How to add an M3U playlist to Kanalo

An M3U (or M3U8 — the UTF-8 variant, which is what most modern IPTV services use) is a plain-text file that lists a set of streams and their metadata: channel name, group, logo, and where the video actually lives.

IPTV providers usually hand you a URL that returns this file. That URL is what you paste into Kanalo — Kanalo fetches it, parses it, and shows what's inside. Kanalo does not host or distribute M3U playlists itself.

Your provider will typically give you a URL that looks something like http://provider.example.com:8080/get.php?username=YOU&password=YOUR_PASSWORD&type=m3u_plus&output=m3u8. It might come by email, or from a member area on their website.

Copy the entire URL. If your provider offers both an M3U link and Xtream Codes credentials (host + username + password), either works — Xtream Codes usually gives Kanalo a richer library, with categorised movies and series.

Open Kanalo on your iPhone or iPad. On first launch you'll see an add-source screen; if you're already past that, open Settings → Sources → Add source.

Pick 'M3U URL', paste the URL you copied, and give the source a name you'll recognise later ('Living room provider', 'Work-safe list', etc.). Tap Save. Kanalo will fetch the playlist and drop you on the Live tab once it's loaded.

The first load can take a few seconds for very long playlists — some providers ship thousands of channels. After that, Kanalo caches everything locally so subsequent launches are instant.

Providers tag each channel with a group — country, genre, sport, and so on. Kanalo turns those tags into a sidebar (on iPad) and a category grid (on iPhone) so you can jump straight to the section you care about.

If a channel isn't in a group, Kanalo puts it under 'All'. You can favourite anything to bring it to the top of the list without touching the underlying playlist.

If your provider gives you a separate XMLTV EPG URL, add it in the same Sources screen. Kanalo will then show what's on now and next per channel, with a live progress bar. EPG is part of the Pro upgrade.

The playlist is empty: double-check the URL by pasting it in a browser — you should see a lot of #EXTINF lines. If not, your provider link may be expired.

Channels don't play: check with your provider first. Kanalo just plays what your source returns — if the stream is offline for that channel, no player will help.

The list keeps reloading: some providers rate-limit heavy requests. Wait a minute and try again.