Android TV behaves very differently from purpose-built signage players, so many issues are caused by power management, background app handling, or firmware behaviour rather than Fugo itself.
If you’re troubleshooting a screen, start at the top and work down. Most problems can be resolved before reinstalling the app.
Table of contents
1. Start here: initial checks
Before digging into specific issues, confirm the fundamentals. Many “player bugs” turn out to be environmental or configuration-related.
Check that:
The TV is powered on and not in standby or sleep mode
The device has a stable internet connection to your Wifi network or Ethernet (here’s how)
Date and time are set automatically (manual time often breaks token refresh) (here’s how)
The Fugo Player app is installed and up to date (here’s how)
The device is paired to the correct screen in Fugo
Required Fugo domains are not blocked by the network or firewall
If any of these are wrong, fix them first before moving on.
2. Recommended Android TV settings for running Fugo
Android TV is built for consumer use, not for always-on digital signage.
So by default, the operating system prioritizes energy saving, background app management, and user interaction via a remote. These behaviors make sense in a living room, but they can interfere with signage apps that are expected to run continuously, stay online, and refresh content in the background.
Updating these settings below will help reduce issues like the Fugo app being paused or killed, network connections dropping, or the screen going offline unexpectedly.
Make sure that:
Screen saver is disabled (here’s how)
Energy saving is set to never (here’s how)
Auto-update apps is enabled (here’s how)
Time & date is set to Automatic (here’s how)
Optional: HDMI-CEC is enabled (this can help with wake-on-signal in some setups - here’s how)
3. The Fugo player app won’t launch or crashes on startup
When the Fugo player app crashes on launch, it’s usually due to corrupted cached data or Android reclaiming memory after a firmware update.
Common causes:
Android TV firmware update invalidated cached app data
Very limited device memory
Outdated Android OS version
Troubleshooting steps
What to try first:
Open Android TV Settings → Apps → Fugo Player
Select Force stop
Select Clear Cache (do not clear data unless instructed)
Relaunch the Fugo player app
If the issue continues:
Restart the TV (not just the app)
Unpair and re-pair the screen in your Fugo account (here’s how)
Uninstall and reinstall Fugo Player app from the Play Store (here’s how)
Check for pending Android OS updates (here’s how)
Reinstalling the Fugo app should be a last resort, but it does tend to resolve persistent corruption issues.
4. The screen is on, but showing a black display
If the TV is powered on and Fugo Player appears to be running, a black screen usually means the app has no valid content to display or can’t reach the Fugo cloud service it needs.
Possible causes
The screen is not assigned to a playlist in your Fugo account
The assigned playlist is empty, inactive, or not scheduled for the current time
The device temporarily lost its internet connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
The device is connected to the internet, but the network is blocking required Fugo domains or services (common on managed or corporate networks)
Troubleshooting steps
Log in to Fugo CMS and open the affected screen from your Screens page.
Confirm the screen has a playlist assigned on the Playlists tab:
Confirm the playlist is active and scheduled correctly.
Verify the media items in the playlist are still available. Your playlist will show if your media item has been removed from your account:
If the above setup looks correct, try restarting the Fugo Player app from your screen settings dashboard tab (or reboot the device itself):
5. Content isn’t updating or is stuck on old slides
If new content doesn’t appear on the screen, it doesn’t necessarily mean the update failed. More often, the player is still showing a cached (saved) version of the playlist.
Fugo Player caches content locally on the device so screens can keep playing even if the internet connection drops briefly. This is intentional, but it can cause delays if the device loses connectivity at the wrong moment.
Possible causes
The player saved a local copy of the playlist while the connection was unstable
The internet connection dropped before the latest changes fully synced
Changes were made in Fugo CMS, but not published
Android temporarily paused background network activity
In these cases, the screen keeps showing the last version it successfully downloaded.
