How to Install Subtitles on Kodi with OpenSubtitles?

OpenSubtitles is a top-rated subtitle service for Kodi providing millions of free subtitles in 75+ languages. The best part is it can be integrated easily with Kodi – you can set up captions on pretty much any movie or TV show you are watching on the platform and greatly enhance your home entertainment.

Subtitles can often be the key to enjoying movies and TV shows at home or on the go. Maybe you want to watch your video in low volume to avoid disturbing others, you want to learn a new language, or you simply don’t want to miss anything said in the title you are watching. All these have made subtitles very popular Kodi addons, and nothing gets bigger than OpenSubtitles in this case.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to get subtitles on Kodi with OpenSubtitles in just a few steps. We’ll also look at any issues you may face and help you solve them.

NOTE: We’re assuming that you already have Kodi installed on your device. If not, don’t fret! We’ve written a complete guide on everything you need to know about Kodi and how to make the most of it: How to Use Kodi

There are several Kodi subtitle services that you can use, but none of them are at the level of OpenSubtitles. On top of that, OpenSubtitles is available on the official Kodi repository, so setting it up is relatively easy.

OpenSubtitles is a free service, but you must have a registered account to use it. Here are the steps on  how to create one:

1. Head to opensubtitles.org and click Register.
2. Fill in the registration form and click the Register button.

From there, go to your email and click the link you’ll find to activate your account.

The next step is to install the OpenSubtitles plugin then set up the account we have just created.

1. While at the Kodi home screen, click Addons on the left-side menu.
2. Open the package installer by clicking the open box icon on the top-left side of the screen.
3. On the next screen, click Install from repository.
4. If you have multiple repositories, select Kodi Add-on repository. This is the official repository that comes pre-installed in the software. If you haven’t installed any third-party repository, step 3 above should take you to the next screen.
5. Scroll down and click on Subtitles.
6. Select OpenSubtitles.org.
7. You’ll now get an option to install the plugin. Hit it.
8. Wait for the installation to complete. If successful, you get a notification on the top right side of your screen.
9. Click on OpenSubitles.org once more to open the plugin information page. Now, click the Configure button.
10. You should get a pop-up dialog box. Enter the OpenSubtitles username and password you created earlier. After that, click Ok.

We have now set up OpenSubtitles on Kodi. That’s not all, though, as we still need to do a few more configurations.

For OpenSubtitles to work seamlessly, we’ll need to set the service’s language to provide subtitles. We’ll also need to set OpenSubtitles as your default Kodi subtitle service. 

1. Go back to the Kodi main page and click the cog button on the top left side to open the Kodi System Settings menu.
2. Choose Player.
3. First, make sure to set the settings level to Standard or Expert (not Basic) on the Player Settings Page. You can find this status on the lower side of the screen, and you can change it by clicking on it.
4. After that, hover over Language and scroll to Download Services.
5. Now, choose the language you’d like to use for your subtitles. There are 181 options, but this settings option won’t be necessary for most users as the default option is English.
6. Now, click on Default TV show service. You should then see OpenSubtitles as an option since we already installed it. Click on it.
7. Repeat step 6 above for Default movie service.
8. Here’s what everything should now look like, bar the language for some.

We’ve now set up OpenSubtitles on Kodi, but you may need to activate the service manually depending on the addon you are using.

Most Kodi addons have the subtitle functionality set to “On” by default, so you should be able to select a subtitle whenever you feel like it.

Go ahead and select a title on any addon you are using. For this part of the guide, we’ll use Oath, one of the best Kodi addons at the moment.

1. Once your title starts playing, click the Subtitles icon on the lower right side of the screen.
2. A pop-up box will show. Click Download subtitle.
3. You should now see several options. Click one that matches the name of the video you are watching. The first ones are often the best match and are rated higher in accuracy and sync.
4. From there, your movie or episode should start playing with subtitles.

You can activate subtitles on Kodi whenever you play any movie or TV show using the above procedure. However, there are some precautions you need to take to ensure you stay safe while streaming on Kodi.

Despite Kodi being legal software, most third-party addons aren’t. This is because Kodi developers do not host the content provided by their addons. This poses a problem when your ISP monitors your online activities. Worse, they could share this information with your government. On top of that, copyright crackdown is increasingly intensifying in the Kodi world, leading to the defunct of many popular third-party addons and repositories.

Whenever you want to stream on Kodi, we highly advise using ExpressVPN to protect yourself online. The VPN encrypts online activities using the AES-256 standard to guarantee that nobody can tell what you are doing. It also keeps an audited zero-logs policy to ensure that your data will always remain private.

Here’s how you can use ExpressVPN to stay safe when streaming.

You first need to create an account with the VPN to get started. This should only take about 2 minutes.

1. Using your browser, visit the official ExpressVPN website and click Get ExpressVPN.
2. Now, you’ll need to select a subscription plan from the three offered. All ExpressVPN plans offer the same features and privileges, so the only difference is length. The more extended plans provide more value, but you can also try out the VPN using the monthly plan. All subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
3. After that, scroll down and enter your email address. You can then select a payment method.
4. Lastly, complete the payment and create a password for your account.

ExpressVPN provides apps for almost all popular platforms that support Kodi.

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• Android
• iOS
• Android TV
• Firestick (Fire OS)
• Routers

You can download the VPN app from the ExpressVPN website and install it like any other app on most of these devices. It is also available in all official stores. 

Follow these steps to install ExpressVPN on your Firestick:

1. Go to Firestick main screen. Under Find, click Search.
2. You’ll now get a search Window. Start typing ExpressVPN, then click on the suggestion.
3. Select ExpressVPN on the results page.
4. Click Download to initiate the installation.

Click Open to launch the app or start it from the Apps & Games section. 

After that:

1. Click Sign In.
2. To login, provide your email address and password, then click Sign In. This will prompt Firestick to throw a connection request. Accept it by clicking Ok.
3. The ExpressVPN homepage will now appear. The app automatically selects the best server depending on your location, and you can connect with just a single click.

To select a specific server, click on the chosen server, and you’ll see the entire server list. ExpressVPN offers 3,000+ servers spread across 160 locations in 94 countries.

You can also customize your connection by going to the Settings page. To do so, click the hamburger menu on the top left side, then select Settings. This will give you options such as Auto-connection, Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, Protocol Selection, and Shortcuts.

After that, go back and select a server or click the connection button on the main page. ExpressVPN will then connect. You can now open Kodi (you can set it up as a shortcut as shown below) and start streaming safely!

If OpenSubtitles is not working, this is probably because the addon you are using requires manual activation of subtitles. One such addon is Asgard, and we’ll use it to show you how to activate OpenSubtitles manually. This should only take a minute.

1. Open the addon’s settings page by going to the settings option on the main menu. Alternatively, you can go to the OpenSubtitles’ information page and click Configure.
2. On the left panel, scroll down and hover over Subtitles. You will see several subtitle options. Turn on Enable Subtitles.
3. After that, click OK.

Now, go back and select a title. Before you even start watching it, you’ll get several of the top subtitles.

Choose the first one (preferably) or the best match, depending on the video name. Enjoy streaming with subtitles!

OpenSubtitles can greatly enhance your streaming experience by ensuring that no sentence goes past you, and it’s especially helpful on Kodi as the sound may sometimes not be high-quality. The guide above takes you through the entire process of setting up OpenSubtitles to activate subtitles on Kodi, with a walkthrough on installing the best Kodi VPN for that extra layer of online protection and streaming quality. These should help you regardless of the device you are using. Enjoy!