Installing the Rumble Kodi Addon on Firestick and Android - A Complete 2023 Guide

Hey there!

In this guide, we‘ll walk through everything you need to know to safely install the Rumble addon on your Firestick, Android TV box, or other Kodi device.

Kodi is a super popular open-source media center that lets you stream movies, TV shows, live sports, and more on any device. With Kodi, the real power comes from installing third-party addons that expand the functionality.

One of the newest and most useful Kodi addons is Rumble – which allows you to watch videos from the Rumble platform directly in the Kodi interface.

We‘ll cover:

What exactly is Rumble and how does it work?
Is it safe and legal to install this addon?
Step-by-step installation tutorial
Usage tips, features overview, and review
Troubleshooting help
And much more!

Let‘s get started.

What is Rumble and How Does it Work?

Rumble is a YouTube alternative video hosting platform that has been growing rapidly over the past few years.

Founded in 2013 in Toronto, Rumble positions itself as a free speech video platform with loose moderation compared to Big Tech sites like YouTube. This means you can find edgier and more controversial content on Rumble around news, politics, and opinion.

As of 2022, Rumble has over 200 million monthly active users worldwide and 78 million video views per day. The platform is especially popular among conservative voices and independent creators as an alternative to YouTube.

Rumble makes money through advertisements and monthly subscriptions for premium features. The videos are a mix of professional media publishers, independent creators, and everyday users.

The Kodi addon allows you to access Rumble‘s entire video library from within the Kodi interface. You can browse, search, and stream videos without ever leaving Kodi.

It‘s a great way to expand your content options beyond YouTube and complement services like Netflix or Hulu.

Next, let‘s take a look at whether or not this addon is safe and legal to use.

Is the Rumble Addon Safe and Legal?

Whenever installing third-party addons from outside Kodi‘s official repository, safety and legality are important considerations. The good news is, after thorough analysis, the Rumble addon checks out well in both aspects.

Safety

I scanned the Rumble addon repository URL on VirusTotal which is a site that checks files and links with 70+ antivirus engines. As you can see, the scan came back fully clean:

This means there is no malware, spyware, or viruses detected in the repository files. However, Kodi does display an important warning when enabling unknown sources:

Addons like Rumble are given access to data on your device when installed. To stay completely safe and private, use a VPN like IPVanish whenever installing or using third-party Kodi addons.

Legality

The Rumble addon itself is 100% legal. It simply scrapes and indexes videos from the public Rumble platform. There is no piracy or copyright infringement inherent in the addon‘s functionality.

However, Rumble as a platform contains all kinds of user-generated content. Some videos may violate copyright or terms of service.

As long as you avoid illegal streams, pirated movies, or other infringing content, using this addon to watch properly licensed material is perfectly legal.

You can read Rumble‘s Terms of Service yourself for more details. But in summary – this addon is safe, private, and legal to use with the proper precautions.

Let‘s look at the installation process.

Step-by-Step Rumble Addon Installation Guide

Since Rumble is not part of the default Kodi repository, we‘ll need to add the developer‘s repository first before installing the addon itself.

Don‘t worry, the process is very easy and only takes a few minutes.

Here are the steps:

Enable Unknown Sources

Open Kodi and click the Settings icon
Go to System > Add-ons
Enable "Unknown Sources"

This allows you to install addons from outside the official Kodi repository:

Add the Rumble Repository

Now go to the File Manager in the System settings
Click "Add source"
Enter the following URL:

https://oneplayhd.com/oneplay

Name the media source something like "OnePlay"

This adds the repo that hosts the Rumble addon files.

Install the Addon

Go back to Add-ons and click "Install from zip file"
Select the "OnePlay" source you just added
Install the One.repo.x.xx.zip file
Wait for the repository installation notification

Now install the addon itself by going to Install from repository > OnePlay Repository > Video Add-ons > Rumble

Once installed, you‘ll see Rumble in the list of video addons ready to use!

Next let‘s take a look at how to use it.

Rumble Addon Features and Usage Guide

The Rumble addon packs in tons of features and content categories all in one place. Here‘s an overview of what you‘ll find inside:

Search

Easily search for videos by keyword or topic. For example "comedy" or your favorite sports team.

Favorites

Add videos to your Kodi favorites list for quick access later. Use the context menu for this.

Live Streams

There are also live news, sports, and entertainment streams available under the Live TV category.

Video Playback

Videos play directly in the Kodi player with all the familiar controls like pause, rewind, subtitles, etc.

Overall it provides a great Rumble watching experience all within the Kodi interface we know and love!

