Kodi Not Working. Causes, Solutions, Alternatives

Do you want to know why? Kodi not working and what could be the causes? The solution is often easier than you think. In this article, we will show you how to fix Kodi problems including freezing, crashing, storage buffering and video playback.

It's always annoying when Kodi runs into a problem, especially since it can be difficult to find the root cause of a problem on your own. While the most common advice is to "Check Kodi logs"This is not always helpful as the registries are designed with experts in mind.

The good news is that most Kodi issues can usually be fixed in just a few minutes. This guide will help you troubleshoot and resolve some of the most commonly encountered Kodi problems.

Kodi not working: Common types of problems

The types of Kodi problems you may encounter include:

1. 1. Kodi crashes when loading
   2. Plugins will not be removed
   3. Problems with acceleration hardware
   4. Kodi Buffering Issues
   5. Video stuttering
   6. Black screen or blank screen
   7. Kodi freezes during playback
   8. Kodi search not working on addons
   9. Stuttering in HD and 4K streams

We will provide you with guidance, direction, and information on common issues you might face when using Kodi. It is important to note that third-party add-ons are less stable than official ones. They are notoriously unreliable and often come with their own issues.

Here you can read about: Kodi On Xbox 360 Start Here: Movies, TV & Entertainment

Additionally, third-party plugins often use unlicensed sources. For these reasons, we recommend that you only use official plugins and look for appropriately licensed content whenever possible.

Warning: Kodi should only be used for content that you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocate the use of Kodi for piracy.

What are some of the most common Kodi problems?

Kodi is one of the most popular media center software packages portable and can be installed on a wide range of devices including Roku, Apple TV and Nvidia ShieldHowever, while Kodi works similarly across all platforms, each device has different system resources, user profile folders, and subroutines. This can make troubleshooting Kodi difficult.

For example, you may have issues when trying to repair Kodi on your Firestick that never occur on the older version. Android of the software. For this reason, while the following solutions work in most cases, they cannot be guaranteed to address the root cause of an issue on all Kodi installations.

Solution 1: Kodi not working, freezing or pausing

If Kodi is not working, crashing, or freezing constantly, it is a sure sign that something has gone wrong. First, you need to consider when this problem started and what were the actions just before it started.

• Solution 1: If the problem started after installing a particular plugin, try uninstalling it and see if the problem persists.
• Solution 2: Similarly, if you've just installed an add-on update or custom Kodi build, you may want to uninstall it to eliminate it as a possible cause.

Please note that some older add-ons may not have been updated to work with Kodi 19; if you haven't used Kodi in a while, it may be better to start fresh rather than manually reinstalling every add-on you've ever used.

Solution 2: Kodi not working due to disabling hardware acceleration

Hardware acceleration is one of the main causes of Kodi crashes, particularly on Android. You can try disabling this option to see if the problem goes away. Doing this is simple:

• Step 1:: On the Kodi main screen, click on the gear icon to go to the settings menu.

• Step 2:: Next, haz click on Player settings.
• Step 3:: At the bottom of the page, you will find another gear iconwith the word "Basic" beside.
• Step 4:: Click on this three times and it should change to “Expert«.
• Step 5:: Now highlight the tab Video, scroll down to the bottom of the list on the right and disable the option Enable hardware acceleration – DXVA2.
• Step 6:: Restart Kodi and see if the crash persists.

Clear Cache if Kodi is not working

When Kodi plays streaming videos, it downloads a few seconds at a time into the cache. This allows for faster access and smoother streaming. However, when the cache fills up completely, it can cause Kodi to behave erratically.

Choppy video is a telltale sign that your cache is getting full, and while the cache usually clears itself, sometimes you need to clear it manually. Kodi doesn't have any built-in tool that allows you to do this. To fix it do this:

• Step 1:: you will need to install the plugin Indigo from the repository TVAddons.
• Step 2:: Once installed, click on the tab Tools of maintenance.
• Step 3:: then on the button Clear cache on the right.

Reinstall the app if Kodi is not working

If the steps above have not resolved your issue, you may need to consider a fresh install of Kodi. You can do this manually by downloading your preferred version of https://kodi.tv/download or using the option Factory Restore of the Indigo tool, which is located in the tab maintenance tools.

Solution 3: Kodi not working and streams not playing at all

There are three main reasons why a stream might not load. Let's look at them:

• First, you need to make sure you are connected to the Internet. This is pretty simple: without Internet access, you cannot watch videos hosted online.
• The plugin may no longer work. Unfortunately, development teams come and go all the time. There, often due to the threat of legal action.
  • In cases like these, you won't be able to install new add-ons from the repository in question, and add-ons you already have may become unstable or refuse to work.
• Most commonly, this error occurs when you try to access a region-locked service from outside the required country.
  • E.g.: if you are trying to use the plugin iPlayer WWW from outside your country of residence, streams will not load.
  • You can avoid these restrictions by connecting to a server VPN in the appropriate region before starting the plugin.

