Export and import a channel list with USB
How to save your TV's channel list to a USB stick, find the file, and load the edited list back onto the TV.
The TV can write its whole channel list to a USB stick as a single zip file. You edit that file in the editor and load it back the same way. The whole round trip takes about ten minutes.
Keep a backup. Before you edit anything, copy the original zip to a safe folder on your computer or phone. If the new list is not what you wanted, you can import the original again.
1. Prepare the USB stick
- Use a stick formatted as FAT32. exFAT also works on most models. If the TV does not see the stick, reformat it as FAT32.
- Any size is fine. The channel list is well under 1 MB.
- The TV writes the file to the top level of the stick (the root), and it only looks for it there. Do not move it into a folder.
2. Export from the TV
- Plug the stick into a USB port on the TV.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Broadcasting, then Expert Settings.
- Choose Transfer Channel List. The TV asks for your PIN. If you never changed it, the default is
0000. - Choose Export to USB and wait for the confirmation.
Menu names change between model years. The wording above is from recent Tizen models. Other paths we know of:
- Newer models with the full-screen home menu: Menu → Settings → All Settings → Broadcasting → Expert Settings → Transfer Channel List
- Some older models: Menu → Broadcasting → Channel Settings → Transfer Channel List
If your TV shows neither, look for “Transfer Channel List” under the broadcasting or channel settings. If the option is greyed out, switch the source to live TV first and try again.
3. Find the file
Plug the stick into your computer. At the top level you will see a file named like this:
Channel_list_T-MSLDEUC-1500.9.zip
The middle part depends on your TV model, so yours will differ. That is the file to open in the editor.
- Do not unzip it. The editor reads the zip as it is.
- Do not rename it. The TV checks the name when you import.
- On a phone or tablet, connect the stick with a USB adapter and open the editor in the browser. Pick the file from the stick in the Files app.
4. Import the edited list
- Download the edited file from the editor. It has the same name as the original.
- Copy it to the top level of the stick and replace the old file. Keep your backup elsewhere.
- Plug the stick into the TV.
- Open Settings → Broadcasting → Expert Settings → Transfer Channel List and enter your PIN.
- Choose Import from USB and confirm.
- The TV restarts. When it comes back, the new list is active.
Troubleshooting
The exact wording of TV messages differs by model. Match them by meaning.
The TV does not find the file
- The zip is inside a folder. Move it to the top level of the stick.
- The zip was unpacked. The TV needs the zip itself, not the files inside it.
- The file was renamed. Browsers add “ (1)” when a file with the same name is already in the download folder. Remove that part so the name matches the original exactly.
- The stick uses a format the TV cannot read. Reformat it as FAT32.
The TV rejects the file as invalid or reports a wrong country
The list comes from a different TV model or from a TV set to another country. A list only loads on the model, and with the country setting, it was exported from. Use the export from your own TV.
No signal on the channels after import
The list was made on a different installation: another dish, another satellite setup or another cable network. The channel entries are there, but they point to frequencies your installation does not receive. Import your backup, or run a channel scan and export again.
You are on a Mac
- Safari can unpack downloads automatically. Turn off “Open safe files after downloading” in Safari settings, or the zip becomes a folder.
- Do not re-compress the folder with Finder. Finder adds a
__MACOSXfolder and puts everything one level deeper, and the TV rejects that. Download the file again from the editor instead.
The new order does not stick
Some operators push their own channel order to the TV. If the TV re-sorts the list after a while, turn off automatic channel updates in the broadcasting settings and import again.