Display is Online but Content Never Changes

This is the single most common support question we get, and it is a different problem from an offline display. Here the player is talking to easyCMS, it just is not showing what you expect. Almost always the content has not finished downloading, the schedule is not doing what you think it is, or the player is still playing a long item from the previous layout.

Step 1: Read the download status

Open Displays in easyCMS and look at the icon in the display’s row:

Cloud icon: there are changes waiting; the player knows about them but has not downloaded them yet.
Cross / arrows icon: a download is in progress. Large videos over a slow connection can take a long time; leave it and check back.
Tick icon: everything the player needs is downloaded. If content still is not showing, the problem is the layout or the schedule, not the network. Jump to step 4.

A display parked on the cloud or download icon for hours usually means either a genuinely slow link, or a download window in the display settings profile that only allows downloads during certain hours. Check Displays → Display Settings and confirm the download window is either empty or set to a sensible period.

Step 2: Understand the collection interval

Players do not update instantly. Each player checks in on its collection interval (5 minutes by default) and only then learns there is something new. So a change you made 30 seconds ago is not late, it is early.

easyCMS can also push a change immediately instead of waiting for the next check-in. If pushes are not working in your network the player still updates, just on the interval instead of instantly. See Network Requirements and Firewall Rules if instant updates never work but scheduled ones do.

Step 3: Force a collection

To stop waiting, open the display’s row menu and choose Collect Now. On the device itself you can also open the player’s status window and trigger a collection, or simply restart the player app.

If Collect Now produces nothing at all, the push channel is blocked, the player will still pick the change up on its own interval a few minutes later. That is a network issue to fix, not a content issue.

Step 4: Check the layout is actually valid

A layout is only played once it passes every one of these checks, and easyCMS silently skips it otherwise:

The layout and every piece of media it uses is fully downloaded.
None of its media has been blacklisted by the player (a file the device could not play).
The current date and time falls inside a scheduled event for that display.
Nothing else is scheduled at a higher priority.
The layout parses, no empty regions, no broken widgets.

If all scheduled layouts fail these checks, the player falls back to the default layout, and if that also fails, to the splash screen. So “it is showing the default layout” is a symptom, not a random glitch, it means every scheduled layout was rejected. The player’s status window lists layouts as scheduled, valid and invalid, which tells you instantly which check failed. See Reading the Player Status Window and Logs.

Step 5: Beware the long-running item

The classic “my schedule was missed” cause: the layout that is currently playing contains a very long media item, a 20-minute video, or a region with a long duration. easyCMS never cuts a layout off mid-item. It finishes the current cycle, then moves on. If your new event was only 10 minutes long, it can be over before the player ever gets to it.

Fix it by shortening media durations, or by giving the new event a higher priority and enough of a window to actually appear.

Step 6: Clear the cache as a last resort

If the CMS insists everything is downloaded but the screen disagrees, the player’s local copy may be corrupt. On the device, clear the player’s stored media and let it re-download from scratch. On Android this is done from the player’s settings screen; on Windows, stop the player and empty its library folder. Expect a large re-download afterwards.

Still stuck?

Send us the display name, the platform, a photo of the player’s status window and what you changed in easyCMS, see Getting Help and Support Options for the fastest route.