There’s nothing worse than settling down to watch a big UEFA Champions League game on a Tuesday or Wednesday night only to find that your BT Sport App is being unresponsive. It’s an issue that many people up and down the country have faced and one that has become an even bigger issue over the past 18 months as people have turned to technology more than ever for entertainment.
Luckily, the issue isn’t typically a complex one and you can usually get to the root of the problem in just a couple of minutes. This article will look at the most common causes of the issue and explain in simple terms how to get around it.
BT Sport App won’t open – The quick fix
In most cases, the issue can be resolved by fixing your Wi-Fi connection or updating the app on your phone. You can also try completely deleting the app and re-installing it, but before that, try just closing the app down first.
On an IOS device, or Android for that matter, simply swipe up from the bottom of your home screen then swipe up on the app to close it down. Now try re-loading the BT Sport App again and hopefully this time it should be working like a dream. That’s right, the classic ‘turn it off and turn it on again’ is the most common fix for this problem.
The first thing you tend to do when the BT Sport app fails to load is to keep trying over and over again in the hope that something magically happens. This is unlikely to help your cause, so instead you need to make sure that you close down the app completely, as opposed to just clicking off it and trying again.
Unfortunately, there are other reasons why the BT Sport App might not be running as it should and, therefore, different ways to fix the problem. Let’s go through them.
Delete and re-install
Sometimes, closing down the BT Sport app and restarting it from scratch isn’t enough to ‘reset’ the App, in which case you’ll need to uninstall the app and then re-download it again. This is, of course, slightly more time consuming but at least it will get you back online.
To delete an app from an IOS device then hold down on the app Icon on your home screen and click ‘remove app’. Then head over to the App Store and re-download it again. Luckily, it will still be saved in your cloud so the re-download will be quicker than the original download. See the pictures below for visual instructions.


Check your internet connection
From one simple solution to another; sometimes your internet connection, or lack of, can be the cause. If your Wi-Fi signal is weak, then it can be worth moving closer to your router to try and get a stronger signal.
The BT Sport App is pretty un-usable unless you have an internet connection given that the majority of its content is live. The app usually informs you if you aren’t connected to the internet and directs you to the following fix yourself, but just in case it doesn’t then:
- If connecting via Wi-Fi then check that you are connected to your Wi-Fi by going on to the settings section of your IOS device and making sure the Wi-Fi slide bar is clicked on (it will be showing as green for on and grey for off.)
- If you are connecting via mobile data then check that you a) have data left to use and then b) check that the data slide bar is clicked on (it will be showing as green for on and grey for off.) To watch via mobile data you will also need to make sure that ‘Enable Mobile Streaming’ is set to ‘on’ within the BT Sport App.
If you are connected to the internet and the BT Sport app still isn’t loading then at least you can rule out connectivity as the reason for the problem.



Make sure the App is updated
Frequently, BT Sport will update their app to improve their service. This may result in functionality issues if you are still trying to run the app on the previous version. You can set apps to automatically update on an IOS device by following these instructions:
- Open the Settings App.
- Tap ‘App Store’.
- Make sure ‘App updates’ is ticked to green underneath ‘Automatic downloads’.


Conclusion
The BT Sport app is one of the best apps for live TV in the UK. It’s clear to see that the main reasons behind the BT Sport App not working are usually fairly straightforward and easy-to-solve. Next time you encounter the problem make sure to follow the steps that we’ve outlined above.
However, if none of these fixes work then it’s perhaps time to contact BT Sport directly. They have a dedicated technical support team that can be contacted via telephone if you are dealing with specific error codes or messages on the BT Sport app.