other times, the issue is server-side — your provider’s infrastructure is under load. A quality provider with anti-freeze technology and dedicated sport servers handles this; a budget provider running shared servers does not.
TiviMate keeps crashing or freezing on Firestick
This is most commonly a RAM issue on Firestick devices with 1 GB of RAM (the Lite model). TiviMate with a large EPG and channel list requires more RAM than 1 GB provides comfortably. If you’re on a Firestick Lite, the only reliable fix is upgrading to the 4K Max (2 GB RAM). On the 4K Max, crashing is usually caused by background apps consuming available RAM — clear them before launching TiviMate. Also try reducing the number of channels in your playlist by disabling unused category groups under Settings → Playlists → [your playlist] → Channel Groups.
Multi-view not showing as an option (Premium feature)
Multi-view requires TiviMate Premium to be activated on the device. If Premium is active but Multi-View doesn’t appear in the playback menu, try logging out and back into your TiviMate account under Settings → Account. If you’re on Android TV, also check that you’re using the latest version of TiviMate — an outdated version may not show premium features correctly. Update via Google Play Store (Android TV) or by re-downloading the APK via Downloader (Firestick).
TiviMate — questions answered
Still stuck? Message us on WhatsApp — we help IPTV UK Now subscribers set up TiviMate as part of every trial and subscription.
What is TiviMate and how does it work?
TiviMate is an IPTV player app for Android TV, Google TV and Fire TV devices. It connects to your IPTV subscription using either an M3U URL or Xtream Codes credentials supplied by your IPTV provider, then presents your channels in a polished, cable-TV-style interface with EPG, favourites, category browsing and — in the Premium version — multi-view and recording. TiviMate does not supply any channels itself; it is the player, not the provider.
Is TiviMate free?
TiviMate is free to download and free to use with a limited feature set — one playlist, basic EPG, no recording, no multi-view, no catch-up. TiviMate Premium unlocks all features for $4.99 per year (or $19.99 lifetime) and covers up to 5 simultaneous devices per licence. Premium is purchased through the TiviMate Companion app on Android, not directly from within TiviMate itself.
How do I install TiviMate on a Firestick?
TiviMate is not on the Amazon Appstore, so it must be sideloaded via the Downloader app. The process: enable Apps from Unknown Sources in Firestick Developer Options → install Downloader from the Amazon Appstore → open Downloader and enter the TiviMate APK URL (tivimate.com/apk) → install the downloaded APK. Full step-by-step instructions with navigation paths are in the installation section above.
Is TiviMate available on Apple TV or Samsung Smart TV?
No. TiviMate is Android-only and is not available on Apple TV (tvOS), Samsung Tizen Smart TVs, LG webOS or iOS. For Apple TV, the best IPTV player alternatives are IPTV Smarters Pro and GSE Smart IPTV, both available from the App Store. For Samsung Smart TVs, Smart IPTV (~£5.49 one-off) is the most widely used option. See our IPTV player guide for full app-to-device recommendations.
How do I get TiviMate Premium?
Create a TiviMate account in the app under Settings → Account. On an Android phone, install TiviMate Companion from Google Play, log in with the same account credentials, and purchase Annual or Lifetime Premium through Google Play’s payment system. Premium activates on all devices linked to the account (up to 5) within a few minutes. If you don’t have an Android phone, use the free BlueStacks Android emulator on PC or Mac to complete the purchase.
What’s the difference between TiviMate and IPTV Smarters Pro?
TiviMate is Android-only but is the fastest IPTV player available — approximately 1.5 seconds channel switching on Firestick 4K Max vs 2.5 seconds on IPTV Smarters Pro. TiviMate’s EPG grid is more readable on a large TV screen, and its remote navigation is more fluid. IPTV Smarters Pro’s advantage is cross-platform availability — it runs on iOS, Apple TV, Samsung Tizen and LG webOS, where TiviMate is unavailable. If you have a Firestick or Android TV box, TiviMate is the better daily driver. For Apple TV or Smart TV, Smarters Pro is the practical choice.
Do I need TiviMate Premium to use it with IPTV UK Now?
No. IPTV UK Now credentials work with the free version of TiviMate — you can test the full channel lineup, EPG and stream quality during your free trial without purchasing Premium. If you decide to watch IPTV regularly, upgrading to TiviMate Premium ($4.99/year) unlocks multi-view for simultaneous fixtures, catch-up TV and recording — features worth having for regular sport viewers. We’re happy to walk through Premium setup on WhatsApp if you get stuck on the Companion app process.
TiviMate shows an error when I add my playlist — what do I do?
The most common causes: incorrect credentials (check every character of your URL, username and password), wrong server port in the Xtream Codes URL (the port must be included — e.g. http://server.com:8080), or an expired trial. If you’re an IPTV UK Now subscriber, message us on WhatsApp with the error message and your device — we’ll diagnose and fix the credentials format for TiviMate specifically, usually within a few minutes.
TiviMate is set up. Get your free IPTV UK Now trial now.
Message us on WhatsApp with your device model. We’ll send Xtream Codes credentials in minutes — paste them into TiviMate and 20,000+ channels load straight away. Free 24 hours, no card.