Most of us who have ever heard about Kodi already know why it is so popular. And why people want to know how to unblock Kodi addons.
But let’s repeat anyway.
Kodi is free.
And is open source.
It is also the best media player in the world.
Kodi supports almost all major platforms.
It has support for platforms such as,
- Linux
- Raspberry Pi
- iOS
- Android
- Mac OS X
- Windows
You can use Kodi to stream all kinds of content right from the internet.
Kodi also plays all types of local files.
Perhaps the other useful part about using Kodi is that Kodi doesn’t care for what source you use to play some content.
It is source-agnostic.
This is why you have developers coming up with tons of unofficial and official Kodi addons.
These add ons help users to stream almost all content in the world.
We’re talking about high-quality Netflix content to live sports events and torrents.
Kodi doesn’t have huge system requirements.
That is why anyone can make use of Kodi.
Kodi delivers most of its entertainment by pulling content from various channels.
As expected, these channels come with a set of restrictions.
They are limited.
But that isn’t a problem unique to Kodi.
You would face similar problems if you tried to stream those channels via a native app or web browser.
Netflix and BBC iPlayer consistently block content depending on the user’s location.
Most of you would already know that streaming video content from torrent files isn’t exactly legal either.
It doesn’t matter if you use Kodi to view those files or download those files first to your computer hard drive and then via them via another media player like VLC.
And yes, streaming content from platforms such as Popcorn Time could also present its own problems.
Security Gladiators in no way encourages or condones any type of violation of various copyright restrictions.
This includes illegal Kodi streaming.
Users are free to use Kodi for various purposes via legal online streaming sources.
Hence, users should consider the law in their land.
They should also think about the risks of piracy and its victims.
Only after those considerations should they download or stream copyrighted content without proper permissions.
If as a user you want to protect your online privacy when you view content via Kodi, then you need a VPN service.
This is what we recommend.
A VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
This service encrypts a user’s online traffic that travels through and from a given device.
After that, a VPN service reroutes that internet traffic through its own VPN server that is present in a location that the user chooses.
This enables the user to change his/her location.
Or spoof it, in other words.
As a result, users can bypass firewalls and all sorts of geo-restrictions which websites put out based on the user’s original location.
A VPN service is also very useful because its encryption technologies keep the likes of the user’s internet service provider along with government agencies at bay from spying on the user.
With a VPN service, a user can stay hidden from all authorities.
The user is free to view any content that he/she may like.
And no one can trace the destination of the user’s online internet traffic.
Such features make VPN services very important to people who download a lot of torrents and/or stream content using any of the popular but unsanctioned sources to play licensed content online.
The other thing you should know about Kodi addons is that sometimes hackers can hijack them.
Some call these hackers third-party players.
If and when that kind of a thing happens, the Kodi addons and those working behind the scenes can easily access the user’s computer machine.
They do it via man-in-the-middle cyber attacks.
Hackers can also make use of other forms of hacking to achieve the same goal.
If you use a VPN service then you help yourself to securing your computer system against all types of man-in-the-middle attacks.
Moreover, a VPN service also protects the user from any invasion of their privacy that might take place via Kodi.
With that said, keep in mind that Kodi can’t protect you from all Kodi addon hacking.
But it can prevent most of them.
Of course, even if a VPN can’t give you 100% security, you are still better than those users who don’t exercise any caution while using unofficial Kodi addons.
Unblock Kodi Addons And Use A SmartDNS Service With Kodi
If the idea of using a VPN just doesn’t seem to click with you then you can try out the other option in the form of Smart DNS proxy service.
This service works in a similar fashion to a VPN service.
It routes the user’s device online traffic via another location.
Unlike a VPN service, a smart DNS proxy doesn’t encrypt the user’s traffic.
Hence it doesn’t offer any protection.
A smart DNS proxy service is ideal for those users who only want to watch geo-locked content.
As mentioned before, a smart DNS proxy doesn’t keep your data private.
Therefore, torrenters should not expect protection via a smart DNS proxy service.
