Yes, you can use IPTV on multiple devices. You can install it on as many TVs, phones and boxes as you like, and your plan decides how many of them can play at the same moment. On our service that number is 1, 2, 3 or 4, depending on the tier you pick.
So there are two numbers, and they're easy to mix up. The number of devices with the app installed doesn't matter. The number streaming right now does. Keep those apart and choosing a plan comes down to counting screens on a busy evening.
How do IPTV connections work?
A connection is one live stream from your account at one moment. Your login works on every device you set it up on, but the server counts how many streams are open at once. On a 2-device plan, two can play together. Open a third and it won't hold, however many apps are installed.
When your line is activated, we email one set of login details: an M3U link and Xtream Codes details. You enter the same details in the player app on each device, whether that's TiviMate on a Fire Stick, IPTV Smarters on a phone or the app on a Samsung or LG TV. They all log in to the same account, so you get the same channels and guide on every screen.
Nothing is counted until something plays. Here is what uses a connection and what doesn't.
| Situation | Uses a connection? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A live channel playing on a TV | Yes | It's an open stream |
| A movie or series from the on-demand library | Yes | On-demand playback is a stream too |
| A show played back from catch-up | Yes | Same as live, just from earlier |
| A TV left on a channel in an empty room | Yes | The server can't tell that nobody is watching |
| A phone on mobile data, away from home | Yes | It counts the same as a TV in your living room |
| The app installed but closed | No | Nothing is playing |
| Scrolling the TV guide | Usually no | Unless the app plays a small preview of the channel |
The empty-room row is the easy one to miss. Turning a TV off doesn't always stop the box behind it. A Fire Stick or Android box on its own power can keep playing to a dark screen, and it holds a connection the whole time. Stop the channel or close the app instead.
If you go over your limit, the extra stream may drop. Under our terms, running more streams than your plan allows again and again can lead to a temporary suspension. Install as widely as you like. Just don't play on more screens than you pay for.
Can I use my IPTV on multiple TVs?
Yes. Each TV needs a player app, either installed from the TV's own app store or running on a Fire Stick or Android box plugged into it. You enter the same login on each one. How many of those TVs can play at the same time depends on your tier: one, two, three or four.
Setting up the second TV is the same job as the first. IPTV can be used on most of the devices people already own, including Fire TV, Android boxes, Samsung, LG and Hisense smart TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, iPhones and Windows computers. You can mix them freely. A Fire Stick in the living room, the LG app in the bedroom and a phone can all run on one account. Our step-by-step setup guides for each device cover them one at a time.
Choosing a tier is mostly about people, not TVs. Here is who each one usually suits.
| Streams at once | Usually suits | 1 month | 12 months | 12 months, per screen per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 device | One TV, or one person | $19 | $79 | $6.58 |
| 2 devices | A couple, or a main TV plus a bedroom | $29 | $129 | $5.38 |
| 3 devices | A family with children | $39 | $179 | $4.97 |
| 4 devices | A large family or a shared house | $49 | $199 | $4.15 |
Can you use IPTV on 2 devices?
Yes, with a 2-device plan. It costs $29 for one month or $129 for 12 months, and lets two screens play different channels at the same time. A 1-device plan can be installed on two devices too, but only one of them can play at once, so it suits one person, not two.
Check whether that second case is you before paying for more. If you live alone and watch the TV at night and your phone at lunch, you're never watching both at once, so one connection covers you. The same goes for a cottage used by one person at a time. You can run IPTV on multiple devices all year on a 1-device plan, as long as they take turns.
Two people who want different channels at the same time is the case for the 2-device tier. A hockey game in the living room and a show in the bedroom is two streams, and a 1-device plan will only carry one of them.
Is one multi-device plan cheaper than separate subscriptions?
Yes, by a clear margin. Over 12 months, two 1-device plans cost $158 against $129 for one 2-device plan. Three cost $237 against $179, and four cost $316 against $199. The more screens you need at once, the less each one costs, so one plan for the whole household beats one plan per person.
| Screens at once | Separate 1-device plans | One multi-device plan | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 × $79 = $158 | $129 | $29 |
| 3 | 3 × $79 = $237 | $179 | $58 |
| 4 | 4 × $79 = $316 | $199 | $117 |
Monthly plans work the same way, just with smaller dollar gaps. Two 1-device months cost $38, and one 2-device month costs $29. The steps between tiers aren't even, either. On a 12-month plan, going from 1 to 2 devices adds $50, and from 3 to 4 adds $20.
That's arithmetic, not a reason to buy four. A stream nobody uses is money spent on nothing, so count first. You can compare every plan and device tier side by side, all in Canadian dollars, and none of them auto-renew.
How much internet do you need for IPTV on multiple TVs?
