Apple / iOS

How to set up IPTV on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV

Six steps, about four minutes. Apple is straightforward because the player comes from the App Store — nothing to sideload and no permissions to change. The same app covers iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Have your Wave IPTV username, password and portal URL ready before you start.

Last updated · Wave IPTV

4 min 6 steps iPhone · iPad · Apple TV App Store only

Before you start

  1. Find your activation email — you need the username, password and portal URL.
  2. Be signed into the App Store on the device you're setting up.
  3. Setting up an Apple TV? Do it on the Apple TV itself, not by installing from your phone.

  1. Install Smarters Player Lite from the App Store

    Open the App Store and search for Smarters Player Lite, or go straight to it:

    apps.apple.com/ca/app/smarters-player-lite

    The same app installs on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. On an Apple TV, search the App Store on the TV itself rather than trying to send it across from your phone.

    Smarters Player Lite on the App Store
    assets/images/guides/apple-01.jpg
    Only install from the App Store. Every app there has been reviewed by Apple. Anything offering to sideload a player onto an iPhone through a profile or a third-party installer is asking you to bypass that review — decline it.

  2. Open it and enter your login

    Launch the app. It opens straight onto a login screen — there's no menu to hunt through.

    Fill in the fields from your Wave IPTV activation email:

    Any nameA label for the profile. "iPhone" or "Apple TV" keeps things clear if you set up several.
    UsernameFrom your activation email.
    PasswordCase-sensitive. iOS capitalises the first letter automatically — check it before submitting.
    URLThe portal address, including http:// and the port number if one is listed.

    Tap Add User.

  3. Wait for the channel list

    The app downloads your channels, films and series — typically ten to thirty seconds on Wi-Fi. This happens once; afterwards it opens straight to your list.

    Channel list downloading progress screen
    assets/images/guides/apple-02.jpg

  4. Turn on the TV guide

    Open the app's settings and choose Install EPG. You don't need to paste in a guide URL — the app pulls the schedule from your subscription automatically.

    Once it's installed you get programme names and times against each channel instead of a bare list, which is the difference between browsing and guessing.

  5. Playing a channel

    Tap Live TV, choose a category, then a channel. On iPhone and iPad the video starts in a small window — double-tap it to go full screen. That single detail confuses more people than anything else in this app.

    On Apple TV the remote works as you'd expect: swipe through categories, click to play.

  6. Optional: a second app worth knowing about

    If you don't get on with the Smarters interface, GSE Smart IPTV is a well-established alternative that runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac:

    apps.apple.com/ca/app/gse-smart-iptv

    Setup is the same idea: choose Xtream Codes API, tap the + to add a list, enter the same name, username, password and URL, switch on Auto-update EPG, and log in.

    Your subscription doesn't care which app reads it, so try both and keep whichever you prefer.

If something goes wrong

These cover almost every problem people hit on this device. If yours isn't here, message support with the exact wording of any error on screen.

I can't find the app in my App Store

Check which country store you're in. App availability varies by region, and a link to another country's storefront will either redirect oddly or show nothing. Scroll to the very bottom of the App Store's main page — your country is shown there.

Also check your iOS version. Older iPhones and iPads stuck on early versions can't install current apps. Settings → General → Software Update will tell you where you stand.

The app installed but my login is rejected

The password is case-sensitive and iOS capitalises the first character of any text field by default. That one behaviour causes most failed logins on Apple devices — check the first letter before anything else.

Then check the URL field carries the complete portal address with http:// at the front and the port number if your email lists one. Paste it rather than typing it.

If all three are right, message support with your username only and we'll verify the subscription from our side.

There's no programme guide next to the channels

The EPG installs separately from the channel list. In the app's settings, choose Install EPG and give it a minute. There's no URL to enter — it comes from your subscription.

If the guide loads but times look wrong, check your device time zone under Settings → General → Date & Time and make sure Set Automatically is on.

Should I AirPlay from my iPhone or install on the Apple TV?

Install it on the Apple TV. AirPlay re-encodes the video on the way across, which costs picture quality, drains your phone battery, and drops the stream whenever a call comes in.

Installing the app directly on the Apple TV takes two minutes and gives you the full-quality stream with the remote you already use.

It plays on my iPhone but stops when I start it on the Apple TV

That's expected on a standard subscription — it plays one screen at a time, so starting a second stream ends the first. You can install the app on as many Apple devices as you like; only one plays at once.

If two people need different things at the same time, that's what a multi-connection plan covers.

Guides for other devices

One subscription works on all of them — the app is the only thing that changes.

Fire TV StickAbout 8 minutes AndroidAbout 3 minutes Smart TVAbout 5 minutes

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