Solution 4: Kodi not working, crashing and restarting continuously

There are a few reasons why Kodi might get stuck in a crash/reboot loop. If you installed any custom builds recently, they are likely to blame and should be removed with the Indigo toolIf this does not solve your problem, try disconnecting your computer from the Internet.

The reason this continues is because the dependence on URL Resolver often causes problems and if Kodi does not have access to the Internet, this service cannot do its job. If this stops your blocking problem, try the following:

• Step 1:: update it by clicking on the icon de adjustments on the Kodi main screen, then on System settings.
• Step 2:: Next, scroll down to the tab Accessories and click Managing dependencies.
• Step 3:: Click URLResolver and later Update.

If this doesn't work, you can uninstall add-ons until you find the one responsible for the crashes or simply reinstall Kodi to start fresh.

Solution 5: Kodi not working when not connecting to a source

Kodi repositories are usually installed by providing a path to the source. Sometimes, you may find that once the source has been added, you will see a popup telling you that it cannot be accessed.

This is usually because the from address is incorrect. Please check it and make sure you have entered it correctly. Common errors include misspellings, not using proper capitalization (e.g. inserting upper or lower case letters where they don't belong), forgetting to include «http://» at the beginning and in some cases lose the repository file extension.

If the address was entered correctly, most of the time the repository has either gone offline or moved to a new address. You can test this by opening the source address in your browser; if the folder is empty or not found, that's the root of the problem. Try investigating the repository to see if it has moved, but keep in mind that alternate hosts are not always reliable.

Solution 6: Kodi not working to install add-ons

If you have successfully installed a repository, but a plugin won't install, there are several possible causes. The plugin may be outdated or no longer supported by its developers.

In this scenario, there is very little you can do. Older versions may still be hosted elsewhere, but they are not guaranteed to work, and the older a plugin becomes, the more risk it poses to your system when installed.

Also, older add-ons may not work with newer versions of Kodi. Newer versions of Kodi have changed the way the software reads and processes add-on code, making some older add-ons obsolete with newer versions of Kodi (e.g., Kodi 19 updated the app to use python3, which caused many older plugins to stop working).

It's also possible that the plugin has uninstalled dependencies. These are additional plugins that are required for the initial plugin to function. That being said, plugins that have these dependencies are unofficial and pose a significant risk to your system's security. For this reason, we recommend not installing them in the first place.

Finally, it is possible that this particular addon may not work with your version of Kodi.

• E.g.: until relatively recently, users of LibreELEC could not install the plugin Netflix because they depended on files that were not present on platforms with sufficient operating system.

Solution 7: Kodi not working preventing uninstalling or removing add-ons

Sometimes, you may encounter a specific Kodi build or addon that causes a conflict with your Kodi installation. If this occurs, you may try to load Kodi, only to have it crash every time. Fortunately, Kodi addons can be removed from outside the Kodi interface.

If you need to remove an addon from Kodi, you can do so from the folder: %APPDATA%\Kodi\addons\.

To find it on your system, do the following:

• Step 1:: Go to your unit C: and click Users.
• Step 2: Find the name of the user account you use for your computer and select it
• Step 3: Click on AppData

• Step 4:: Click roaming and select the folder Doing 

• Step 5:: Now find the specific plugin that is causing your problems and delete it directly from this folder.

If you're not sure which add-on is causing the problem, try removing your most recently installed add-ons or repositories and loading Kodi to see if that works. If worst comes to worst, you can remove as many add-ons or repositories as necessary without causing any harm to your base Kodi installation. However, you may need to reinstall your add-ons again later.

Solution 8: Videos frequently stutter or take a long time to load when Kodi is not working

Most of the time, a weak network signal or slow internet speeds are the cause of streaming issues. This has been covered in more detail in our Kodi buffering article, so it might be a good idea to start there.

If you can't find any problems with your network, there may be another cause. Certain content providers restrict access to their videos through a process known as geo-blocking or region blocking. This checks the IP address of anyone trying to view the content and refuses the connection if the IP address is not from a particular location.

The good news is that this is easily overlooked. Users can connect their virtual private network (VPN) to a server in the correct location and they will be able to access previously restricted media. The correct server to connect to is usually pretty obvious – the BBC blocks anyone outside the UK, NBC blocks those outside the US, etc.

Solution 9: Videos look strange or colors are off when Kodi is not working

Color issues are much less common and are not necessarily unique to Kodi. If colors are slightly off, the problem is likely due to incorrect monitor settings. This issue is not always immediately apparent and may only be obvious with select videos.

