IPTV on Kodi in New Zealand: Easy 5-Step Setup Guide

Setting up IPTV on Kodi gives you something the simpler apps do not: live channels and a programme guide in the same place as your own films and photos. Kodi is a free media centre that runs on almost everything, including Fire TV Stick, Android TV boxes, Windows, Mac and Xbox, which makes it popular in New Zealand homes with several devices.

It takes a little longer than IPTV Smarters Pro or TiviMate, so this guide walks through it in five steps. Have your M3U playlist URL, and ideally your EPG (TV guide) URL, ready. Both come from your provider after you order, and you can test IPTV on Kodi first with a free 24-hour trial.

Why IPTV on Kodi needs an official add-on

Kodi’s reputation suffers from third-party add-ons that promise free streams. Stay away from them. They are unreliable, frequently carry malware, and have nothing to do with a paid subscription.

Everything in this guide uses IPTV Simple Client, an official add-on maintained by the Kodi team and included in Kodi’s own repository. The Kodi wiki page for IPTV Simple Client documents every setting. You do not need to enable “unknown sources” or install anything from outside Kodi.

How to set up IPTV on Kodi in 5 steps

Step 1: Install Kodi

Android TV / Google TV: install Kodi from the Play Store
Windows or Xbox: install Kodi from the Microsoft Store
Mac: download it from the official Kodi website
Fire TV Stick: Kodi is not in Amazon’s Appstore, so install it through Downloader using the address on kodi.tv. Our Fire TV Stick guide explains how Downloader works

Always get Kodi from the official store or kodi.tv. “Pre-loaded” Kodi builds come with add-ons you do not want.

Step 2: Enable IPTV Simple Client

Open Kodi and go to Add-ons
Choose My add-ons → PVR clients
Select IPTV Simple Client
Choose Enable, then Configure

If it is not listed under My add-ons, go to Add-ons → Install from repository → Kodi Add-on repository → PVR clients and install it from there.

Step 3: Add your playlist

In the Configure screen, open the General tab:

Set Location to Remote path (Internet address)
Select M3U play list URL and paste the address your provider gave you
Leave the other settings as they are for now

Type slowly if you are using a remote. A single wrong character stops the whole list from loading, so check the URL before you save.

Step 4: Add the TV guide

Open the EPG tab:

Set Location to Remote path (Internet address)
Paste your XMLTV URL (the EPG address)
Select OK to save

Step 5: Restart Kodi

Close Kodi completely and open it again. You will see a message saying the PVR manager is starting. Give it a minute or two the first time while it downloads your channels and guide.

A TV section now appears on the home screen, with your channels, a programme guide and recordings. That is IPTV on Kodi up and running.

Settings that make IPTV on Kodi better

Check the time zone. If programme times are out by an hour or more, go to Settings → Interface → Regional and make sure the time zone is Pacific/Auckland, which is New Zealand time. Daylight saving changes in late September and early April are when this usually shows up.

Refresh the guide. Kodi caches guide data. If it looks empty or old, go to Settings → PVR & Live TV → Guide → Clear data and restart Kodi. This only clears guide data, not your playlist.

Hide channel groups you never watch. IPTV on Kodi loads every group in your playlist by default. A smaller list loads faster and makes the guide easier to browse. Our favourites guide explains why this matters on large channel lists.

Open Kodi straight into TV. Under Settings → Interface → Skin → Configure skin, you can set the home screen to open on TV so you go straight to live channels.

Recording with IPTV on Kodi

IPTV Simple Client is built for watching live channels and catch-up, not scheduled recording. If recording matters, and in New Zealand, where a lot of overseas sport airs overnight, it often does, TiviMate on an Android TV box is the better tool. Our recording guide compares the options.

When IPTV on Kodi is the right choice

Choose Kodi if you are one of the many New Zealand households who already use it for your own media, you like customising everything, or you want the same interface across several devices, including an Xbox.

Choose a simpler app if you only want live TV. IPTV Smarters Pro and TiviMate are faster to set up and easier for the rest of the household. Our player app comparison goes through them.

Fixing common IPTV on Kodi problems

“No channels” or an empty TV section. The playlist URL is usually mistyped. Re-enter it, then restart Kodi completely.

Channels load but the guide is blank. Check the EPG URL, then clear guide data and restart.

Buffering. Kodi on a low-powered stick can struggle with large guides. Hide unused groups, turn on hardware acceleration under Settings → Player → Videos, and see our buffering guide.

Kodi feels slow overall. IPTV on Kodi runs best on a clean install. Remove add-ons you do not use and keep at least a gigabyte of free storage on the device.

Other devices are covered in the setup guide, and our FAQ answers the common questions.

Common questions

Is IPTV on Kodi safe?

Kodi itself is safe, free and open source. The risk comes from third-party add-ons that promise free streams and often carry malware. For a paid subscription, use only IPTV Simple Client from Kodi’s official repository, and install Kodi from an official store or kodi.tv.

Why is my Kodi TV guide showing the wrong times?

Usually the time zone. In Kodi, go to Settings, Interface, Regional and choose Pacific/Auckland. If times are exactly one hour out around late September or early April, it is daylight saving. Clearing guide data and restarting Kodi applies the fix.

IPTV Simple Client uses an M3U playlist URL for channels and an XMLTV URL for the programme guide. It does not take a username and password directly, so ask your provider for the M3U and EPG addresses for your account.