When it comes to media-management programs, Kodi is one of the oldest and most popular. Kodi supports tons of useful add-ons, automates metadata collection for all of your media libraries, can run on virtually any device, and on top of all that, looks fantastic. The only downside? Depending on what you’re using, navigating the Kodi interface can be a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, there is an official remote called Kore that allows you to remotely control Kodi from your Android phone.

Why Would You Want to Use Kore?

Folks have been using Kodi for years, using various hardware solutions to navigate the media management interface. Keyboards, mice, game controllers, IR blasters – pretty much anything – can control Kodi, so why would you need the official remote app?

First off, we tend to have our phones on us at all times. Having Kore installed on your phone means that you’ll never have to hunt for the controller. In addition, using the Kore app allows you to ditch the physical remote altogether, cutting down on clutter. Furthermore, installing Kore means you don’t have to shell out for a pricey controller in the first place. While these points all belong in the “Pro” column, the main benefit of using Kore is the additional functionality.

Kore Features

Kore has a slew of features that aren’t found in other controller options. In addition to standard remote control functions like the usual playback and volume controls, Team Kodi has named the following things you can do straight from the Kore app:

  • See what’s currently playing, including relevant information (movies, TV shows, music, pictures and add-ons)
  • Change, sync or download subtitles
  • Switch audio streams
  • Toggle back and forth between windows or full-screen playback in Kodi
  • Add, check and manage the current playlist
  • View what is in your media library with details about your movies, TV shows, music and add-ons
  • Direct link to relevant IMDb website for extensive information
  • Library maintenance like clean and update
  • Wake-on-LAN and other power control actions that the selected device supports
  • Send YouTube videos to your currently selected media center

How to Set Up Kore

To start using Kore, head over to the Google Play store and download the Kore app. Unfortunately, the Kore remote app is currently only available for Android users. Once the download is complete and the app has installed, open it. You’ll be prompted to add your media center. To do so, make sure Kodi is up and running and is connected to the same WiFi network as your phone. When you’re ready, tap next in the bottom-right corner.

At this point Kore will tell you that no media center was found. Don’t freak out, as this is common. You’ll have to jump into Kodi and tweak some of the settings in order for Kore to work, but it’s a fairly simple process. Go ahead and tap “Next” in the bottom-right corner to begin the manual configuration process.

How to Manually Configure Kore

Getting Kore to see and talk to your Kodi installation is as easy as ticking a few boxes, so let’s get started. Note that for this walk-through I am using Kodi v17 Krypton, as this is the most recent stable build available. If you’re using a different version of Kodi, the screenshots won’t be much help, but you should still be able to follow the instructions.

Within Kodi

First, click on the cog icon in the top-left corner of the screen to jump to Kodi’s Settings menu. From here, select “Service Settings.”

In “Service Settings” select “Control” from the left column. Here you want to enable the option that reads “Allow remote control via HTTP” underneath the Web Server subheading. Below that you will see “Port,” “Username” and “Password.” By default, the Port will be 8080, the username will be “kodi” and the password field empty. You’ll need to know these later, so write them down if you need to.

Under the “Application control” subheading enable “Allow remote control from applications on this system” and “Allow remote control from applications on other systems.” This may take a minute or two so just be patient while it does its thing. Once it’s finished, go back to the main Settings menu within Kodi. From here click or tap on “System information.” Jot down the IP address listed here, as you’ll need it in a bit. That’s all for the tweaks within Kodi; now we have to jump back into the Kore app.

Within Kore

Fire up the Kore app and let it search for a media center. When it fails to do so, click “Next” in the bottom-right corner. This will bring you to the Manual configuration screen. Be aware that you’ll need the info that you jotted down earlier to complete this step. In the “Media Center Name” field, enter “Kodi.” In the address field pop in your IP address as it appeared in the “System information” menu within Kodi. Finally enter the “Port” value and the username and password in the appropriate fields. Tap on the “TEST” button and wait a moment. When the connection between Kore and Kodi completes, you’ll receive a message reading “All done.” Finally, tap on “Finish.”

You should see a notification pop up in Kodi reading “Detected new connection Kore Remote.” Now you’ll be able to use the Kore remote app to control Kodi. If you have multiple devices running Kodi, simply repeat the steps above for each installation to use the Kore app.

Do you use Kore? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments!

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