Last week I was reviewing solutions to see KODi on a Chromecast, and since then I have been thinking about whether it would really be possible to do something similar and install KODI on a PS4.
Can KODI be put on a PlayStation 4?
I hate clickbait headlines. They make me very angry, and coincidentally, a few days ago I came across an article from one of those Spanish reference websites with a most captivating title: "How to install KODI on a PS4". This is mine! I thought. And silly of me, since after clicking and entering the news, the solution to bring KODI to the PlayStation 4 was to "install Plex." A) Yes. No problem. How?! Is it a joke, right?
The "Plex method" scam
The truth is that if we do a search in Google for the term "How to use KODI on a PS4" the first results that we will find, all of them, will refer to the "Plex method". Which by the way, is nothing more than an euphemism to say that KODI simply cannot be installed on the console and that instead we can install another media player (which has nothing to do with the XBMC player).
The Sony console will never allow the installation of Kodi on your system for a very clear reason: although it is an open source project - which is very commendable - it is an application that in certain circumstances allows you to play illegal content, something of course unacceptable to the console manufacturer.
Looking for alternatives: Yes, you can install KODI on a PS4 ...
… But it is not easy at all. After kicking around the Internet, I have discovered that there is a way to install the damn player on the PlayStation 4. Although personally, it is not something I would recommend. I explain.
There is a page called KODIPS4.com where they explain in great detail which method to follow. Everything happens to install a working version of Ubuntu on a pendrive (not a Live-CD, but a fully functional installation).
For this it is necessary to use VirtualBox to create a virtual machine and install Ubuntu on a pendrive of at least 16GB. During the Ubuntu installation, likewise, it will be necessary to create an additional partition where to install the PS4 bootloader (a tool that allows us to start the console from the USB).
From here, everything consists of starting the console, inserting the pendrive and running the Linux loader so that the PS4 starts the version of Ubuntu that we have on the USB memory.
Why the pendrive trick doesn't work
In theory this is just the method we need, since it allows us to load Ubuntu from a pendrive and once inside the operating system install KODI as if we were working on a PC. Best of all, by using a USB memory, the console's hard drive remains intact and allows us to continue playing games normally. So, where is the problem?
The problem is that to get the PS4 to load Ubuntu we have to do what is known as a jailbreak, something that completely destroys the warranty of the console. But this is not the biggest problem: the big obstacle is that the "trick" only works if we have the console with firmware 5.05 or lower. That is, a fairly old firmware version.
Therefore, if we want to load Ubuntu from the console to be able to use KODI, as well as other applications such as Steam, emulators and others, we will have to revert the firmware and never update it. Is it worth not being able to play online or use so many other functions of the PS4 to be able to use a version of KODI that, in addition, is not optimized for the hardware of our game console? Personally, I think not.
In any case, I hope this article helps us to be a little clearer what “installing KODI on a PS4” really means and not get carried away by the clickbait headlines and the famous “Plex method”.
You may be interested: The best legal add-ons for KODI: Free series and movies
You have Telegram installed? Receive the best post of each day on our channel. Or if you prefer, find out everything from our Facebook page.
