How to Set Up IPTV on Kodi With PVR IPTV Simple Client

Kodi is a free, open-source media centre that runs on Windows, Mac, Android, Firestick and more. It doesn't include any channels itself, but with the official PVR IPTV Simple Client add-on it turns your M3U playlist into a proper live TV section with a programme grid. This guide covers the official add-on only — no third-party repositories needed.

How Kodi Handles IPTV

Kodi plays IPTV through PVR client add-ons. PVR IPTV Simple Client is the official one, available from Kodi's own add-on repository. You give it your M3U playlist URL and, optionally, an XMLTV guide URL, and Kodi builds a TV and guide section from them. It's free and maintained by the Kodi team.

Installing PVR IPTV Simple Client

• Open Kodi and go to Add-ons
• Choose 'Install from repository', then 'Kodi Add-on repository'
• Open 'PVR clients' and select 'PVR IPTV Simple Client'
• Select Install and wait for the confirmation

On some systems, such as Linux, the add-on is a separate package from your distribution rather than in Kodi's repository. On Windows, Mac, Android and Firestick it's in the repository.

Adding Your M3U Playlist

Open the add-on and choose Configure. Under the General section, set the location to 'Remote path (internet address)' and paste your M3U playlist URL. Keep 'Cache M3U at local storage' on so Kodi doesn't re-download the playlist every time. Recent Kodi versions let you add multiple instances of the add-on, one per playlist. Select OK, and Kodi may ask you to restart the add-on or Kodi itself.

Adding the XMLTV Programme Guide

In the same Configure screen, open the EPG section, set the location to a remote path, and paste the XMLTV (EPG) URL from your provider. Guide data is matched to channels by channel ID, so use the guide source that matches your playlist. The first load can take several minutes on a large guide. See our EPG guide if programme information doesn't appear.

Watching Live TV in Kodi

Once the add-on is enabled, a TV option appears on Kodi's home menu. Choose Channels for the list or Guide for the programme grid. Select a channel to start playing. You can mark favourites and organise channel groups from the channel manager in the TV settings.

Kodi Settings Worth Changing

• Settings > Player > Videos: set 'Adjust display refresh rate' to 'On start/stop' for smoother playback on TVs
• Settings > PVR & Live TV > Guide: adjust how many days of guide data to show
• Add-on settings: set the playlist and guide refresh interval so channel changes are picked up automatically
• On Android and Firestick, keep hardware acceleration on for HD and 4K streams

Staying Safe With Kodi Add-ons

Kodi itself is legal and safe, but some unofficial add-ons and repositories are used to stream content without permission, and some contain malware. You don't need any of them for IPTV: the official PVR IPTV Simple Client plays the subscription you already pay for. Install add-ons only from Kodi's official repository unless you fully trust the source.