How to Update Kodi: Fast and Easy 2 Minute Guide

Do you want to update Kodi to the latest version? You’ve come to the right place! In two minutes, you’ll have the latest Kodi version installed on whatever device you have.

If you are stuck on an old version and want to know how to update Kodi, the process is actually quite simple.

In our guide below, we’ll have a look at the reasons for updating, the current Kodi version, how to update, and other important tips.

What is the Newest Version of Kodi?

The latest version of the media software is v18.5. It was released on November 21st, 2019.

Version 18 of Kodi makes a ton of key changes to the software, including:

  1. Improved playback on Android TV
  2. DTS-HD audio support
  3. Xbox One Support
  4. Better remote and controller support
  5. The ability to play retro games in Kodi
  6. DRM support for login and subscription based services such as DAZN and Netflix

All bugs in the new version have solved, and we highly recommend that you upgrade today.

 

Reasons to Update Kodi

When Kodi is updated, the latest version of dependencies are installed. Kodi addons update to work with these new dependencies and old versions of Kodi are not compatible with addons anymore.

Starting with Kodi 17, support for Android 4.4 is no more. If you still have 4.4 and your box is a few years old, it’s time to upgrade. We’ve hand-picked some boxes for you to check out on Amazon, where shipping is free around the world.

In version 18, a lot of backend Kodi code was standardized to work with each operating system: Android TV, Windows, Mac, Linux, and more. This initially caused some growing pains, but is a good thing. It’s allowed Kodi developers to take advantage of native Android TV features like leanback suggestions and DRM support for live streaming.

 

Kodi 18 Upgrade Tips (Before. During, and After You Upgrade)

For the best experience, please follow the following guidelines before updating Kodi.

  1. Change your skin back to Estuary, the default Kodi 17/18 skin! Skins are not backwards compatible. If you have one that Kodi 18 doesn’t support, you’ll get a black screen and you’ll need to perform a fresh install.
  2. Do NOT install the same build on the newest version of Kodi as on the previous version. Builds, like skins, are not backwards compatible in most cases. You need a build made for the latest version of Kodi.
  3. Save yourself some headache and backup Kodi before upgrading.
  4. Double check that you don’t have Android 4.4! In the Android area of your box, go to Settings > About to view Operating System info.

 

How to Update Kodi

Android TV

  1. From your Android main menu, find the Google Play Store icon and click on it.
  2. Using the search bar (it might be a magnifying glass icon), search for Kodi
  3. Click on Kodi.
  4. If you already have the app installed and there is a newer version, click the button that says UPDATE
  5. If you don’t have Kodi installed yet, click on INSTALL and wait for it to complete.
  6. Launch Kodi like you normally would on your home screen. The first time you launch Kodi 18, your database will be converted so don’t mess around until it’s done!

Amazon Fire TV Stick

To update Kodi on the Firestick or Fire TV, follow these instructions:

  1. Download and install the Downloader app from the Amazon Fire Store.
  2. Launch Downloader
  3. Click on the http:// address bar and enter in the following URL: http://kodi.tv/downloadand click Go.
  4. A Javascript disabled warning may come up, just click OK. 
  5. Scroll down the Kodi website that opens up and click Android and then scroll down and click on ARMV8A (64 bit)
  6. Wait for your version of Kodi to finish downloading. Afterwards, scroll down and click Install to install Kodi on Fire Stick.

LibreElec/OpenElec

  1. From the main menu of Kodi, navigate to System > LibreElec/OpenElec > System > Update Channel.
  2. Select the latest version from the window. A new “Available Versions” window will come up. Click on the latest revision.
  3. After it’s done downloading, follow any prompts on the screen as it installs for you.

Windows/Mac/Linux

  1. Head to the official Kodi website, kodi.tv, and click on the blue Download button in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Scroll down and select your operating system.
  3. In the window that pops up, under the Recommended tab, click on the Installer for your operating system.
  4. After the installer is done, launch it and install Kodi like you would any other application.

Xbox One

  1. From the Xbox One home screen, click the magnifying glass search button.
  2. Search for Kodi
  3. If a new version of Kodi is available, click on Update
  4. After it is done downloading, you’ll have the latest version of Kodi installed
  5. Launch Kodi from your home apps screen like normal

Note, due to the wide variety of Kodi builds, we are not responsible for any issues with upgrade. Not all Kodi 17 builds are compatible with Kodi 18.

If you are unsure, it’s recommended that you change back to Estuary or delete Kodi and start fresh.

Congratulations, we’ve shown you how to update Kodi to the latest version.

Comment below or let us know on Twitter if we can help you out further!

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About Ryan William

Ryan is a content writer and SEO specialist. He has interest in all things technology and has published over 2000 posts on the internet. At Kodi Tips, his focus is on hardware, software, crypto games, and how-to tutorials.

65 thoughts on “How to Update Kodi: Fast and Easy 2 Minute Guide”

  1. Thank you for this easy-to-follow guide! I’ve been using Kodi for a while now, but I’ve never updated it before. Your steps were clear and simple, and I was able to update my Kodi in just a few minutes. Great job!

