/ How to

How To Use Kodi with Android: Enjoying Media with Kodi

Kodi is an open-source media center software that allows you to organize and play your digital media collection on various devices. With Kodi, you can easily access your movies, TV shows, music, photos, and more from a unified interface.

Installing Kodi on Android Devices

Kodi can be easily installed on Android phones, tablets, TV boxes, etc.

Using the Google Play Store

For most Android devices that have access to the Play Store:

  • Open the Play Store app
  • Search for “Kodi”
  • Tap on the Kodi app by the XBMC Foundation
  • Tap install

The app will download and install just like any other app.

Sideloading the APK

If your Android device does not have access to the Play Store, you can install Kodi by sideloading the APK file:

  • Go to kodi.tv/download on your Android device
  • Choose the appropriate APK file (ARM or x86 architecture)
  • Download the APK file
  • Open your file manager
  • Navigate to downloads and tap on the kodi-***.apk file
  • Tap install

This will install Kodi without needing the Play Store.

Setting up Kodi on First Launch

When you first launch Kodi after installing, you will be greeted with the default home screen. Here are some things you should do on first launch:

Change Skin (Appearance)

Kodi allows full customization of its appearance using skins. To change the skin:

  • Go to Settings > Interface settings > Skin
  • Choose from the list of available skins

Some popular Kodi skins worth trying are Arctic Zephyr, Titan, Aeon Nox.

Enable Unknown Sources

To install third-party Kodi addons, you need to enable “Unknown Sources”:

  • Go to Settings > System > Add-ons
  • Enable “Unknown Sources”

Now you can install addons from outside the official Kodi repository.

Adding Media Sources

To play your media files on Kodi, you first need to add media sources that point to your files:

  • Go to Settings > Media > Videos/Music/Pictures
  • Click Add videos/Add music/Add pictures
  • Browse and select the folder where your media files are located
  • Give the media source a name
  • Click OK

Kodi will now scan the folders for media and add them to your library.

Installing Addons

The real power of Kodi comes from its addons that allow you to stream online content and add more functionality:

Official Kodi Repository

  • Go to Add-ons > Download
  • Browse and install addons of your choice

Some great official addons include YouTube, Spotify, PVR IPTV Simple Client.

Third Party Repositories

You can install many more addons from third party repositories:

  • Install a repository addon like Fusion
  • Go to Install from repository > [Repository name]
  • Browse and install addons from this repository

Popular third party Kodi repositories include Fusion, Kodi Nerds Repo, XvBMC Repo.

Useful Kodi Tips and Tricks

Here are some useful Kodi tips and tricks to further enhance your experience:

  • Use custom keyboard shortcuts for easier navigation
  • Change default action on double click and long press
  • Enable or disable information bar when media is playing
  • Adjust cache settings to increase buffering performance
  • Create a MySQL database to have a centralized media library
  • Setup PVR and use Kodi as a DVR for live TV

Conclusion

Kodi is an extremely versatile media center that can organize and play all your movies, shows, music, and more on any Android device. With its highly customizable interface, ability to install addons and tweaks, Kodi provides a unified media experience across all your devices.

Related Posts