Update a Player
Use Settings > Player updates to choose and deploy a verified Android, Linux, Tilecast Edge, or Windows release. Updating a release does not update Tilecast Server, Docker, or the host operating system.
Prepare the release
Section titled “Prepare the release”- Open Settings > Player updates in Studio.
- Select Android, Linux, Tilecast Edge, or Windows.
- If you need a GitHub release that is not listed yet, select Sync from GitHub. Only an Owner can synchronize releases. A Tilecast release holds the Player platforms built for one version. A Stable release includes Windows, and a Beta may leave it out. Beta releases are marked as the Beta channel. A screen on a Beta can update to the next Beta or to Stable.
- Select Download beside the release. Wait until its status is Ready to deploy. Only a cached and verified release can be deployed.
Deploy to screens
Section titled “Deploy to screens”- Under New deployment, choose the verified release.
- Choose Download only to stage the release without installing it, Download and request installation to ask the Player to install it as soon as it can, or Maintenance window to install it at or after the selected local time on each screen.
- Select the target screens or Display Groups. The targets must use the same Player platform as the release.
- If you choose a canary rollout, select the canary count. Set Canary screens to
0to send the update to all selected targets at once. - Select Deploy update and confirm the deployment.
An offline screen receives the update after it reconnects. Use Deployment history to check each screen. Cancelling a deployment stops screens that have not finished; it does not roll back screens that already updated.
What a canary rollout does
Section titled “What a canary rollout does”Canary screens are the only targets released at first. The remaining targets stay held until every canary has either updated successfully or was already on that release. Tilecast then releases the held targets automatically.
The rollout pauses instead of continuing when a canary reports an update failure. It also pauses when a canary enters safe mode or remains in the installing or reconnecting state for ten minutes. Review the failed screen and the pause reason in Deployment history before continuing or replacing the deployment. A bad canary never automatically releases the held screens.
Canary selection does not change platform compatibility. A release still targets only its Player family and, for architecture-specific Edge and Windows releases, the matching architecture.
What to expect on each platform
Section titled “What to expect on each platform”The Player downloads and verifies the APK. Android may require the install permission on the Player and may show a local install confirmation. The first-time checklist includes Allow signed Player updates.
The managed AppImage downloads and verifies the release, replaces the running file, and restarts. If the Player restarts while it waits for a maintenance window, it resumes the staged install when the window starts. The AppImage and its parent directory must be writable by the kiosk account. Use the server-provided Linux installation to create the supported managed setup.
The screen downloads and verifies the release, installs it beside the current release, and restarts into it. It confirms the update after it reconnects and shows content for two minutes. If it can’t, it returns to its previous release on its own and the deployment shows the screen as failed. See Update Tilecast Edge.
Once a signed Windows release is published, the Player downloads its package from the paired server, verifies the release signature and the Windows publisher identity, installs the package, and restarts into the new version. It stays on its own architecture: an ARM64 screen never installs an x64 package. The PC must trust the Windows publisher certificate; see Windows installation and update troubleshooting.
If an Android TV is waiting for someone to approve the install, complete the prompt on that TV. If a Linux update fails, confirm that Tilecast Player is running from the installed AppImage and that the kiosk account can write to its file and directory.