Setup guide
Troubleshooting
Most problems trace to one of three things: the name doesn’t resolve, the path is blocked, or the certificate doesn’t match. Test from a laptop on the same network as the failing screen before touching the player.
Quick test from any network
nslookup signage.yourdomain.com # which IP does this network get?
curl -I https://signage.yourdomain.com # does it answer, with a valid cert?
On site you should see the private IP; off site, the public IP (or Cloudflare’s, with a tunnel).
Symptoms and fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Off-site screens work, on-site screens can’t connect | No split DNS, and the router doesn’t hairpin NAT | Add a host override for signage.yourdomain.com → the server’s private IP on the on-site DNS |
| On-site screens work, off-site screens can’t connect | Port forward missing or wrong, or ISP blocks 443 | Check the forward to TCP 443; test from a phone on cellular; use Cloudflare Tunnel if the ISP blocks it |
| Nothing connects from anywhere | Server down, or ufw blocking 443 |
systemctl status on the service (name TBD); sudo ufw status |
| Browser shows a certificate warning | Name doesn’t match the certificate, or renewal failed | Use the exact hostname, not the IP; confirm port 80 reaches the server for renewal |
| Certificate request fails at install | DNS not pointing at the server yet, or port 80 closed | Wait for DNS to propagate; open 80; rerun the certificate step |
| Everything breaks every few days | Dynamic public IP changed and DNS wasn’t updated | Set up ddclient (guide 4, option 2) or get a static IP |
| Player stuck on the pairing code | Code expired or typed wrong | Reboot the player for a fresh code; codes are case-insensitive (TBD) |
| Screen shows old content | Player offline, playing from cache | Check its last-seen time in Players; check that building’s backhaul |
| Video stutters, images fine | Old GPU lacks hardware decode for the format, or the file is 4K on a 1080p player | Re-export as 1080p H.264; reserve 4K for 7th-gen Intel or newer |
| Black screen after a power cut | BIOS not set to power on after AC loss | BIOS: Restore on AC power loss → Power On |
| Screen goes black after a while on static slides | Display power saving | Disable blanking in the player image (TBD); check the TV’s own eco or auto-off setting |
| Two screens flicker between each other’s content | Cloned after pairing, sharing one identity | Reset pairing on one and pair it again |
Still stuck
Collect the player name, the network it’s on, and the output of the two quick-test commands from that network, then contact support from your account.