How to Set Up a Kodi Remote Control

So, you have successfully set up Kodi on your favorite device, and now want to kick back and watch some movies. But what if the phone rings or the pizza guy knocks at the door? You’ll need to pause Kodi. But how?

Simply put, you need to set up a Kodi remote control. Perhaps you didn’t have one to start with, or you lost the one that shipped with your dedicated Kodi box. Here’s how to set up a remote with any Kodi media center.

Using Kodi? You Need a Remote Control!

It doesn’t matter what platform you’ve installed Kodi on. You’re going to need a remote control. This might be the device’s native controller, if that suits you best. But if it’s no good for managing Kodi, you might prefer the dedicated mobile app, or even your TV’s remote control.

Whichever option you choose, it all centers on one thing: you need to enable remotes in the Kodi settings screen. Once this is done, you can use:

• A platform-specific remote
• The Kodi mobile app, Kore
• A web browser on any platform
• Your TV’s remote if HDMI-CEC is enabled

Before you can do any of this, however, you’ll probably need to connect a mouse or keyboard to the device. With either connected, you’ll be able to navigate the menus to enable the use of a remote in Kodi.

Getting Started: Enable Remotes in Kodi

Whether you plan to use the Kore app for remotely controlling your Kodi media center, or you have another tool in mind, you cannot proceed without first enabling remotes in the Kodi settings.

Begin by navigating to the Settings cog, found at the top of the left-hand column. Here, select Service Settings & Control, and enable Allow remote control via HTTP. Make a note of the port number 8080, then the username. (Both of these options can be changed; leave the port number alone unless you know what you’re doing.)

Next, click Password, and set a new password. This will be used in conjunction with your username to establish a secure connection from any app-based remotes.

Before you’re done, also ensure that Allow remote control from applications on this system and Allow remote control from applications on other systems are also enabled. To save these settings, simply click the back button on your keyboard, or click your mouse in the top-left corner.

Smartphone App Remotes

Whether you use Android or iOS, you have a massive choice of remotes to choose from. However, the de facto choice is Kore, the remote app provided by the Kodi developers.

Download: Kore for Android
Download: Official Kodi Remote for iOS

The great thing about Kore is that it is so easy to set up. As long as your mobile device is on the same network as your Kodi media center, and you know the IP address, you’re ready to go.

Once the app is installed, just run it, and open the hamburger menu (steps are for Android, but iOS version is similar).

Here, tap the Add Media Center button, then Next. This will prompt Kore to search for a Kodi media center on your network. If the wrong one (or none) is detected, tap Search Again. Otherwise, tap your media center device to configure it manually. This should match what you entered as a username and password in the Settings > Control screen in Kodi.

You should now be able to remotely control your Kodi box from your smartphone!

No Kodi App? Try Your Web Browser

Another option is to use a browser (perhaps on a PC, or a mobile device) to control your Kodi box. If you’ve enabled HTTP in the previous section, this will be possible by browsing to your Kodi box’s IP address. You’ll find this in Settings > System Info > Summary.

This is appended with the port number, which by default is 8080. The URL you enter into your browser should be in the form of:

http://YOUR.IP.ADDRESS.HERE:8080

So, from a PC, you might remotely access your Kodi device via Chrome, or whatever your favorite browser is. Similarly, if you’re using a mobile device that doesn’t have the Kore app, or you don’t have access to your platform’s app store, you’ll be able to remotely control Kodi via HTTP.

Although useful, remote connections over HTTP are slow, so don’t expect great results. It’s usable, but not as good as using a Kodi remote app. In fact, it might be wiser to try a completely different type of remote control.

Control Kodi Remotely Without an App

If you’re using Kodi on a device with its own remote control, you may not need to use an app. For instance, if you installed Kodi on an Amazon Fire Stick, you can control it using the Amazon Fire remote control.

It doesn’t end there, either. Even if you have a dedicated remote for the host device, you might prefer a different one. As your Kodi box is connected to your TV via HDMI, if your TV and media center both support HDMI-CEC (the CEC stands for Consumer Electronics Control), you’ll be able to use the TV remote to control Kodi.

But is HDMI-CEC enabled on your TV? The only way to find out is to head into your TV’s settings. This menu location will, unfortunately, differ depending on the manufacturer, and how HDMI-CEC is named will also differ.

Unfortunately this has been renamed by almost every TV manufacturer, so HDMI-CEC might be known as Bravia Sync (Sony), EasyLink (Philips), SimpLink (LG), etc. ad nauseum. It should be noted, however, that if you have a Hitachi TV, you can simply look for HDMI-CEC.

Once this feature is enabled, your remote control can then be used to operate your Kodi media center. This can be more convenient than an app, so you really should try it out.

Start Watching Kodi With a Remote Control

With more and more people realizing the potential of Kodi, setting up a remote control is an obvious next step for beginners. Because nothing beats lazing on a couch and watching your favorite movies and TV shows without ever having to move a muscle.

And, as we hope we have shown, setting up a Kodi remote control is really quite easy once you know how.

Looking for more Kodi tips? Check out our exhaustive Kodi setup guide for beginners.

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