Move Kodi from PC to Firestick (Android 11+)

[u/Ernald00]

Hi everyone,

I found Kodi to be performing much better than alternatives for very high quality streaming on bad hardware (like that on my Firestick 4k Plus).
As such, I decided I will take my time to learn it and configure it, experimenting on my PC and then bringing everything to the Firestick each time I'm happy with the result.

I didn't expect there to be an auto-sync for feature for configurations and add-ons (like in Stremio), but to my surprise it's been impossible to even find out how to move things manually .

Things I tried without success:

1. Moving my PC Kodi folders to the Firestick, but then I wasn't able to access the Android/data folder because it's locked down in recent Android version. (I used Localsend to move files, godsend app)
2. Using the standard Backup add-on. Even though I were able to move and select my backup to restore, the Restore pop-up keeps closing without any explanations every time I try.
3. Adblink: I downloaded it but I didn't understand if and how it could be used for what I needed.

Any advice on what to do? Is kodi even supposed to be moved between different devices with different OS? Would it work if I stopped using my PC and instead configured everything in my Firestick ?(backing stuff up and restoring later if needed).

[u/hip_hop_head_80]

adblink can do this quickly and easily.

1. Enable ADB Debugging on Fire TV:
   • Go to Settings > My Fire TV > Developer Options (or About, then tap your build name 7 times if Developer Options are hidden).
   • Turn on ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources.
2. Find Your Fire TV IP Address:
   • Go to Settings > My Fire TV > About > Network to find the IP address of your Fire TV.
3. Connect adblink to Fire TV:
   • Open adblink on your computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux).
   • Click New or Select under devices, type a description, enter your Fire TV's IP address, and click Save.
   • Click Connect to establish the ADB bridge connection.
4. Restore Kodi Data:
   • Click the Kodi Restore (or Restore) button in adblink.
   • Choose your saved Kodi backup folder or .kodi directory from your computer when prompted.
   • Confirm the prompt to proceed with the restoration and wait for the transfer to finish.
   • Click OK and launch Kodi on your Fire TV.

[u/Itzamateama → u/hip_hop_head_80]

Does it work with the android 11 limitations?
Sorry, it looks like copy and paste from an ai chat

[u/hip_hop_head_80 → u/Itzamateama]

It is a copy and paste but I glanced over it before pasting and it is correct.

It works on my Android 11 TV, Fire TV Stick 4K 1st gen , and Fire TV Cube gens 2 and 3.

I've used it many times. It makes an exact 1:1 clone of your Kodi install on another device in a matter minutes depending how big your backup is.

[u/Itzamateama → u/hip_hop_head_80]

Ok, I’ll try this one. Thank you!

[u/Little_Possible2857]

Back up addon is what I have always used. Go to settings, and for every app do a stop+delete cache. Delete any unwanted app. Then try again. 

[u/super_sonic2]

You could zip your kodi folder, copy it to firestick and unzip it. Dunno if this still works.

Use the file manager inside kodi for this, it has access to the system folder.

It is easier to just set everything up on the Firestick from scratch.

[u/Due_Initiative3879]

It can be moved but don't expect PC quality streaming power on a Firestick you will hit a wall performance wise.

[u/Itzamateama]

I have the same problem (well I was trying to move from Android to android) and then I got the same android 11 limitation, what I ended up doing is using https://www.mediaelch.de/mediaelch/ which I use it to scrape all my media, it saves all the scrapped data next to your media files and then kodi can use that scrapped metadata locally, I found this way even more efficient because you can manage the scrapped data easier from a pc.
I decided to use this method because at least for me it I need to switch to a different android device I can just take my library, and all the metadata is coming already with me, unfortunately I would need to configure Kodi again you know, skins, adons, preferences, but I think you can configurate that in a couple hours, for me the creadores metadata is more important, is that makes sense.
Anyways there are different scrappers over there but I decided to use media alch because of I remember correctly is the one that works with tmdb.
BUUUUT there is a bug that just appear a couple months ago and don’t allow you to scrape your tv shows automatically, you need to do it one by one, you need to insert the ID from each tv show manually, a little inconvenient, but it works for me.

And please let me know if you find a different method to move all your data with android 11 limitations

[u/BeastModeAlllDay → u/Itzamateama]

You can change the Kodi data location to a user accessible folder and transfer it across Android devices on newer versions. 

https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Change_data_location_for_Android

[u/Itzamateama → u/BeastModeAlllDay]

Interesting, I’ll try this this weekend

[u/ohweav]

AFAIK you have to get an older version of the firestick with old OS on it like the one below.