Troubleshooting on the device
Black display, the setup card comes back, code rejected, connection closed, offline in the portal, old content: what you can do on site.
10 minute readDevicesUpdated: 10/25/2026
On this page
- The first fork: What does the display show?
- The display does not show what is expected
- The display stays black
- The setup card keeps coming back
- Six empty tiles instead of a code
- No pairing code appears
- The code is not accepted
- The display says “Off air”
- The display says “Connection closed”
- At the bottom right, it says “No connection — showing the last known content”
- Portal and display say different things
- The display counts as Delayed or Offline although a picture is visible
- The display shows old content
- Two displays on one device
- The second TV or monitor stays black
- The second TV or monitor says “No display is set up for this screen yet”
- Switches and sliders
- The On/Off switch or the brightness slider is missing
- The brightness jumps back
- The portal shows both buttons, On and Off
- What support needs from you
- Related
Before you start
- For
- anyone standing in front of a display that does not show what is expected
- Prerequisite
- Portal access helps but is not needed for the first steps
- Where in the portal
- Devices › device · Displays › display
The starting point is always the display: What does it show, what does it mean, and what can you do. All steps work without maintenance access: cable, input, power, a look into the portal. The symptoms appear in the order in which they are reported.
The first fork: What does the display show?
Almost every fault can be classified at a glance. Only then is it worth reading on.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| An error text such as Service not reachable or No content available | The display software is running but cannot get to its content. It is the network or the device. |
| Completely black, no text | More likely the display software itself. A restart of the device usually helps. |
| Off air with a time | Scheduled to be blank. Not a defect, and there is nothing to repair at the device. |
| Connection closed with a reason | A deliberate shutdown. To be sorted out in the portal, not at the device. |
| Loading the program | Normal for a few seconds after startup. |
| A six-digit code | The device does not yet belong to an organization and is waiting for pairing. |
| A setup card with a QR code | No network. The device has opened its own setup Wi-Fi. |
| No active scene | A planning error, not a device error: Nothing is planned for this point in time. |
The display does not show what is expected
The display stays black
Meaning: Either no picture arrives, or the panel is off.
Solution: Check in order: Is the HDMI cable seated firmly, and is it in the socket on the player right next to the power connector? Is the right input selected on the TV or monitor? Is the power supply plugged in? Then wait a minute, because the player starts by itself and needs that time. If it stays that way, trigger Reboot through the device record, see Maintain a device remotely. Also check in the portal whether the panel is in standby: The Turn the screen on and off card says so and offers Turn on.
The setup card keeps coming back
Meaning: The Wi-Fi password was wrong, or the network was not reachable. The device therefore stays in its setup Wi-Fi.
Solution: Scan the QR code again with the smartphone and re-enter the name and password of your Wi-Fi. Pay attention to uppercase and lowercase. If a network cable is available, plug it in, because then no Wi-Fi is needed. Details are under Connect to the network.
Six empty tiles instead of a code
Meaning: The player has no internet yet and therefore cannot get a pairing code.
Solution: Check the network cable or Wi-Fi. As soon as the connection is up, the tiles fill by themselves. The way onto the network is described in Connect to the network: cable, Wi-Fi, company network, time.
No pairing code appears
Meaning: Either the device has long been paired, or it does not get onto the network, or you are standing in front of the second TV or monitor of a machine.
Solution: Check in the portal under Devices whether the machine is already listed there. If it is, it shows content or the placeholder instead of a code. If the display stays on Loading the program for longer than a few minutes, restart the device through the device record.
The code is not accepted
Meaning and solution depend on the message in the portal.
| Message | Meaning | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| We do not know this code. Check the six characters on the display. | mistyped or characters confused | Read it again. The characters 0, O, 1, and I do not occur. People most often confuse 2 and Z, 5 and S, 8 and B. |
| The code has expired — please enter the one currently displayed. | The code changes regularly, and only the last few minutes count. | Use the code that is displayed right now. |
| No device was found for this code. | The pairing is no longer open. | Wait for the next code at the device. |
| This device has already been paired. | The device already belongs to an organization. | Trigger Re-pair … there in the device record, see Device lifecycle. |
| Every booked display is paired. | No free seats left. | Remove a display or book additional seats. |
The display says “Off air”
Meaning: A time window of your organization that is scheduled to be blank. The time shown is the end of the pause.
Solution: None. There is nothing to repair at the device. The device keeps reporting in and counts as Online in the portal. If you want to change the pause, do it in the program, see Schedule time off air.