This is because each monitor's color profile is different. Most will have a button on the front that grants access to a menu of image options. However, if your monitor is set up correctly, there are other possible solutions.

Solution:

If your video is too big or too small, it's likely that you accidentally zoomed in or out, to fix this do the following:

• Step 1:: While playing a video, click on the gear icon.
• Step 2:: Then click on Video Settings.
• Step 3:: Look for the option Zoom amount; if it is different than 1.0, that is the problem.
• Step 4:: Make sure the Display mode also is set to “Normal".

NOTE: : It is also worth checking the values ​​of Bright y ContrastThey should be at 50%, and if they're not, they're probably what's making your video look weird.

Solution 10: Kodi Add-on Searches and Streams Not Working

There is a little-known bug that can cause your Kodi addons to not search, update, or stream properly.

• E.g., you may find that some plugins are unable to pull any newer or older content, even if it should normally be available. If this is the case, try checking the date and time of tu device.

In particular, if you're using a set-top box purchased through Amazon or eBay, there's a chance that the date and time might be incorrect. Kodi and its add-ons use the system date and time to pull data correctly.

If that information is incorrect, your add-on searches may return poor or limited results, and may even affect your streaming or add-on updates.

Solution 11: Kodi not working with black screen or white screen issues.

There are a few issues that could be causing a black screen on startup or creating a blank screen during normal Kodi operation. One such issue arises when trying to update from Kodi 16 to version 17+. The change of the mask Confluence to the new mask Estuary may cause you to experience some file related errors Addons.db.

Therefore, the solution for this problem is to delete the file Addons.db, which simply caches information about your plugins.

• NOTE: : Don't worry, deleting the file will not remove any of your plugins.

You can find this file in the following locations, depending on your operating system:

• Android: android/data/orgkodi/files/.kodi/userdata/Database
• Windows: Click Start and type %APPDATA%\kodi\userdata\Database
• Mac: /Users/[YOUR USERNAME]/Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata/Database
• Linux: ~/.code/userdata/Database
• iOS: /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/Kodi/userdata/Database
• OpenElec / LibreElec: / storage / code / user data / database

Alternatively, if you're using an Android box or an Amazon Firestick, you may want to Force the arrest of Kodi and then Clear cache in the app settings. This should also help clarify the issue.

Solution 12: Kodi search not working in add-ons

If you have been using Kodi 19 (Matrix), the search feature in add-ons may not be working. This is because you may be using add-ons that have not been properly updated for Kodi 19.

When you use an add-on search feature, that add-on caches the information so that it can easily retrieve a search result. Kodi 19 changes some of the Python code requirements, so any add-on that isn't properly updated to match won't work correctly.

There is nothing you can do to fix this issue here. You have to wait until the plugin developers update the code. Many have said that they will only support Kodi 19 and above from now on, so there is really no reason to delay the update.

Solution 13: Stuttering on HD and 4K streams

There are a number of issues related to stuttering streams. For example, your internet speed may not be fast enough to handle 4K or HD streaming, and this can result in more buffering. However, especially with 4K, there's a good chance your device won't be able to handle the higher quality video.

• A satisfactory solution: Do a quick Google search for your specific device. Especially if you're using Kodi on a Firestick, if you're trying to process 4K streams and it stutters. This is also true if you have an older Firestick and are trying to get 1080p streams.

Solution 14: Kodi not working with YouTube addons

Recently, YouTube changed the way its API works, which in turn broke the YouTube Kodi addon and any addons that depended on it. However, there is a relatively simple way to fix this. armed with nothing more than a Google account.

• A satisfactory solution: Basically, you need to create a personal API key. This sounds complicated, but there is a detailed step-by-step guide for this in the kodi forums that will get you up and running in minutes.

Solution 15: Kodi won't open

Typically, if Kodi won't open at all, it's a sign that something has gone quite wrong. You might have installed an add-on that's incompatible, or maybe your build wasn't designed for the version of Kodi you're using.

• A satisfactory solution: The easiest solution is Delete Addons27.db file (called Addons33.db in Kodi 19). This will disable (but not remove) all of your installed add-ons, allowing you to enable them one by one and identify the culprit. db and Addons33.db They will be in different locations depending on the operating system you are using. Here is where you can find them:
  • Windows:%AppData%\Tax\userdata\Database
  • MacOS: / Users / /Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata/Database
  • Linux:~/.code/userdata/Database.
  • Android:android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.cod/userdata/Database
  • iOS:/private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/Kodi/userdata/Database

Solution 16: Kodi not working when doing specific builds

There are several problems with this:

1. Builds tend to include unofficial plugins, for which there is no support.
2. Builds are rarely kept up to date, meaning they often include several plugins that have since been removed.
3. These constructions tend to cause more problems than they solve.

