How to Fix a Black Screen on Kodi (5 Things to Try)

Are you having a “black screen” issue on Kodi?

There are several different possible causes of this issue, but I’ve collected all of the tips to resolve it here.

Before you try any of these tips, completely close or force close the Kodi app.

Clear the Kodi App Cache

The first thing to try, especially when using Android, is to simply clear the app cache.  Often times, this is enough to solve weird glitches that happen from time to time (with any app, really… not just Kodi).

• Force close the app
• Long-press its icon in your drawer
• Select ‘App info’
• Select ‘Clear cache’ (which may be within another menu ‘Storage’)
• Try opening Kodi again

Lower the Device Refresh Rate to 60Hz

If you have a newer Android phone like a Pixel or Samsung Galaxy, the problem may be caused by the high refresh rate.  In your device’s display settings (at the operating system level, not Kodi), set the refresh rate to 60Hz.  Then try opening Kodi again.

Delete a Corrupt Addons.db File

If you recently just upgraded to a newer major version of Kodi and then this black screen problem started, it may be due to an issue with the upgrade process where the addons.db file doesn’t properly get updated.

If this describes your scenario, then you should be able to solve the issue by simply deleting the addons.db file from your userdata/Database folder.

• Open a file explorer (if on Android, you’ll need to use a file explorer app)
• Find your userdata folder (click here to learn how to find it)
• Open the Database folder
• Delete the file named Addons27.db (or something like that).
• Reopen Kodi

Toggle Hardware Acceleration

If you get a black screen only while playing video in Kodi, but you can still access the Kodi settings, try toggling the “allow hardware acceleration” setting in Media Codec in player settings.

Reinstall Kodi

If none of these tips helped, you should probably resort to uninstalling and reinstalling Kodi.

Leave a Comment

While I normally like to help people solve issues, due to the nature of this issue, I will be very limited in my ability to help you diagnose the issue if none of the above issues solved it.  But, feel free to share your scenario to see if I (or anyone else) can offer help.

If one of these tips did solve the problem for you, please share below in the comments so everyone can see which solutions helped.  Thanks!