Add up the streams, then leave room for everything else. What we tell people on support: 8 Mbps per HD stream, 12 Mbps per Full HD stream and 25 Mbps per 4K stream, plus 15 to 20 Mbps headroom for the rest of the household. Three TVs in Full HD need about 36 Mbps before anyone opens a laptop.
| Screens at once | All HD 720p | All Full HD 1080p | All 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 to 28 Mbps | 27 to 32 Mbps | 40 to 45 Mbps |
| 2 | 31 to 36 Mbps | 39 to 44 Mbps | 65 to 70 Mbps |
| 3 | 39 to 44 Mbps | 51 to 56 Mbps | 90 to 95 Mbps |
| 4 | 47 to 52 Mbps | 63 to 68 Mbps | 115 to 120 Mbps |
Look at the bottom row. Four TVs in 4K need 115 to 120 Mbps, while four in Full HD need 63 to 68. Our view is that 4K is oversold for live TV. On a 55-inch screen at normal living-room distance, most people can't reliably tell the two apart on a moving hockey feed, but everyone notices a freeze. If your line is marginal, set the extra TVs to Full HD and stop worrying about it.
Speed is rarely what runs out first, though. The single most common cause of the "your service is buffering" messages we get is a box on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi in a dense building. The speed test looks fine, 300 or 500 Mbps, because speed was never the problem. Consistency was. An Ethernet cable fixes it more often than anything else we suggest, so with several TVs on Wi-Fi, start with the one furthest from the router.
The ITU's quality recommendation for multimedia, ITU-T G.1010, treats delay and delay variation as separate measures from how much data gets through, which is why a fast line can still stutter. Connection quality also varies a lot across Canada, as CIRA Internet Performance Test data shows. Our guide to the internet speed IPTV needs in Canada covers latency by provider and how to test your own line.
Which IPTV services offer the most connections?
The provider with the most connections isn't automatically the best pick. What matters is that the number is written down. Look for a plan that says exactly how many streams can play at once and what happens if you go over. Ours go up to four on one subscription, and every plan page states the count.
Be careful with "unlimited devices" and no further detail. Ask whether that means unlimited installs or unlimited streams, because they're very different promises. These are the questions worth asking any IPTV service that offers multiple devices, with our own answers.
| Question | Why it matters | Our answer |
|---|---|---|
| How many streams can play at once? | This is the real limit | 1, 2, 3 or 4, by tier |
| Can I install on more devices than that? | Every TV can be ready to go | Yes, as many as you like |
| What happens if I go over? | Tells you how the limit is enforced | The extra stream may drop, and repeated overuse can mean a temporary suspension |
| Can I share my login with another household? | Avoids a surprise later | No. Your login is personal to you, and sharing it breaches our terms |
| What if I need more than four? | So you're not stuck at the top tier | Ask us in the live chat before you buy |
Ask before you pay, not after. Our live chat answers questions from people who haven't bought anything yet, in English or French, and that's a fair test of any provider.
Who shouldn't pay for extra connections
If you're the only person who watches, don't buy more than one device, however many screens you own. You can only watch one thing at a time. The same goes for a household of three where two people never watch at the same moment. Count the screens that actually run together on a Saturday evening, not the TVs in the house.
And if your only internet is rural fixed LTE, more streams make things worse, not better. On those lines we see latency of 35 to 80 ms with high jitter, against 8 to 15 ms on Telus PureFibre. These are ranges we observe, not a lab benchmark. One live game can stutter on that kind of line, and a second stream at the same time adds to the load. Start with one, test it during a game, and if live sport is what you care about most, cable or satellite may suit you better.
Test the TV that's most likely to struggle. The free trial needs no card and runs on the same servers as the paid service, so put it on the screen furthest from your router and watch a game. If it holds up there, Wi-Fi isn't your weak spot. Every plan then comes with a 7-day refund window, and the 2-device yearly plan is $129.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use IPTV on multiple devices?
Yes. You can install IPTV on as many TVs, phones, tablets and streaming boxes as you like using the same login. The limit is on how many play at the same moment, and that depends on your plan. With us it's 1, 2, 3 or 4 streams at once, chosen when you buy.
How do IPTV connections work?
Each connection is one stream playing from your account. The server counts open streams, not installed apps, so a closed app uses nothing while a TV left playing in an empty room uses one. Live channels, on-demand movies and catch-up all count the same way. When every connection is busy, an extra stream won't hold.
Can I watch IPTV on multiple TVs?
Yes. Put a player app on each TV, either from the TV's own app store or on a Fire Stick or Android box, and enter the same login. Every TV can then use the service, and as many as your plan allows can play at once. Two TVs watching different channels need at least the 2-device tier.
Can you use IPTV on 2 devices?
Yes. A 1-device plan works on two devices if only one plays at a time, which suits one person with a TV and a phone. If two people want to watch at the same time, take the 2-device plan: $29 for a month or $129 for a year, which is $29 less than two separate yearly plans.
How does IPTV subscription work on more than one device?
You get one set of login details when your line is activated, and you enter them on every device you want to use. All of them share the same channels, guide and catch-up. Your tier sets how many can stream together, and installing on extra devices costs nothing as long as you stay within that number.
Which IPTV service offers the most connections?
Look past the biggest number. A good plan states exactly how many streams can play at once, lets you install on as many devices as you like and says in writing what happens if you go over. Ours offer 1 to 4 simultaneous streams on one subscription. If you need more than four, ask in the live chat.