We recommend uninstalling your compiler and manually installing each plugin you want. This way, you won't have dozens of plugins you'll never use, and you'll be able to pinpoint the exact plugin that's causing a problem in case something goes wrong.

Solution 17: Kodi not working due to general performance issues

If you find that Kodi is not working or running slowly even with few add-ons installed, or if you have a problem that is harder to pinpoint (e.g., if it only happens sometimes, or if it is more of a nuisance than anything else), the simplest solution It is usually reinstalling Kodi.

This may be a good time to consider updating to the latest version if you haven't already. After all, Kodi has changed a lot and the developers will be designing with the new architecture in mind moving forward. In other words, you'll have fewer options and find it much harder to get support in the future if you stick with Kodi Jarvis, Krypton, or Leia.

The best Kodi alternatives

Now, if you find that none of the solutions presented above have worked for you, you can use these alternatives when Kodi is not working. With all that said, let’s look at the best alternatives to Kodi.

1. Plex

plex is the first alternative you can use when Kodi is not working. Plex is a very well optimized software. This means that it can work very well on a variety of computers no matter how powerful or weak they are. Whether you have a new modern desktop PC or an old laptop that is outdated.

Plex is also very versatileIt is compatible not only with Windows and Mac OS, but also with Linux. It can also be easily installed on Android and iOS smartphone devices. You can even use it with Roku and a couple of game consoles like Xbox One o PlayStation 4.

One of the best things about this Kodi alternative is its user interfaceIt is very sleek and also very easy to manipulate. The add-ons are displayed in a similar way to those in Kodi, which will make you feel right at home.

Plex comes with a free version and a Premium version that costs $4,99 per month. This paid version gives you access to some additional features like HD audio streaming and playlists that are generated using a more advanced algorithm.

You can visit the website here

2. Emby

emby is a great alternative that you can use when Kodi is not working. There are three versions of Emby that you can choose from. The main one is EmbyServer, which gives you access to the basic streaming player for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

The second one is called applications Emby Mobile, which can be used on Android and iOS. The latter is called apps Emby TV and can be used with a wide variety of platforms or tools, including Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV.

Emby is free, but we recommend investing in Emby Premiere. It costs $4.99 per month, or $54 per year, or you can make a one-time payment of $ 119 to purchase Emby for life.

Emby Premiere comes with a ton of extra features that most premium options can't keep up with. You'll get apps that are compatible with Android, Fire TV, and even gaming consoles. You'll also get DVR functionality, folder and cloud sync, a self-organizing content manager, and much more.

You can visit the website here

3. MediaPortal

While the above two options had a lot in common with Kodi, MediaPortal has some very nifty features that set it apart from the rest of the competition and is one of the best alternatives you can use if Kodi is not working.

MediaPortal It can very easily sync with your hard drive data so you can use it as a hub for all your video and audio files. It will also detect DVD and Blu-Ray discs without any problem.

MediaPortal supports a large number of plugins so the chances are pretty long. MediaPortal also has one of the simplest and most intuitive user interfaces.

Unfortunately, it has one drawback: currently only available for Windows. No Smartphone or Linux and Mac users will be able to use MediaPortal.

MediaPortal is completely free to use. Please note that there is a fake “Premium” version of MediaPortal that costs $ 4,99 per month, but it is a scam and offers no additional features. This paid version has nothing to do with the real MediaPortal or its creators, as the software is open source and completely free to use.

You can visit the website here

4. Stremio

Stremio is becoming one of the most popular media platforms out there and a great option you can use if Kodi is down. Perhaps the best thing about Stremio is the platform’s devotion to acquiring high-quality videos. Stremio is absolutely loaded with content that can only be seen in HD, making it one of the best places to go if you only want to watch 720p or higher.

There is also a notification system that alerts you whenever a new show is added to the list. You will always be up to date on the new offerings of this great Kodi alternative.

You can visit the website here

5. Jellyfin

jellyfin It is very comparable to Plex and you can use it if Kido is not working, as it provides the ability to manage your media library in a sleek web-based user interface. This gives you streaming access to all your movies and TV shows wherever you are.

As you might expect, Jellyfin offers all the usual features you'd expect, including media library management, movie posters, and subtitle support. Best of all, you can even stream live TV and use the built-in DVR feature to record your favorite shows.

You can also read about: What Is Kodi. Uses, Features, Opinions, Prices

Being open source, Jellyfin is free to download and use. It can be installed on Windows, Mac, Android, and virtually any other operating system and device you can think of.

 You can visit the website here

Conclusion

Considering that Kodi can be installed on a wide range of different devices, it's actually easier than you might expect to troubleshoot the problem. In fact, most common Kodi problems can be solved relatively quickly. Hopefully, this guide will help you solve your problem. You can also use the described alternatives if Kodi isn't working. We hope we've helped you out.