Flickhaven IPTV UK
TiviMate Review UK 2026
TiviMate is the strongest IPTV player on Firestick and Android TV, and the reason is the electronic programme guide: it is faster and more reliable than any free rival. The free tier covers one playlist and basic playback; Premium adds recording, multiple playlists and catch-up. It does not run on iOS or Samsung and LG televisions. This review scores it against IPTV Smarters Pro and the free alternatives on guide quality, stability and cost.
By Ryan Fernandez, PhD · Last updated
TiviMate
9.3/10
Verdict: TiviMate is the best IPTV app for Firestick and Android TV boxes in the UK. Its EPG is perfectly formatted for BBC, ITV, live sports, and Premier League schedules, and 4K playback is the smoothest of any IPTV app we've tested. On a budget Google TV dongle it installs from the Play Store in one tap — our TiviMate on the Onn 4K Plus setup walks through it.
Recommended for: Firestick users, Android TV, anyone who watches live UK sports
TiviMate has become the go-to IPTV player for UK Firestick users — and for good reason. Since its release, it has consistently outperformed every other IPTV app on Android-based devices in terms of interface quality, EPG accuracy, and playback stability.
In this review, we test TiviMate with Flickhaven IPTV on a Firestick 4K Max to give UK viewers an honest assessment of whether TiviMate Premium is worth the £4/year cost. New to IPTV? See our what IPTV is and how it works before diving into the app review.
TiviMate Scores
EPG / TV Guide
Video Quality / 4K
Ease of Setup
Interface / Design
Catch-Up TV
Multi-Screen
Value for Money
Stability
EPG (TV Guide) — The Best in Class
TiviMate's EPG is the standout feature for UK viewers. It displays a full 7-day guide in a familiar grid layout — similar to a satellite TV guide — showing programme names, times, and descriptions for all UK channels including BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, live sports channels, the UK's second pay-TV sports broadcaster, and Premier League TV.
Flickhaven's EPG data loads fully within 2–3 minutes of setup and refreshes automatically. You can also set reminders and record programmes with TiviMate Premium.
4K Playback Performance
On a Firestick 4K Max with a 50 Mbps broadband connection, TiviMate delivered flawless 4K UHD playback on Flickhaven's 4K channels. Using the ExoPlayer engine (recommended in settings), streams loaded in under 3 seconds, and it held a stream steadily through a 90-minute Premier League match on a wired connection.
For best 4K performance: go to TiviMate Settings → Player → select ExoPlayer as your default player.
TiviMate Free vs Premium — Is Premium Worth It?
Free Version
- ✓Unlimited channels
- ✓EPG TV guide
- ✓VOD support
- ✓Xtream Codes login
- ✓Basic player settings
Premium (£4/year)
- ✓Everything in Free
- ✓Record programmes to USB
- ✓Multiple playlists
- ✓Panel layout (4 channels at once)
- ✓Auto-update EPG
- ✓Advanced parental controls
- ✓Backup & restore settings
At £4/year, TiviMate Premium is one of the best value purchases in UK streaming. The recording feature alone — letting you record Premier League matches to a USB drive — makes it worthwhile for sports fans.
TiviMate vs IPTV Smarters Pro
| Feature | TiviMate | IPTV Smarters Pro |
|---|---|---|
| EPG Quality | Excellent | Good |
| 4K Playback | Excellent | Good |
| iOS Support | No | Yes |
| Windows Support | No | Yes |
| Recording | Yes (Premium) | No |
| Price | Free / £4/yr | Free |
| UI Design | Excellent | Good |
| Firestick Performance | Excellent | Good |
Use TiviMate if you watch on Firestick or Android TV. Use IPTV Smarters Pro if you need iOS support or watch on multiple device types — see our IPTV iPhone & iPad setup guide for full iOS instructions. Read our full IPTV Smarters Pro review.
How to Set Up TiviMate with Flickhaven
See our complete step-by-step guide: How to Install IPTV on Firestick UK.
- 1Install TiviMate via the Downloader app on your Firestick.
- 2Open TiviMate and tap Add Playlist → Xtream Codes API.
- 3Enter your Flickhaven Server URL, Username, and Password.
- 4Tap Add — channels and EPG load automatically.
- 5Go to Settings → Player → select ExoPlayer for best 4K performance.
Living with TiviMate Day to Day
The things that make TiviMate pleasant after the first week are not on any feature list. Channel groups can be reordered and hidden, so the dozens of categories in a large playlist collapse to the five or six you actually watch. Favourites live in their own group at the top, and the guide scrolls with the remote's direction keys, accelerating when held.
