Products · Product
Kodi
Raised as a usability problem by 50 people on Hacker News over 13 years (2014–2026), in 41 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
- 1
Every issue, all time, most people first
Interface is very hard to use on Android TVUnreviewed
20142026- Borderline unusable interface, especially on Android TV2026-05-19
- Interface is convoluted and hard to navigate on TVs2026-03-07
- Interface is very hard to use on Android TV2024-02-26
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Kodi themes are less responsive and polished than the Jellyfin Roku app2026-09-08
- Found Kodi's interfaces annoying to use2026-09-07
- Borderline unusable interface, especially on Android TV2026-05-19
- Kodi's UI is so bad that others can't use it and setup and maintenance eat huge time2026-03-07
- Forces text-based folder-and-file model on everything, with error pop-ups and poor defaults2026-03-07
- Interface is convoluted and hard to navigate on TVs2026-03-07
- Interface is clunky, though it still gets the job done2025-12-13
- Back button behaves oddly during video playback, confusing the user2025-11-22
- Even a technically capable person couldn't figure out how to use it2025-11-21
- Gets the user turned around after many hours; UI choices are weird and confusing2025-11-21
- Interface is dated and hard for non-technical users to use2025-11-21
- Users get lost in editing mode and can't find their way back from playback overlays2025-11-21
- Unsure what a remote button press will do; mapping is unclear2025-11-21
- Streaming add-ons are slow and terrible for discovering what to watch2025-03-18
- Gets stuck in modal menus it can't exit, so family members can't use it2025-02-16
- Interface is really hard to operate on phones2024-07-22
- Kodi is messy to set up before it works properly2024-04-07
- Can't tell how to add a folder as a source; clicking opens it or plays files instead2024-04-07
- Interface is very hard to use on Android TV2024-02-26
- Setup process and interface are hard to use, typical of open-source software2023-12-27
- Wrong button presses cause unwanted overlays or modes that can't be dismissed2023-10-25
- Too much setup; must build a media library and navigate a media center UI2023-09-15
- Family members get stuck in weird useless modes and can't watch anything2023-07-11
- Housemates won't use piracy apps because the interface is imperfect to navigate2023-04-26
- Slow library syncing and browsing becomes poor with large libraries2022-12-29
- Some add-ons can't be installed in the UI and need hidden apt packages2022-10-22
- Kodi's interface is very unpleasant and its configuration is absurdly opaque2022-09-29
- Interface is more annoying and difficult to navigate than a desktop, especially with a remote2022-09-28
- Described as endlessly complicated yet inflexible, making it a poor fit for the commenter's needs2022-08-21
- Plugin interface is painful, so users spend much time hunting for alternatives2022-04-05
- Kodi doesn't respect the user's folder hierarchy, which is very annoying2021-12-21
- Non-technical household members struggle to learn how to use it2021-12-21
- Plugins fail and the app crashes frequently2021-12-21
- On 4K TVs the cursor and UI are annoyingly tiny2021-12-21
- Too many clicks to browse files, and the interface is laggy2021-12-21
- Library scanning is very slow for a medium-sized music collection2021-12-21
- Default interface is hard to use and unfriendly, needing custom themes to improve2021-12-21
- Spent years trying to configure Kodi and never got it working well2021-11-19
- Kodi's core UI structure is disliked and alternative skins don't fix it2021-10-22
- Settings are scattered and mixed in with using the app on a TV interface2021-09-11
- Configuration is a nightmare unless managed through the app itself2021-09-11
- Settings scattered across several XML files that must be managed separately2021-09-11
- Kodi's UI is hard to customize and its fundamental design is disliked2021-08-24
- Upgrades break things and plugins stop working, leaving many features unusable after updating2021-02-21
- A bug made the app unusable for the commenter2021-02-21
- Has an excessive number of incoherent keybindings and defaults2021-02-01
- Slow menus, and remote key presses only register after several tries when waking up2020-07-11
- Adding sources in Kodi has a disastrous interface that is hard to get working2018-11-06
- Arcane interface and complicated plugin setup make streaming a hassle2018-08-13
- Found it clunky and annoying to use2018-08-13