Archive:Mac FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions for OS X and Mac hardware from Apple.

General FAQ

Supported hardware Link Kodi v17 requires Mac OS X 10.8 or later. Kodi v18 (and its nightlies) will at least require 10.9) Kodi v20 and above requires an Intel Mac running OS X 10.13 or higher.

How to install and/or update Kodi Link Main page: HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_for_Mac_OS_X Simply download Kodi from http://kodi.tv/downloads/ and copy Kodi.app to your Applications folder to install Kodi Do the same to update Kodi. All your settings and files will be preserved as they are located in a different place in the Userdata. Be sure to make a backup of the Userdata when doing updates in case something goes wrong. If you have OS X 10.8 or higher, you may need to bypass the Gatekeeper settings to install Kodi: See Gatekeeper

Kodi for OS X version Link The current stable version of Kodi for Mac is Kodi v21 Omega. This is the same code that all of the other platforms (Linux, iOS, Windows) are using.

What version/nightly build/beta of Kodi am I running? Link Kodi main menu > System > Lower submenu > System info. Note the build date.

Remote controls

What remotes can be used with Kodi Link Apple remote (both white and silver version) How do I bring up the context menu? - Press and hold MENU How do I bring up the OSD during playback? - Press and hold SELECT Logitech Harmony remotes can be used. See #Harmony Any Keyboard such as wired, wireless, bluetooth. This includes "keymotes" such as the Rii or Boxee Box remote. Web interfaces, including add-on interfaces. Kodi smartphone and tablet remote apps. Other IR remotes can be used with IR receivers such as the FLIRC.

Starting Kodi with the Apple Remote Link The Apple Remote can be set to start Kodi instead of Front Row or iTunes. Go to Settings -> System -> Input devices and select "Allow start of Kodi using the remote".

Using a Logitech Harmony remote Link Kodi can use a Logitech Harmony remote using the normal Apple IR receiver that is built into some Macs. Go to Settings -> System -> Input devices and change "Apple remote" to "Universal". On the Logitech Harmony remote, select the Plex profile.

Can't wake a sleeping Mac using the Apple Remote on 10.7 Link See #Remote_wake

iTunes and/or system volume is taking over when using the remote Link Possible solutions: Install the free IR driver Candelair Make sure your remote is not paired in OS X under System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General Make sure your remote is not paired in iTunes under iTunes -> Preferences -> Devices Make sure the remote is still able to control Kodi (with or without the volume issue) Install Candelair If needed, set the remote to either Apple or Logitech Harmony (see the #Harmony section above) Install this free patch: http://www.thebitguru.com/projects/iTunesPatch Install Magic Keys : https://www.gearmusicplayer.com/extras.html Still have problems? Try this: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=121137&pid=1002261#pid1002261

General

Getting more help with Kodi for Mac OS X Link Kodi for Mac OS X specific help forum #Kodi or #kodi IRC chat channel on irc.freenode.org.

Userdata folder and logs Link See HOW-TO:Submit_a_bug_report for bug reporting details and here for instructions on reporting an issue to the forums Userdata: /Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata Debug log: /Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Logs/kodi.log Console log: /Library/Logs/Console/501/console.log CrashReporter: /Users/<your_user_name>/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/

I am seeing double or ghost files for some videos Link When Mac OS X touches files that are saved on a non-Mac-formatted drive (HFS+) it will save metadata in what are often called AppleDouble files. They often show up looking like ._filename.ext or .DS_Store. On a native Mac formatted drive (HFS+) the metadata is written in such a way that it does not create these files, which is why you don't see them there. Normally, these files should not be visible to Kodi and they should not be scanned into the libraries. The only exception for this is if "Show hidden files" is turned on under Settings -> Appearance -> File lists -> "Show hidden files and directories" You can prevent Mac OS X from creating these files on a network share by using a program such as TinkerTool or by opening Terminal.app and running the following command: defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true To remove existing appledouble files you need to make them visible (again, you can use TinkerTool to make them visible, but remember to re-enable invisible files afterwards to protect certain system files) and drag them to the trash can and delete them.

Remote issues Link See #Remote controls

Add-ons downloaded from the internet are not in zip format or will not install Link There are two main possibilities for an add-on to not install when you use "Install from zip". One is that it isn't in a proper zip format, the other is that the add-on is for an older version of Kodi that isn't compatible with the version you are using. Very commonly the Safari web browser is being used to download these add-ons, and by default will unzip the files leaving you with a folder that won't work with the "Install from zip" option. You can turn this feature off by going into Safari's preferences, under "General" and unchecking "Open 'safe' files after downloading". If you wish to keep this feature on, you should be able to find the original zip file in the Trash can. Just drag the file out and use it instead of the folder for "Install from zip". Sometimes you need to build zip plugin from directory. Almost all ZIP programs on OSX create zip file, which is not compatible with KODI. If you want to create compatible plugin, you can use "zip" program from terminal, usage zip -r plugin.name.zip plugin.directory/ or you can download YemuZip and be sure you choose "Type: PC" while creating ZIP file.

Can't see UPnP sources/servers Link See If you are unable to see UPnP sources or servers inside of Kodi it could be due to a conflicting UPnP service running on your Mac or network. One known conflicting server is EyeTV, which runs a UPnP server in the background, even if EyeTV itself is not running. Uninstalling EyeTV or forcing all EyeTV processes to quit in Activity Monitor should fix the issue.