The Tiny Problem With Using a Smart DNS and a VPN to Unblock Kodi Addons
A lot of good streaming services such as Hulu and especially Netflix, actively go about the internet blocking users who use proxy services such as smart DNS and VPN services.
It is for that kind of reason that we suggest that you should sign up for a decent but paid VPN service.
And the market is filled with some good VPN service providers.
The top ones that we recommend are,
- NordVPN
- ExpressVPN
- IPVanish
- PrivateVPN
NordVPN is probably the best when it comes to watching US Netflix because it still works with Netflix.
That’s right.
Many good VPN service providers actually don’t work with Netflix.
NordVPN also has a lot of VPN servers.
This makes sure that all users have a VPN server available to stream Netflix content without coming across errors such as proxy error.
To sign up for NordVPN all you have to do is go to the official website of NordVPN and then sign up for the package of your choice.
The longer the duration of your subscription package, the more discount NordVPN will give you.
They also have a money-back guarantee period so you can buy NordVPN without taking any risks.
And can ask for your money back if you are not satisfied with the service after a specific period of time.
As mentioned before, if you don’t want to watch US Netflix, then the next best option is IPVanish.
IPVanish is perhaps the most popular VPN service provider in the world.
And for good reason.
It is an excellent VPN service provider.
It also works with all Kodi addons.
And it protects user’s privacy to the highest extent possible.
Along with that it also has fast VPN servers.
That means a smoother streaming experience for the user.
How to Set Up A VPN With Kodi And Unblock Kodi Addons?
Even if you sign up for a VPN service provider, you still need to set it up with your Kodi machine.
So how do you do that?
Well, it will largely depend on the operating system you are currently using or want to use Kodi on.
There are many ways to set up Kodi and a VPN on your system.
The first way is to go ahead and install a specific Kodi addon which allows a VPN to work within Kodi.
Then you can install a native VPN application that is outside of Kodi.
After that, you will need to manually set up the VPN using your operating system’s built-in system settings.
Apart from that, you can also manually set up a VPN on your router.
In this guide, we will list all the available options that you can use on each of the above mentioned operating systems.
If you want to know which are the best VPN service providers in the market today then click here.
How To Have Kodi VPN For Android, iOS, and Windows And Unblock Kodi Addons
We will describe how to setup Kodi VPN on Windows, iOS, and Android in just one section.
Why?
Because if we are talking about setting up a VPN on Kodi for Windows, iOS, and Android, then the process of installing a VPN on these operating systems are essentially the same.
In other words, a VPN works the same way on all these operating systems.
Our research for this unblock Kodi addons guide tells us that currently, developers haven’t really come up with a Kodi addon that enables online users to control and access a VPN service within the official Kodi interface.
That is true as far as Windows, Android and iOS are concerned.
So if you are one of those users who want to install VPN on Windows, Android and/or iOS then all you have to do is go to the official website of the VPN service provider you want to make use of.
And then download the native app.
Most good VPN service providers provider that for online users.
Once you have installed that native app on your machine, you will need to sign in on the main menu.
Then all you need to do is connect to a VPN server of your choice.
And then let the native VPN app run in the background.
When you have done so, your VPN service will encrypt your streaming traffic to Kodi and will reroute it through its own VPN server.
Why do we recommend this method over any other method?
Well, because this method is the simplest of all available methods.
Secondly, most of the good and modern VPN service providers have VPN apps which use the very secure OpenVPN protocol.
As we just mentioned, OpenVPN is the most reliable VPN protocol and that is why it has become the industry standard when it comes to security and privacy.
What To Do If Your VPN Service Provider Doesn’t Have A Native App? And How To Unblock Kodi Addons
There is always a chance that the VPN service provider you have signed up for won’t have a native app for your operating system.
Or maybe it does have a native app but you don’t really want to use it on your main computer.
For you, there is the manual setup option.
Most VPN service providers offer these settings someplace in their settings menu.
If you do decide to go this route, you will have to limit your options to the following VPN protocols,
- L2TP
- PPTP
- SSTP
So which protocol should you go for out of the three we have mentioned above?
