How To Update Kodi On Firestick: A Step-by-Step Guide

So, you have Kodi installed on your Firestick and you’re enjoying lots of free content scraped from the internet. But now it is time to update Kodi.

Perhaps you remember that Kodi was quite fiddly to install on Firestick as it is one of those apps that needs to be sideloaded. Will updating be just as difficult?

Don’t worry, if you already have Kodi on your Firestick, updating is simple as long as you haven’t made any major changes to your settings. If you have made changes, you’ll just have to tweak your settings again, which only takes a few minutes.

The latest version of Kodi is currently 19.4 Matrix (November 2022). You can always find the latest versions listed on the Releases page of the Kodi website.

What Is Kodi?

Kodi is an open source media library software that was originally developed for Xbox, which is also called XBMC. The software can pull in media from a variety of sources and make it all accessible within a simple skin.

You can point it towards your personal media library on a server, and your paid-for subscriptions services. Kodi can play any file format and will scrape the internet to provide you with additional information about what you’re watching.

But many developers have also created apps for Kodi, called Add-ons within the Kodi environment, which scrape the internet not just for information about content, but also the content itself. It taps into existing media streams and lets you watch it, without having to pay.

Is this legal? Well, it’s complicated. You aren’t downloading copyrighted content, just watching it, so this is not technically covered by copyright law.

But it is clear that gaining access to content in this way is against the spirit of the law in most countries. So, if you choose to use Kodi for this purpose, you should protect yourself by using a VPN.

Find our recommendations for the best VPNs for Kodi here.

Update Kodi on Firestick Using Downloader

To update Kodi on Firestick, you will need to use the Downloader app, which you probably used when you installed Kodi in the first place.

If you have uninstalled it since then for some reason, then you can download it again. Downloader is available in the Amazon App Store.

You should also check that you still have Developer Options enabled on your device: Head to the Settings Menu, choose My Fire TV and then Developer Options. Make sure the Install Unknown Apps option is toggled on. This will give you the option to authorize apps to install other applications, and you should authorize Downloader.

Now you are ready to get started.

1. Open Downloader by heading to Search in the Find section of your main menu and use the online keyboard to search for Downloader.
2. You can insert a URL or search term now. Here you should enter the URL for the latest version of Kodi, which is currently available here: https://kodi.tv/download.
3. Click Go and navigate the page to download the APK.
4. Once the APK is downloaded, Downloader will ask you whether you want to install it. Since you do, choose the Install button. You’ll see a progress bar on the screen until you get a tick with the message App installed.
5. You can then hit Done. At this point Kodi should be updated.

You can check whether your update has been successful by launching Kodi and then opening the Settings menu to examine the System Info. 

This should tell you what version of Kodi is running.

As long as you already have Kodi installed, and, as long as they are compatible with the latest version of Kodi, you shouldn’t lose any of your settings.

But if you haven’t updated in quite a while, you might find that some things no longer function and you will need to tweak.

How To Update Kodi Add-Ons

As well as ensuring that your Kodi application is up-to-date, you will want to ensure that your add-ons are also updated, since this is where your content is coming from.

The simplest way is to turn on have automatic updates turned on for your add-ons. The options can be in the Settings menu. Choose System Settings, Add-Ons, and then EnableAutomatic Updates.

If you aren’t comfortable with automatic updates, you can ask Kodi to notify you when updates are available, and then you can choose whether to install them or not. If you have notifications turned on, you should receive a pop-up that an update is available and then you can go to the Add-Ons menu to install them. If not, you can regularly visit the Add-Ons menu and check if updates are available.

If you have third-party add-ons from outside the central Kodi repository to update, you will need to do this manually, sideloading the updates into Kodi much like you sideloaded the Kodi update onto your Firestick.

If you have installed third-party add-ons, you will already have sideloading enabled within your settings, so you can go ahead and add the file for your update.

To do this, go to File Manager and choose to Add Source. Click on None, and a wizard will open up that lets you add your own file source. Add the URL for the update that you want to install and hit OK. At this point, you will also be asked to give the media source a name, so name it something meaningful that you will remember later.

Head back to the Kodi homepage and go to the Add-Ons menu. Click the package icon in the top left and choose to install from a zip file. Navigate to the source file you just connected and select it. Choose to Install From Repository.

Head to the menu for the type of add-on that you are trying to install, such as Video Add-Ons, and hit the install button again. Finally, your add-on update will be installed.

FAQs

Not sure what to do next? Find our recommendations for the best Kodi builds for Firestick to get the most out of the program.