Common kiosk display issues
What to check first when your display looks wrong, seems stuck, or won't update — and when the kiosk camera won't start or the Preview on Live Session Control Panel won't show a picture.
A new or edited slide isn't showing up
Slide changes need the display to refresh once to pick them up. Refresh the browser tab or app your kiosk is running, and the change should appear.
A theme or layout change isn't showing up
Theme changes and layout settings (like showing or hiding the clock) check for updates automatically roughly every 30 seconds — give it a moment before assuming something's wrong. If it's been longer than that, refresh the display.
Prayer times or the date look stale
Your display keeps running on the last prayer times and date it successfully loaded if it briefly loses its connection — so a short internet blip shouldn't cause a visible problem. If it's been showing the same, clearly outdated information for a while, check the device's internet connection first, then refresh.
Blank or black screen
Check that the device is powered on and its screen hasn't gone to sleep. If the device itself is fine, refresh the browser tab or app.
"Could not access the camera — check permissions and connections"
You see this on the Display tab of Mosque Admin Dashboard, under Kiosk camera, after tapping Detect cameras on this machine. A short hint follows it — for example that the camera may be in use by another app, that camera permission is blocked for this site, or that no camera was detected. Check these on the kiosk PC, in order:
- Another app is using the camera. Only one application can open a camera at a time. Close OBS, Zoom, Teams, the Windows Camera app and any other browser tab or window that might have it. If OBS needs to show the kiosk, use Window Capture of the kiosk's window rather than having OBS open the camera.
- The browser is blocking the camera. Click the lock or camera icon in the address bar, set Camera to Allow, and reload. Do this for the page you're on, and for the kiosk's own address (yourmosque.awqot.app) too — permission is remembered per address.
- Windows camera privacy settings. In Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Camera (on Windows 10: Settings → Privacy → Camera), make sure camera access is on and that desktop apps — which includes your browser — are allowed to use it.
- The connection. Check that the USB camera or HDMI capture card is firmly plugged in, try a different USB port, and confirm the Windows Camera app can see it. A CCTV feed only works through a capture card; IP and RTSP streams aren't supported.
When the camera opens, tap Detect cameras on this machine again, pick it from the list and tap Save. The full setup is in Running a Friday khutbah with Live Session.
The Preview says "Connecting camera…" or won't show a picture
The camera picture in the Preview on Live Session Control Panel (awqot.app/present) is a snapshot the kiosk sends roughly every 30 seconds, not live video. It reads Connecting camera… until the first snapshot arrives, which normally takes a few seconds after Start Camera.
- Keep the page on screen. The Preview only refreshes while the Live Session Control Panel tab is visible. If the tab is in the background, the window is minimised or covered, or the device's screen is locked, the picture can lag behind or stay on Connecting camera…. Bring the tab back to the front and it normally catches up on its own within a moment; if it doesn't, reload the page.
- Use a second device if the kiosk PC is also your controller. If Live Session Control Panel runs in a tab on the same PC as the kiosk display, that tab is hidden whenever the kiosk is in front. Open awqot.app/present on a phone, tablet or another computer instead and keep the kiosk PC for the display only.
- Check the kiosk. If the badge says Camera picture unavailable or Camera feed stale, the kiosk hasn't sent a new snapshot for a while. Check that the kiosk PC is online and that the kiosk itself is showing the camera — if it isn't, see the camera checklist above.
The display went back to normal during a live session
A live session ends on its own after an hour and a half with no tap, at the next adzan (not Zohor on a Friday), or when it reaches its time limit (45 minutes for a khutbah, 2½ hours for anything else). The kiosk then returns to its normal display, and the picker on Live Session Control Panel says why. See Understanding Live Session Mode.
Still not right after refreshing
If a refresh doesn't fix it, get in touch — include your mosque's subdomain and roughly when you first noticed the issue, and we'll take a look.
Still stuck?
Tell us what you're seeing and we'll help track it down.