Our research says that you should go with SSTP or L2TP.
But whatever you do, try to stay away from the PPTP protocol.
Why?
Because it has major security vulnerabilities.
There is an exception though.
If you must control your VPN service from within the Kodi platform, then you can use VPNicity.
What is VPNicity?
It is a VPN service.
But not just any VPN service.
It is a VPN service that developers made specifically for Kodi users.
The best part about this VPN service provider is that it acts as a Kodi add on program.
And hence offers users many different functions.
Moreover, VPNicity has support for a wide array of operating systems.
It works with most devices available in the market as well.
Here is the catch:
It doesn’t come for free.
You will have to shell out $5.99 per month for a monthly subscription package.
There is also a 7-day free trial that you can take advantage of.
We have to give you our honest opinion here:
Since there are so many other good VPN service providers out in the market that offer way more functions and features at much lower cost, VPNicity is not really a good sell.
Remember that other VPN service providers work with and without Kodi.
VPNicity doesn’t.
So you have to take that factor into account as well.
But since we wanted to give you all the options that are available, we thought you would want to know about VPNicity.
Kodi VPN For Mac (Mac OS X) To Unblock Kodi Addons
To put it in shorter terms, Mac OS X Kodi users can make use of all the options that we talked about in the previous section.
But, they have one more bonus option:
A Kodi addon that enables all Mac users to switch their VPN app off and on from inside the Kodi interface.
Isn’t that great?
Our recommendation is, of course, the OpenVPN Kodi add-on.
Brian Hornsby is the guy who developed this add-on.
This Kodi addon is open source.
And Kodi users don’t have to install anything in the way of an extra repository or even any other Kodi addon.
Once the user has installed this Kodi addon, the OpenVPN Kodi addon will automatically appear in the user’s Program menu.
Then the user will need to download the appropriate OpenVPN configuration files for his/her VPN service provider.
Then the user has to import these configuration files into his/her Kodi addon.
The user only has to perform the above process once.
But for each VPN server.
After following the procedure described above, the user is free to control his/her VPN service right from the Kodi menu.
Kodi VPN For Set Top Boxes (Android Based Ones Like Chromecast, Roku and Fire TV) to Unblock Kodi Addons
If you are using an Android-based set-top box for streaming your media then you have very limited options.
In other words, you will have to try really hard for a VPN solution if you use,
- Roku
- Chromecast
- Fire TV
for your streaming needs.
We don’t know of many VPN service providers who make apps for set-top boxes.
Moreover, the majority of the VPN service providers don’t even provide support for manually setting up their VPN service for set-top boxes.
You can use the previously-mentioned VPNicity option
But that would not be a wise decision.
So, with no other options left, there is just one solution:
Install and set up your VPN service on your internet/wifi router.
What does that mean exactly?
Well, if you install your VPN service on your router then all your internet traffic including from all of your devices in your office or in your home will go through the VPN service.
Of course, if you buy a separate wifi router exclusively for your Kodi device than it won’t protect all your devices.
But depending on your situation VPN on router may have benefits for you.
If you are one of those users who want to protect themselves with a VPN service provider all the time then VPN on router may work for you.
But you will have to make sure that your VPN service provider has reliable VPN servers.
Otherwise, you risk unstable connections.
What’s the process then?
The actual process is different for different routers with different firmware.
VPN service providers such as ExpressVPN and IPVanish have tutorials for setting up VPN on routers for many different cases on their official websites.
Kodi VPN on Linux And Other OpenELEC and Raspberry PI Systems to Unblock Kodi Addons
This is probably the first time that Linux users can say they have more options available than everyone else.
Of course, you will have to check if your VPN service provider offers some kind of an app for Linux.
If it does, then you can easily use that VPN app in order to connect to the VPN outside of your Kodi software.
You’ll have to check the list of VPN service providers that support Linux though.
Additionally, you can check out the many Linux distros that usually come with an open-source OpenVPN VPN client.
In other words, it is pre-installed in Linux.
However, you could have a distro that doesn’t.
In that case, all you need to get that OpenVPN client is a few lines of proper code.
