SMB

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Home icon grey.png   ▶ File sharing ▶ SMB


Introduction

Windows File Sharing, aka Server Message Block (SMB), is the standard client-server protocol used by Windows to share resources over a local network. SMB is available on all Windows computers and can be easily setup by the home user. SMB can also be accessed by other operating systems, which makes SMB the most commonly used network protocol to access content on a NAS or other remote hardware.

Note: SMB v1 is not supported in Kodi. SMB v2 or higher must be used.

Methods

Once SMB is implemented and the Source folders containing your media have been given Read/Write permission the Source folder(s) can be added to Kodi

Two methods are available- Windows Network (SMB) and Add Network Location detailed below. Windows Network (SMB) method being the simplest.

From the Browse for new share window (image 1 in both sections), select one of the following methods:


Windows Network (SMB)

When SMB v1 was deprecated by Microsoft due to security reasons, it was no longer possible to browse SMB shares. Instead it required you to add the specific IP Address or Device Name followed by the path to access shares. (detailed in the next section)

As of Kodi v19.1, the WS-Discovery protocol was implemented to allow browsing SMB shares again. [1] [2]

WS-Discovery is enabled by default on all Windows 10 installations and is well supported from Windows 7.

To add a share using this method, select Windows network (SMB) from the Browse for new shares list, then browse to the required Source folder.


Add Network Location

If the previous method is not available to you, then Shares can still be manually added using either the IP Address or Device Name method.

IP address
If using the IP Address method, ensure you reserve a DHCP address (static IP) for your NAS or other hardware. This ensures that your router will always allocate the same IP address to the server. If you choose not to do this, then you may find that the router has allocated a different address to your NAS and Kodi will no longer be able to access the media files.
To reserve a static IP address, log into your router and add the MAC address of the hardware to the Reservation list in your Router. If you do not know the MAC address, you should see it in the list of connected clients.
Device Name
If using Windows PC's you can use the Device Name of the PC.
The Device Name can be found in your Windows PC under Settings > System > About.


Note: Choose either Step 4 (IP Address) or Step 5 (Device Name), not both


References



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