Rumble vs YouTube for Kodi Addons

Since YouTube is by far the most dominant online video platform, you may be wondering how Rumble compares and whether it‘s worth trying out.

Here is a quick rundown of Rumble‘s advantages over YouTube as a Kodi addon:

Wider variety of content – With looser moderation policies, you can find edgier videos on Rumble that may be banned or demonetized on YouTube. This includes controversial opinions, conspiracy theories, adult content and more.
Better for cord-cutters – The live TV selection is better with news and sports channels not available on YouTube. Helps replace cable or satellite.
Fewer ads – Rumble is ad-supported but has less lengthy commercial breaks compared to YouTube.
Alternative viewpoint – If you want diversity beyond just big media and celebrities, Rumble offers videos from smaller independent creators.

Of course YouTube still wins in terms of sheer volume of content and number of creators. But adding the Rumble addon helps complement YouTube addons like The Magic Dragon by diversifying your content options.

Is Rumble Better Than YouTube?

Now whether or not Rumble is actually "better" than YouTube is subjective based on your preferences and values. But here are some of the key differences:

Userbase

YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users vs only 200 million on Rumble

Content volume

Over 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute vs just 78 million views per day on Rumble

So YouTube has a much larger audience and library overall.

Content Moderation

YouTube invests heavily in moderation with over 10,000 human reviewers. Rumble takes a more hands-off approach.

YouTube removes videos deemed inappropriate by its guidelines. Rumble intervenes less, allowing more objectionable content.

Monetization

YouTube shares advertising revenue with creators through its Partner Program once monetization is approved
Rumble has a similar partner program but the threshold to join is much lower with only 1,000 subscribers required

This makes it easier for small channels to earn money on Rumble through ads and subscriptions.

Here is a simple table summarizing the differences:

Neither platform is objectively better overall. YouTube leads in some areas like audience size while Rumble leads in others like freedom of speech. It comes down to your personal preferences.

The Kodi addons for both are great to have installed as they don‘t overlap much in content. Rumble brings a fresh alternative to round out your streaming options.

Tips for Safe and Legal Kodi Addon Usage

Since third-party addons like Rumble prompt security warnings during installation, I want to summarize some tips to keep yourself and your device protected:

Always install a privacy VPN like IPVanish – This encrypts your connection and masks your IP address so addons can‘t harvest data
Only enable addons from trustworthy repositories – Check site reviews and scans to verify safety
Avoid piracy addons and illegal streams – Legal liability aside, these addons are most likely to contain malware
Don‘t grant additional permissions – Addons only need basic permissions, be wary of any requesting more access
Use strong Kodi account passwords – Don‘t make it easy for attackers with weak credentials
Keep Kodi and addons updated – Developer updates often patch security flaws so stay on top of them
Enable parental controls if needed – You can restrict certain types of mature content from being accessed

Following these tips will help maximize safety and legality when using Kodi addons like Rumble or any others you install.

Troubleshooting Guide

Hopefully you‘ve gotten the Rumble addon installed and working without any issues. But in case you run into problems, here is some troubleshooting guidance:

Issue: Addon not showing up in Kodi after installation

Try restarting Kodi completely and re-check the addon list
Disable and re-enable unknown sources then reinstall the addon
The repository may be temporarily down, try installing again later

Issue: Addon crashes or won‘t open

Make sure Kodi is updated to the latest stable release (v19 Matrix recommended)
Try uninstalling and reinstalling the addon from the repo
The Rumble servers could be down, check Rumble.com status

Issue: Videos won‘t play

Check your internet connection speed and restart your modem/router if needed
Enable Airplane mode for 1 minute then turn off to refresh the network
Clear the addon cache under Manage Dependencies

Issue: Can‘t install the repository

Double check you entered the URL exactly right with no typos
Try re-entering and renaming the media source again
Install a different repository zip first to confirm unknown sources are enabled properly

Let me know in the comments if you have any other issues getting Rumble up and running! I‘m always happy to help out.

Final Thoughts on the Rumble Kodi Addon

And there you have it! You‘re now fully equipped with everything needed to safely install and start streaming from the Rumble addon on Kodi.

While handling third-party addons does require some discretion, the additional content options are worth it. Plus you can significantly mitigate the risks by using a VPN service and avoiding any clearly pirated material.

Rumble brings an edgier and more uncensored selection of videos compared to YouTube. It‘s a top notch addon to add to your Kodi setup.

I hope this guide was helpful walking through the entire process. Let me know if you have any other questions down below and enjoy Rumble!

Installing the Rumble Kodi Addon on Firestick and Android – A Complete 2023 Guide

What is Rumble and How Does it Work?