How to stream or cast from Android to Kodi

It’s possible to cast videos and music to Kodi transforming your Kodi box into a poor man’s Chromecast. Android devices can cast or stream content by leveraging the DLNA standard in conjunction with an app. In order to take advantage of this functionality a few features must be enabled within Kodi.

Enabling UPnP and DLNA functionality in Kodi

Before Kodi can be used to support casting, Airplay, UPnP, and DLNA must be enabled. In the case of Kodi running on Windows computer (such as an HTPC), I recommend downloading and installing Apple’s Bonjour Print Services for Windows. Bonjour is an open-source network service discovery protocol which allows devices to locate Kodi instances on your network. Bonjour is not required for casting from Android, but it will make discovering Kodi much easier.

OPTIONALIf running Windows, Browse to this Apple Knowledge Base Article to download and install the Bonjour Print Services for Windows application. Reboot the host after installation.

  1. Launch Kodi.
  2. Navigate to Settings→ Services.
  3. Under General, enable Announce services to other systems.
  4. Select Control and enable Allow remote control via HTTP, enable Allow remote control from applications on this system, and enable Allow remote control from applications on other systems.
  5. Select UPnP / DLNA and enable Share my libraries and enable Allow remote control via UPnP.
  6. Select AirPlay and enable AirPlay support and enable AirPlay Videos and Picture support. AirPlay isn’t required for Android device casting but it will allow any iOS devices to cast Audio to Kodi.

Casting or streaming from Android devices

There’s a few different Apps for casting or streaming from Android to Kodi. Download either Yatse or Kore, add your Kodi host, and use the Share controls from an application such as YouTube to Play on Kodi.

Yatse is not just for casting media but also a full-featured remote control. It’s probably the most feature-rich Kodi companion app available on Android.

Kore is the official Android remote app from Kodi.

To cast, select the Share menu from an app such as YouTube, OneDrive, or Photos and select Play on Kodi.

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