Find that code and then input that in your Linux’s command line.
Linux users can also take advantage of Kodi addons that allow users to control their VPN service from within their Kodi setup.
Depending on the Linux distro, Linux users have quite a number of options here.
However, we still feel that Brian Hornsby has the best solution of them all.
Why?
Because it works with almost all version of Linux.
It is also truly open source.
To put it another way, it doesn’t come with any attached strings.
As mentioned earlier, users don’t have to install anything other than the Kodi add-on itself.
Brian’s solution doesn’t require any other addon.
And it doesn’t require any extra repositories either.
That should cut it for any Kodi user.
But if it doesn’t then that user can just go and try out Stefan Saraev’s solution here.
Again, depending on your Kodi setup you may need to configure and add some other Kodi addons from SuperRepo or Fusion repository.
That should help you set the VPN up on your Kodi.
Remember that the Stefan Saraev solution is capable of working with OpenELEC user devices as well.
How to Set Kodi With Smart DNS Service And Unblock Kodi Addons?
We have already mentioned the fact that Kodi works perfectly with elite class VPN service providers such as IPvanish.
With that said, if the user doesn’t feel comfortable with that solution and wants to go down the other smart DNS proxy route then this is how the user should proceed.
Remember that Smart DNS proxy services work a bit like VPN services.
In what way?
In that, users can control both from within their Kodi setup.
If they choose to do so, they can also control their VPN services and smart DNS services outside Kodi.
Let’s call the first type of solutions in-Kodi solutions.
These work cross-platform.
In other words, they don’t have a problem working with all operating systems that have the ability to run the latest version of official Kodi.
At the time of writing this guide, Kodi’s latest version is Isengaard.
Keep in mind that a smart DNS proxy service does nothing to encrypt your online traffic.
That means less security.
But it also means more speed.
There is one other downside though.
Streaming sites like Hulu and Netflix find it much easier to block smart DNS proxy services than they do VPN services.
Hence, we can’t really guarantee anyone that a given smart DNS proxy would always perform well.
Moreover, smart DNS proxy services generally do not have a large number of servers or server locations.
That is, when we compare them to VPN service providers.
So which is the most popular smart DNS proxy service for Kodi?
More importantly which one should you use to unblock Kodi addons.
It is Unblockr.
Unblockr developers Kodi addons in addition to its proxy service.
It doesn’t come for free though.
Users will have to pay $2.63 per month to get the service.
There are more expensive plans too if that is your thing.
Unblockr offers all its users a seven-day free trial.
Which is great.
Do you want to know the best thing about this smart DNS proxy service called Unblockr?
Its ability to automatically update the user’s IP address.
Hence with this addon you won’t have to worry about updating your IP address manually.
You just have to sign up for the service and the follow the instructions on the official website in order to know how to install Unblockr on your platform.
Unblockr is one of the few Kodi addons that work.
Of course, there are bound to be more addons.
If you know some other good options then don’t forget to let us know in the comments section below.
What To Do If You Already Have A Smart DNS Proxy Service?
In that case, you have to go to your wifi router settings or device settings and set it up.
Most reputable smart TV sets and set-top boxes for streaming media bar users from modifying the device’s DNS settings.
Hence your best option is to go through a wifi router because it has a better chance of having those settings to help you with your smart DNS proxy service.
Unblock Kodi addons Conclusion
To unblock Kodi addons you basically have two methods.
You can either use a good VPN service to unblock Kodi addons.
Or you can use a smart DNS service to unblock Kodi addons.
Our experience tells us that to unblock Kodi addons effectively and all the time you must use a VPN service.
Some users want to know how to unblock Kodi addons with a VPN from inside Kodi.
For that, we have mentioned two methods,
- Brian’s method to unblock Kodi addons
- Stefan’s method to unblock Kodi addons.
To know more about these unblock Kodi addons methods go to the related section above.
If you know another way to unblock Kodi addons then let us know.
Moreover, for help and support with your quest to unblock Kodi addons use the comments section below.
We hope that this guide helped you to unblock Kodi addons.