Audio issues and/or slow video playback Link If you hear sound only coming from the left side of speakers/headphones then you probably need to change your audio settings from 2.1 to 2.0. Make sure that your audio settings are correct. Wrong audio settings will have severely negative effects on video playback. Check to see if your speaker setup is really correct If passthrough: make sure you only enable the audio codecs your receiver supports. Select the correct audio output device for analog and passthrough. Not actually an issue with Kodi: Apple does not provide support for HD-audio passthrough in their audio API, CoreAudio.

Why does setting the output for 2.0 sound work better for 5.1 sound? Link 2.0 is the number of channels we are opening in the device. For all passed through audio like DTS and AC3 we need 2 channels (as those 5.1 channels are encoded into 2.0 pcm channels). Setting the speakerlayout higher results in the activation of LPCM. LPCM means Kodi decodes all channels from the 2.0 encoded DTS, AC3 sound (resulting in 6 channels for 5.1) - remaps them according to the audio device and then puts them out as 6 pcm channels (this is 3 times more data then the 2.0 encoded channels from DTS, AC3 passthrough). Since we have issues with mapping the channels from input format 5.1 to device format 5.1 atm - this may result in silence instead of audio.

Bluetooth audio results in poor sound quality. Link Go into Settings -> System -> Audio and select Fixed and 44.1 on the settings. Some screensavers are missing Due to a lack of manpower for OS X devs, "rsxs" screensavers were dropped from Kodi for Mac OS X. "rsxs" screensavers are still supported on other platforms. See here for more info.

Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) (and higher) issues

SMB (Windows Sharing) isn't working when sharing files Link Sometimes Apple changes things with SMB sharing and additional steps are needed.

Userdata folder and logs are hidden Link By default, Mac OS X 10.7 hides the user's Library folder, which is where Kodi's userdata folder and logs are stored. There are a few ways to get around this: While in the Finder, click on the "Go" menu and hold down ⌥ Option, then select Library. You can use programs such as TinkerTool to change the visibility of all or some hidden files/folders. To permanently reveal the ~/Library folder, open up Terminal and run this command: chflags nohidden ~/Library Note: Anytime there is an OS X update (e.g. from version 10.7.3 to 10.7.4) you will have to run this command again as the folder will be hidden again.

Can't wake a sleeping Mac using the Apple Remote Link Apple changed how energy saving settings work on Mac OS X 10.7/10.8 and by default the Apple Remote will not wake a sleeping Mac. This can be fixed by changing the "darkwake" flag on Mac OS X, but do this at your own risk.

Strange sound when movie is paused after updating to 10.7.4 Link Are you getting strange sounds when you pause some movies after updating Mac OS X to 10.7.4? Apple changed some OS-level code that has affected several programs, including Kodi, Plex, ProTools, and others. It has been reported that upgraded Mac OS X to 10.7.5 or 10.8 (Mountain Lion) fixes this problem. For more info see this forum post: Forum:131305.

Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) (and higher) issues

Gatekeeper prevents Kodi from installing ("Kodi" can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer) Link Main page: HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_for_Mac_OS_X#Gatekeeper If you have Mac OS X 10.8 or higher then you might get a message saying that Kodi "can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer". This is due to the OS X Gatekeeper feature that is designed to discourage users from downloading from random locations and possibly installing something bad. Assuming you've downloaded Kodi from http://kodi.tv/download/ then you have nothing to worry about, and we just need to bypass this warning: Recommended - Right click (or command+click) the Kodi icon and select "open" or Advanced - Enable all application downloads In OS X go to the Apple Menu -> System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General -> Unlock the padlock at the bottom of the window, which will require a computer admin password Where it says "Allow applications downloaded from:" select "Anywhere" OS X will give you a scary warning that is a bit exaggerated. If you're not comfortable with this, use the "right click" method mentioned above. On newer Mac OS versions where the „Anywhere“ option is not visible there is only the way via Terminal.app to disable Gatekeeper as follows: Launch Terminal if you haven’t done so yet (/Applications/Utilities/) issue the following command to turn off Gatekeeper: sudo spctl --master-disable Hit return and enter the admin password as usually required by sudo, and Gatekeeper will instantly be disabled In all cases OS X will still ask you if you want to open an "unsigned" application the first time it is opened, so new applications that are downloaded can't just start by themselves.

Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks)

Other 10.9 issues Link Stuttering video- Some users have had issues with stuttering video, possibly related to the AppNap feature. Possible issue with auto-switching GPUs on some Macbook Pros- There seems to be an issue with some Macbook Pros that have auto-switching GPUs that cause Kodi to start up with only 16k colors and/or low resolution. Switching in and out of windowed mode seems to work as a temp workaround (press \ on a keyboard). Crash when starting Kodi with external monitor- Kodi might crash when there is an external/second monitor connected (laptops only?) and not in mirroring mode. This will be fixed in the 12.3 bugfix release and has been fixed in nightly builds. SMB/SAMBA/Windows sharing sharing from Mac OS X 10.9- Not really an Kodi issue, but Kodi clients connecting to a Mac OS X 10.9 SMB/SAMBA/Windows-sharing file server might have compatibility issues again. SMBUp can be used as a workaround. IR Apple remote is unresponsive- The "App Nap" feature in OS X 10.9 might cause lag and delays when using the white or silver Apple IR remote control. A temp work around would be to disable "App Nap" in OS X.