  2. I have no idea what your talking about when you say that kodi 18 is available on Playstore as everytime I try to get it the addon is still 17.6. Also on the official Kodi site he still has only 17.6 ready for download.

  3. Guys if ur running, old stuff like KitKat u need to run mygica to run kodi17 I recommend not using a build and rather just use area wizard to grab source and repos sepretaly. And doesn’t matter what version of is u run, uninstall ur old Kodi first and dl Kodi 17. It’s worth it…

  4. I can’t believe this worked. My android is 5.0. Went to google play store –> searched for Kodi, clicked on the app which only gave me the unistall or open options. I bravely uninstalled. It then showed me the install icon, which I clicked on. It indicated download pending for over an hour. So on a whim, went into my app installer and the file was there, so I clicked on the file and it loaded and indicated app installed. Just opened it and it UPDATED! Yahoo.

  5. Hi I have android 5.1.1 version and Kodi 15.2 but no movies are streaming. Do I have to update Kodi to 17.0 version or load Covenant rather than Exodus. whichever I need to do, I will need guidance.

  6. Wow….utter confusion about upgrading from 16.1 to 17, so many comments about this issue and no clear answers.
    I have tried so many different methods from you tube to comments on various posts and nothing works…just get app not installed.
    At the point now where I will uninstall version 16.1 and install version 17 from google play and see what happens I guess.

  7. Trying to update Kodi Jarvis to krypton but of course Google play store isn’t cooperating. I’m new at this sort of thing, and nothing seems to be working. Where’s the help?

  8. Does anyone ever answer any of these questions? And I am not easily understanding what is going on with the update

    If you install 17 will it erase all of the 16 options, like movie and tv? Thanks

  9. I have a 14.2 Kodi box….is it possible to upgrade this version ?
    Have tried as best l can but nothing seems to work.
    Any help is greatly appreciated.Thanks

  10. Well done mhollerer……, all I wanted to know was if I could upgrade an old kodi box to 17.3 , but now I know to just buy another box.
    How comes an old laptop can be upgraded regardless when kodi is installed , better buying a few laptops !!

  11. Step 1: Make sure you have Android 5 or higher. If not, go buy a new box since you can’t upgrade.
    Step 2: Uninstall Kodi 16 or Google Play doesn’t let you install Kodi 17.
    Step 3: Download Kodi 17. You will see that it is version 17 in info next to “version”. Look.
    Step 4: Setup Kodi

  12. i upgrade from 16.1 to 17.3. The screen shows “Add-on migration in progress – Please wait …” for the last 24 hours. How long does it take to migrate or how can i uninstall and reinstall upgrade?

  13. 45 queries regarding how you can upgrade from 16.n to 17.n and not one straightforward answer.

  14. In upgrading from 16 to 17 step 1 you said to go to appearance then to skin then to “name” but i dont have anything that says “name”. It says “settings”, “theme”, colours” etc. But no name. What do i do?

  15. No such thing as a ‘jail broken’ kodi. Kodi is open source by default. It would be the box that its running on that would be ‘jail broke’… most likely an Apple TV or possibly a Firestick

  16. How can I upgrade from kodi 15.2 to 17 and I also have that 4.4 deal you were talking about. I can follow instructions if you explain it in detail. I have a android 4.4.2 operating system.

  17. On my android box I go to play store and I typing Kodi to search and to update and there is no Kodi he does not show up I’ve tried almost everything to upgrade to Kodi krypton 17 nothing has worked. Only thing I have not tried is on installing Kodi 16 with my friend told me to do but I’m scared that I won’t have anything and it won’t work.

  18. Hi guys I’m pretty much an amateur at these kind of things so would like some advice, add yer reading how to update kodi from 16.1 to 17.1/2. It seems all I have to do is install the new version of Kodi from the playstore (using an android box mxq Pro fully loaded). I cannot backup anything yet as I do not have a memory card or anything like that l. But simply put, will I loose all my data e.g. Files and add-ons or will the update make everything run OK I already have?
    Sorry for sounding thick I wish I was more tech savvy.

    Thanks guys.

  19. Why comment and explain my issues when no one is answering? I do appreciate the hard work being done by devs who don’t get paid for their passion bit would appreciate some help. Using new mygicaatv 495 pro box. I know how to uninstall and reinstall kodi and all repos etc but this box came with jarvis 16.1. At google playstore there is only one download for kodi and it is the version i already have. Can I download krypton 17.3 from somewhere else and do my own install after wiping old version?

  20. What does it mean when you can’t see your season of a show I’m looking at something that’s up to six seasons but it only shows me four on all the channels please help

  21. I have a q android box (6.0.1 Android) with Jarvis pre-installed. No matter what I do, it just won’t have Krypton. Do I need to uninstall Jarvis first and will Krypton install if I do, or should I just leave it alone?
    Thanks in advance.