Troubleshooting steps
Restart the Fugo player app from the Dashboard tab of your screen settings to force a fresh sync:
Power cycle the TV (unplug it for around 30 seconds, then plug it back in)
Check that your changes were saved in Fugo
Verify the device has a stable internet connection
Optional step: clear the app cache
If the issue keeps happening, clearing the app cache from Android TV settings can force the player to discard saved content and download everything again (here’s how).
6. Video playback issues (freezing, stuttering, no audio)
Video problems on Android TV usually come down to one of three things: the TV can’t decode the file smoothly, the file is too heavy for the device/network, or audio is being output somewhere unexpected.
The goal is to isolate which one it is.
Possible causes
Video format or encoding isn’t compatible (even if the file “plays fine” on a laptop)
The video is too demanding for the TV to play continuously (high resolution, high bitrate, large file size)
Network bandwidth is inconsistent, so the player can’t load the video reliably
Audio is disabled or routed differently on the TV (muted, volume at zero, Bluetooth/external speakers, etc.)
Troubleshooting steps
1. Confirm the file is signage-friendly
Use MP4 with H.264 encoding (this is the most widely supported option across Android TVs). You can enable this video codec from your screen settings.
2. Reduce how hard the TV has to work
If you’re using 4K, try a lower-resolution version (1080p is a good baseline) unless you know the model handles 4K smoothly.
If the video is large, export a smaller file (lower bitrate) and retest.
3. Isolate whether it’s one file or all videos
Create a quick test playlist with a single video item. If only one video causes issues, the file/encoding is the likely culprit.
4. Rule out network-related playback problems
If possible, test on a more stable connection (Ethernet vs Wi-Fi) or during a quieter network period.
5. Check audio basics
Verify the TV isn’t muted, and the volume is up.
If the TV uses external audio (soundbar/Bluetooth), confirm the output device is correct.
Ensure that audio is enabled in your screen settings:
7. The screen shows as offline in Fugo
Android TV is designed for consumer use, where multiple apps compete for limited system resources, and the TV is expected to sleep, pause apps, or shut down background activity when it’s not actively being used.
To conserve power and keep the system responsive, Android TV will aggressively manage background apps. This can include pausing network activity, putting apps to sleep, or closing them entirely if they haven’t been interacted with recently. In a digital signage setup, this can cause the Fugo player app to appear offline even though the TV itself is still on.
Possible causes
Sleep or energy-saving features are enabled on the TV
The Fugo player app has been backgrounded or closed by the system
Network restrictions or firewalls are blocking the required outbound connections
Troubleshooting steps
Disable the screensaver / sleep mode on your device (here’s how)
Disable the energy saver on your device (here’s how)
Keep the Fugo app running in the foreground at all times via the “Allow display over other apps” setting on your device (here’s how - go to step 8)
Ensure the autostart feature for the Fugo app is enabled in your screen settings:
Verify the network allows the persistent outbound connections required by Fugo (here’s how)
8. The remote control doesn’t respond while Fugo is playing
In many setups, kiosk mode is enabled intentionally to prevent remote interference. This can look like a frozen remote.
If you need control:
Press Back three times or Home to exit the Fugo player app
Then relaunch the app
To fully disable kiosk mode:
Turn kiosk mode off:
Restart the player
If the remote still doesn’t respond, test it in another app and replace batteries to rule out hardware issues.
9. When reinstalling the Fugo player app actually makes sense
Reinstall the app if:
The app crashes repeatedly after clearing the cache
The screen stays black after verifying your playlist is set up correctly
Unpairing and re-pairing the device to Fugo CMS didn’t resolve the issue
Here’s how to reinstall the Fugo app.
After reinstalling:
Pair the screen using a new activation code (here’s how)
Confirm the correct screen name and playlist assignment
If reinstalling doesn’t help, the issue is likely device- or network-related.
10. Need more help? Escalation checklist for contacting support
If you need to escalate, you can contact our support team directly via the in-app chat:
or by emailing support@fugo.ai.
Have the following details ready to help us diagnose the issue more quickly.
Android TV brand and model
Android OS version
Fugo Player app version
Clear description of the issue
Photos or videos of the issue, if relevant