Device Troubleshooting

Most device issues fall into a small number of categories: connectivity problems, content sync issues, playback problems, and pairing failures. This guide covers each one with step-by-step diagnosis and resolution.

Device shows as Offline

The device has stopped checking in with the Stratos platform.

Step 1 — Confirm the device is powered on. Check that the device has power (status LED on if the device has one, or check physically). Some player devices are installed in hard-to-reach locations — check that the power supply hasn’t been unplugged or tripped.

Step 2 — Check the last-seen timestamp. On the screen’s detail page in Stratos, the last-seen time tells you when the device was last in contact. If it went offline at the same time as a network change, maintenance window, or power event, that’s a strong clue.

Step 3 — Check network connectivity.

Is the device’s ethernet cable connected at both ends?
If using Wi-Fi, is the access point operational and in range?
Has there been a network configuration change (VLAN move, firewall rule update, ISP outage)?

Step 4 — Verify outbound HTTPS access. The device needs outbound TCP port 443 to *.stratos.io. A newly applied firewall rule or proxy requirement can silently block this. Check with your network team.

Step 5 — Restart the device. A clean reboot resolves the majority of persistent offline states. The device will reconnect on startup, re-authenticate, and resume pulling content. Allow 2–3 minutes after restart before expecting it to show Online.

Step 6 — Contact OTS. If the device remains offline after the above steps, contact OTS via the support Tickets tab. Include the device ID (from the screen’s detail page) and a description of what you’ve tried.

Device shows as “Never connected”

The pairing completed in Stratos but the device hasn’t made its first contact.

Most likely cause: network connectivity issue preventing the device from reaching the platform.

Confirm the device is powered on and connected to a display showing the pairing screen (or the Stratos player idle screen after pairing)
Check network connectivity — see steps 3 and 4 above
Wait 2–3 minutes after pairing — first contact can take a moment after the pairing code is entered
If still unresolved, try unpairing and re-pairing — sometimes a fresh pairing resolves initial registration issues

Screen is blank or showing the player idle screen

The device is online but no content is playing.

Check 1 — Is there a schedule entry targeting this screen? Go to Schedules and look for entries that target this screen (or a group the screen belongs to). Use the Week View to check the current time window. If there’s no entry covering right now, the screen will be blank — this is expected behaviour. Add a schedule entry to cover the gap.

Check 2 — Is the schedule entry’s content valid? If a playlist was deleted or a layout was unpublished, the schedule entry referencing it will have no content to play. Check the schedule entry’s content field. If it shows a missing or invalid reference, update it to a valid playlist or published layout.

Check 3 — Did the content sync complete? If content was recently added or changed, the device may not have downloaded it yet. Wait 1–2 minutes and check the screen’s Current content field on its detail page — it should update when new content arrives.

Check 4 — Is the correct schedule priority in effect? A higher-priority schedule entry might be targeting this screen with no content (or expired content). Check the week view for overlapping entries at higher priorities.

Content is out of date / not updating

The device is online but showing old content.

Step 1 — Check the device’s last sync time. The screen’s detail page shows when the device last reported. If last-seen is recent, the device is communicating fine and should have received updates.

Step 2 — Confirm the change was saved. Check the schedule, playlist, or layout to confirm your change was actually saved. It’s easy to navigate away from an edit without saving.

Step 3 — Force a sync. From the screen’s detail page, use the Force Sync or Refresh action (if available) to push a content update to the device. The device will re-download its current assignment on the next check-in.

Step 4 — Restart the device. A restart clears any cached state and forces a fresh content pull. Content should update within 1–2 minutes of the device coming back online.

Video stutters or drops frames

Common causes:

Bitrate too high — re-encode the video at a lower bitrate (5–12 Mbps for 1080p is sufficient)
Codec not hardware-decoded — use H.264/MP4, which is hardware-decoded on all Stratos players. Other codecs (H.265, VP9) may fall back to software decoding, which is slower
Multiple simultaneous video regions in a layout — complex multi-video layouts can exceed the device’s decoding capacity. Simplify the layout or use a higher-spec device
Storage I/O bottleneck — very large files being read from storage while simultaneously playing can cause stuttering. Prefer shorter, well-compressed video files

Pairing code not showing on screen

Check 1 — Is the correct HDMI input selected on the display? Most commercial displays default to a specific HDMI port. Ensure the display’s input source matches the port the player device is connected to.

Check 2 — Is the device fully booted? Player devices can take 1–3 minutes to fully boot and display the pairing code. Wait a moment if it was just powered on.

Check 3 — Is the device already paired? A paired device will display content (or the idle screen), not the pairing code. Unpair it from its current screen in Stratos first — the pairing code will reappear.

Check 4 — Try a different HDMI cable or port. HDMI cable failure or port issues can cause a blank display despite the device running normally.

Contacting OTS support

For issues not resolved by the above steps, open a support ticket from the Tickets tab in Stratos. Include:

Device ID — visible on the screen’s detail page
Screen name and workspace
What you’re seeing — exact symptoms, with screenshots if possible
What you’ve tried — steps already taken and their results
When it started — did it coincide with any network or content changes?

Providing this information upfront significantly speeds up diagnosis.