Questions people ask

No. GridTV is a player. It ships no channels, no films, no sample playlist and no video of any kind, and it has no way to browse for any. You add a playlist or login from a service you already use, and GridTV shows what is in it.

From a provider you choose and pay yourself. GridTV can't recommend one, list one or help you find one. Your provider will give you either an M3U link or an Xtream login. If you are choosing a provider, start with how to choose a legitimate IPTV provider.

IPTV is a way of delivering television over the internet, and many licensed broadcasters and operators use it. Whether a particular service is lawful depends on whether it has the rights to what it sells. Services that sell access to channels without the rights holders' permission infringe copyright; in 2017 the EU's top court held, in the Filmspeler case, that selling a player pre-set to link to unauthorised streams can itself be an infringement. Rules for viewers differ by country. GridTV plays only what you add, so using a licensed provider is on you. This is general information, not legal advice. The article on choosing a legitimate provider shows what to look for.

An M3U link is one address that points to a list of live channels. An Xtream login is a server address, a username and a password, and lets the app ask the server for live channels, films, series and a guide. Add an Xtream login if your provider offers one: you get films and series, which an M3U link doesn't carry. M3U playlists and Xtream logins, explained has the detail.

An EPG (electronic programme guide) is the grid of what is on and what's next. It comes from a separate source, usually an XMLTV address, or from your Xtream provider. Without one GridTV still plays your channels, but the guide stays empty. If you were given a guide address, add it when you add the playlist. EPG and XMLTV explained covers empty and mismatched guides.

iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later, plus an Apple Watch companion (glance and complications) on watchOS 11. There is no tvOS app and no Mac version, so to watch on a television you cast: AirPlay or Chromecast.

No. It can't save, convert, record, download or export a stream, and there is no offline playback. Every frame is played from the network as it arrives and is then discarded. The one thing it stores is where you stopped watching. If you want a recording, that has to come from your provider.

No. GridTV is an iPhone and iPad app, with an Apple Watch companion. There is no Mac app and it isn't offered in the Mac App Store.

No. GridTV is an iPhone and iPad app. It reaches your television by casting.

Yes, two ways. AirPlay sends the channel to an Apple TV or another AirPlay-compatible TV. A Chromecast is fed by your phone, which relays the stream, so the phone has to stay on the same Wi-Fi network. Chromecast access needs Local Network permission, which iOS asks for the first time you tap Cast. Casting sends one channel at a time. If a channel can't go to the TV, GridTV says why.

Up to four channels on one screen, with the sound from one of them. Tap a tile to move the sound; long-press to make it the main tile. Each tile is a separate connection to your provider, and many subscriptions allow only one or two connections, so extra tiles may fail. If your phone gets warm, GridTV closes tiles to keep playback smooth and tells you. Multiview can also be sent to a TV: the whole grid, a mirror of your phone, or one channel.

Yes, on channels where your provider keeps an archive. Play programmes that already aired from the guide. How many days, and on which channels, is up to your provider. Catch-up is included in the 72 hours and in GridTV Pro.

Yes, if your provider supplies them over an Xtream login. GridTV shows posters, cast, director, genre, rating and a trailer link when your provider includes them, and remembers where you stopped. Nothing is looked up from an outside service. An M3U link carries live channels only.

Twelve: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Turkish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. GridTV follows your device's language and falls back to English.

Yes. Put them in the GridTV folder in the Files app (or in Finder when the device is connected) and they appear under Library ▸ Device. A subtitle file with the same name sits alongside.

GridTV keeps your Xtream username and password in the iOS Keychain, the same protected storage iOS uses for saved passwords, marked so they never sync to iCloud or other devices. They are sent only to your provider, because that is how the provider identifies you. There is no GridTV server for them to go to. One caveat, below: if your provider uses http:// rather than https://, anyone on your network can see what is sent.

None. There are no accounts, no analytics, no advertising identifiers and no crash-reporting service. Your playlists, favourites and viewing position are stored on your device. The app privacy policy lists exactly what is stored and where the app connects.

Your provider's address starts with http://, not https://. Many providers still do this. GridTV allows it, because refusing would make it unable to play most real playlists, and for M3U addresses it switches to https:// automatically when the provider offers it. If it stays on http://, anyone on the same network can see which addresses you request, and with an Xtream login, your username and password. Ask your provider for an https:// address, and use a password you use nowhere else. Keeping your IPTV account secure explains more.

You set a four-digit PIN, and can add Face ID or Touch ID. Until you set a PIN nothing is hidden. Once you set one, categories whose names look adult are locked automatically, and you can lock or unlock any category yourself. Locked categories disappear from the channel list, the guide, search and favourites. It doesn't change what your provider sends, so it is a tool for one device, not a content filter for your whole home. See parental controls for IPTV at home. GridTV is rated 9+.

It is optional and off until you turn it on in Settings ▸ iCloud Sync. When on, your playlists' names, addresses and settings, favourites, hidden channels, category order and locks, and guide matches are copied into your own iCloud account, so your other devices running GridTV can pick them up. Your provider passwords and your parental PIN are never included, and each device downloads its own channels and guide. It's Apple's storage under your Apple Account; we can't read it.

Yes. Settings ▸ Backup saves your playlists, favourites, hidden channels, category order and guide settings to a file, and restores them later. A backup holds no passwords, so a restored Xtream playlist asks you to sign in once.

It starts the first time you open GridTV and runs for 72 hours of wall-clock time, whether or not you've added a playlist yet. Nothing is held back: every playlist, the full guide and four-channel Multiview. It is not an Apple subscription trial, so there is nothing to cancel. Settings shows how long is left. If you install on Monday and get your provider login on Friday, the 72 hours may be spent before your first channel, so have your login ready.

You can still open the app and browse your channels, guide and library. To start watching you need GridTV Pro. A stream that is already playing runs to its end.

$2.99 a month, $11.99 a year, or $19.99 once for lifetime. There is no weekly plan. These are US dollar prices for illustration: the App Store shows the price for your country and currency before you buy. All three give the same thing: unlimited viewing, every playlist, and Multiview.

Open Settings ▸ Apple Account ▸ Subscriptions, choose GridTV Pro and tap Cancel Subscription, at least 24 hours before renewal. You keep Pro until the period ends. Lifetime is a one-time purchase, with nothing to cancel.

Apple handles refunds, not us. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple Account, choose the purchase and request a refund. Apple decides.

Settings ▸ Subscription ▸ Restore Purchases, signed in to the Apple Account that bought it. It also works from the paywall. If it says no purchase was found, the device is probably signed in to a different Apple Account. More on the support page.

Yes. The monthly, yearly and lifetime options can be shared with your Family Sharing group.

No. GridTV can't see your provider's account or lineup, and we can't help you choose or repair a subscription. For a login or a broken channel, contact your provider. For anything GridTV itself does, see support.