Catch-up is where the app earns its reputation: channels with archive data show a marker in the guide, and scrolling backwards lets you start a programme that has already aired. Our guide to how 7-day catch-up works on UK IPTV explains what the provider has to send for this to appear.
Troubleshooting TiviMate
Playlist will not load or says the server is unreachable
Check the server URL character by character, including http:// and the port number. Credentials are case-sensitive. If you pasted them from WhatsApp, a trailing space is the usual culprit.
Guide is empty after the channels have loaded
The EPG downloads separately from the channel list and can take a few minutes on first run. Go to Settings → EPG and trigger an update; if it stays empty, confirm the EPG source is set to the one your provider supplies.
Picture stutters or audio drifts out of sync
Switch the decoder in Settings → Player from hardware to software, or the other way, and test the same channel again. If the drift is on one channel only, it is the stream, not the app — our audio-sync fix guide covers the rest.
Channels buffer at the same time every evening
That pattern points at your connection, not TiviMate: a wired Ethernet adapter on the Firestick removes most of it. The buffering guide below walks through the checks in order.
For the connection side, see the IPTV buffering fix guide and the audio out of sync fix.
Should You Pay for Premium? What to Test First
Pay if you record, if you keep more than one playlist, or if you want the four-channel panel on a sports weekend. Do not pay if you watch live UK channels with the guide and nothing else; the free tier does that job in full, and you can add the licence later without reinstalling.
Use the free 24-hour trial to settle it. Add the playlist in the free tier, open the guide at the time you normally watch, and check three things: that the EPG matches what is on screen, that a 4K channel holds steady for a full programme, and that the catch-up marker appears on the channels you care about. If all three pass, the only question left is whether the Premium features are ones you will use.
TiviMate — Frequently Asked Questions
How much does TiviMate cost in the UK?+
TiviMate itself is free to install. TiviMate Premium — recording, multiple playlists, the multi-channel panel and auto EPG refresh — is about £4 a year for up to five devices, bought through the TiviMate Companion app on an Android phone and activated on the TV by signing in with the same account. There is no monthly fee and no charge for the channels themselves, which come from your IPTV subscription.
Is TiviMate safe to use?+
Yes, as an app. TiviMate is a player published on the Google Play Store; it contains no channels of its own and only plays the playlist or Xtream Codes login you give it. What you watch through it is a matter of the IPTV service you subscribe to, not the app — see our guide to what makes an IPTV service legal in the UK.
Is TiviMate available in the UK, and on which devices?+
Yes. TiviMate runs on Android TV and Google TV devices — Firestick (sideloaded, or from the Amazon Appstore on newer models), Onn 4K, Chromecast with Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Xiaomi boxes and Android TV sets — and on Android phones. It is not available for iPhone, iPad, Samsung Tizen or LG webOS; on those, IPTV Smarters Pro, GSE Smart IPTV or SS IPTV are the alternatives.
Does TiviMate have add-ons like Kodi?+
No. TiviMate is a closed player with no add-on system, which is a large part of why it is so stable. Everything it does — EPG, catch-up, recording, favourites, parental control — is built in, and the Premium features are unlocked with the licence rather than installed separately. If you are looking for add-ons, you are thinking of Kodi, which we cover in its own guide.
Is TiviMate Premium a subscription or a one-off payment?+
A yearly licence, billed through the TiviMate Companion app at around £4 and covering up to five devices. If you let it lapse, the free tier keeps working indefinitely — you lose recording, the extra playlists and the panel view, not the app or your channel list.
Does TiviMate support catch-up TV?+
Yes, when the provider sends catch-up data with the playlist. Channels that offer it show a small archive marker in the guide, and you scroll the EPG backwards to pick the programme you missed. With Flickhaven's EPG and 7-day catch-up the marker appears on the main UK channels; if it is missing everywhere, the playlist was added without catch-up enabled rather than the app lacking the feature.
Why is my TiviMate guide an hour out?+
Almost always the time offset, and it usually appears in the week the clocks change. Go to Settings → EPG and check the time-offset value; set it back to zero if it has been nudged, and make sure the Firestick's own time zone is set to London. The stream itself is live either way — only the labels are wrong.
Can I use TiviMate with two IPTV providers at once?+
Only with Premium, which allows multiple playlists and lets you switch between them from the side menu. The free tier holds one playlist. If you are running a trial alongside an existing subscription, that is the one situation where the licence pays for itself in the first week.
Try TiviMate with Flickhaven Free
Start your free 24-hour Flickhaven trial and set up TiviMate on your Firestick in under 5 minutes.
More on the basics: what IPTV costs in the UK · our provider comparison · try it free for 24 hours.