  22. For all those experiencing problems with updating to the 17.1 kodi update, I would like to tell you how I did it and it worked for me…first off, I purchased a MXQPro 4K android box off ebay preloaded with everything … best thing I could have done…anyway when I first got the box it was installed with version 16…found the kodi website and noticed I had to update, so did the 17 update followed all instructions etc..moral of the story I lost everything (idiot I am lol), so came back to the kodi website and followed ALL instructions low and behold got it back, yay..then, next thing the box is telling me I have to update to kodi 17.1 (oh crap, now I have to do a complete install blah blah)….couldn’t be bothered with all the crap so did it MY WAY….first downloaded the Kodi 17.1 update in google play and it said to choose your device you would like to install it on..chose my MXQPro box of course, mind you I didn’t have the box plugged in but chose it anyway..said it would install soon..so in saying that I connected the box to the internet and I wasn’t going to go through what they said to do (uninstall everything etc)…this is what I did…..
    I went to indigo and went to rejuvenate Kodi (mind you still didn’t know what I was doing lol) pressed it anyway coz it sounded good…screen went blank and I thought “Oh Ive done it again” double idiot (meaning I stuffed up and wiped everything AGAIN ha ha)…but I waited didnt press anything next minute up pops Kodi 17.1 update (oh thank god for that) then went into Exodus as that’s where I watch all my awesome movies…went into tools, then add ons and selected the addons that were there…voila DONE!!!! easy as, and if you wonder why you are losing your icons it’s because you aren’t exiting out of Kodi properly….now I unplug my box everytime I have finished with it and you would think I would lose everything, I use to because I would keep pressing the back button on remote to get to my homescreen… UNTIL I read that you have to press on the little exit button on the bottom, then you will be taken back to your homescreen as in apps, settings, etc…I hope this has helped a few people that are having problems installing the new update….mind you I don’t know if I have done it wrong but its working fantastic 🙂

  23. Upgrading to Kodi 17.1 from 16.1 is NOT ‘easy’ no matter what this article states! Obviously there are many, many… people having problems with the upgrading process so stop claiming ‘it is easy’. I upgraded my Fire stick without problems but upgrading my 2 android TV boxes is a nightmare! Google play doesn’t even give me the option to upgrade even though my OS is android 5.1.1 Like many others, I’m given the two options of ‘uninstall’ or ‘open’ that’s it. I’ve tried upgrading using the apk files I downloaded from the Kodi website but neither the 32bit or the 64bit install. Lastly how on earth does a person know which ‘version’, 32 or 64 bit, to use in the first place? It would appear the only way a person can ‘upgrade’ their android TV Box’s is to completely uninstall any prior version of Kodi first which of course you lose all of your setting and only then can 17.1 get installed. Of course that is not a guarantee 17.1 would install even after uninstalling 16.1 meaning that you lost everything and you are now SOL!

  24. First of all, thanks to all of the Kodi volunteers that devote their time and talent to the ongoing development of Kodi, especially for those of us who are not as computer savvy as they are.

    My question: I’m currently running Kodi 16 with the Confluence skin. I plan to follow Kodi’s advice and download Kodi 17 from the Google store. Must I uninstall 16 before installing 17 or will 17 just overwrite the older 16 version? There is so much conflicting advice out there that I am hesitant to do anything without consulting people wiser than myself.

    Thank you!

  25. I have Android 6.0.1, but still Google Play store has no Update option for Kodi. Just Uninstall and Open. How do I update Kodi to 17 without losing settings and favourites?

  26. From the looks of it, under System Info and Build- it says that I have KODI 21.1 Git2016-10-15-c327c53-dirty. Is this not the most updated version?

  27. just upgraded 16.1 to 17.1 and did not get the new interface. all content works, did i so something wrong

  28. In Play Store when I go to the Kodi installation, I get two choices, “Uninstall” and “Open”. Neither of these permit an upgrade installation. What do I do?

  29. there seems to be a problem with kodi updating through the windows store on windows 10. my pc said that it was up to date and the last update was KB4015438. there is another update that i found when searching the error and it is KB4016635 it was released on the 22 march so may not have hit your windows update yet. you can get it here https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4016635

    this just fixed my problems

  30. Greg, check the settings on your box. Go into apps, click on Kodi and you can see which version you have. 16.1 is old Jarvis, 17.1 is current Krypton.Uninstalling WON’T automatically update. If there’s no update option, you might have old version of android. Krypton needs 5.0

  31. Hi have to always sign up to most links on exodus to watch anything, is that normal, didn’t have to do that before ?

  32. I have been a long time Kodi fan and user but I am in need of some help. I downloaded the 17.1-Krypton last night and can open it just fine but when I go to add the Fusion plugin from the previous times I have downloaded on other devious I’m now getting lost. If someone could possible give me the current information link I’d be greatful.

  33. I have android box, went to google playstore-Kodi to update. kodi choices are uninstall and play. does clicking uninstall do the update? I’ve added the made in Canada app but it doesnt
    work, will it when I update kodi? thanks

  34. I heard you can do something with the firmware on the 4.4
    2 kit Kat Android box to allow it to access kodi 17.1 Y/N??? Thxs guys good work you do 😊😊

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