The display says “Connection closed”
Meaning: A deliberate shutdown. The display names the reason.
| Reason | Where to sort it out |
|---|---|
| This display’s session has expired. | in the portal, resolved after a new pairing |
| This display’s permission was revoked. | in the portal, in the state of the display |
| This organization’s access is suspended. | with your billing |
| Too many requests — the display is pausing. | nowhere: resolves by itself |
| This device is blocked. It was reported lost. Please contact the operator. | with support. The device is blocked, for example because it was reported lost, and only we can lift the block. |
| An operator disconnected this display. | with support |
Solution: In none of these cases is there anything to repair at the device. A restart only obscures the cause.
At the bottom right, it says “No connection — showing the last known content”
Meaning: The device has been without a connection for at least a minute, and its content is past its deadline. The display software keeps running from the offline stock.
Solution: Check the network on site: router, repeater, cable. When the connection returns, the notice disappears by itself, and the device catches up. See How does a player keep itself running?.
Portal and display say different things
The display counts as Delayed or Offline although a picture is visible
Meaning: The status is purely a time calculation based on the check-in. It does not say whether a picture is playing. The device keeps showing its last loaded state while its reports are missing.
Solution: Check the network at the installation site. If the device’s clock is not synchronized, that can also interfere with the reports. The portal points to it in the warning band. If it stays that way, use Reboot through the device record.
The display shows old content
Meaning: The change did not arrive, or was not published at all.
Solution: First check in the portal whether the change is actually published. Then send Refresh content from the Remote tab of the display. The command works per display: With two displays on one device, that means once per display. If the device is offline, it deliberately shows the last state until the connection is back.
Two displays on one device
The second TV or monitor stays black
Meaning: The device did not detect the second connector as occupied, or the display is missing in the portal.
Solution: Check the cable and select the right input on the TV or monitor. After that, the device reports the occupied connector within 30 seconds.
The second TV or monitor says “No display is set up for this screen yet”
Meaning: Not an error. The cable is plugged in and the device already belongs to you, and only the entry for this display is missing in the portal. No pairing code is needed for it.
Solution: In the device record, use the Add display button on the Displays on this device card. The display then switches over by itself. See Add a second display to the same device.
Switches and sliders
The On/Off switch or the brightness slider is missing
Meaning: The display did not answer the device’s question. What is missing appears as not available in the What this display can do card, usually with the reason This screen does not expose it.
Solution: Turn on the control in the display’s menu. On TVs it is called Anynet+, Bravia Sync, Simplink, or Viera Link, on monitors “DDC/CI”. If the display was dark when the device started, wait up to 30 minutes: The probe repeats by itself. Also check the cable: A very simple cable or a switch in between often does not pass the control line through. See How does the player control the display over HDMI?.
The brightness jumps back
Meaning: The display was without power in between and fell back to its factory value.
Solution: Do nothing: The device restores the value at the next reconciliation, at the latest after half a minute. If it stays wrong, someone has probably changed the brightness in the display’s menu. How the control works is explained in How does the player control the display over HDMI?.
The portal shows both buttons, On and Off
Meaning: The Turn the screen on and off card otherwise shows only the action that fits the reported state. With The screen does not answer and The state is not known yet, it does not know and does not guess. Some TVs also report themselves as on when they are not. With the Samsung “The Frame,” art mode is exactly that. Then it says Two reports that contradict each other.
Solution: Go by what you see on site and choose the matching button. This is not a defect. The card is explained in detail in Adjust a display’s picture and power.
What support needs from you
If you get no further this way, write to support. The report from the player’s service menu helps us fastest:
- Open the service menu on the display, with Ctrl + Alt + S on a keyboard, by pressing OK five times on the TV remote control, or by moving the mouse and clicking the Service menu button in the top right.
- Under Info, choose the entry Report to your phone.
- Scan the QR code with your phone’s camera, and send us the text or a photo of the code.
The report names device, display, version, connection, and the findings, without passwords and without the full serial number. The menu also appears over the startup with the progress bar and over the setup card. If the device gets stuck at startup with the progress bar, the same QR code appears by itself after two minutes, even with no keyboard and no remote control at all.
Also state:
- the name of the device from the portal, which also appears at the top of the service menu,
- the date and time when the problem occurred.
On Fire TV, Android devices, smart TVs, and in the browser, there is no service menu yet. There, state the name of the device and the identifier of the affected display from the portal.
Related
- What a display can show — all states of a display at a glance.
- The service menu on the device — the player’s situation on site and the report to your phone.
- When a display shows nothing — the same question from the portal’s point of view.
- Contact support — ways, times, and what belongs in a request.
Found what you needed? Then carry on in the portal — or set up an organization first.
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