diff --git a/jellyfin_kodi/helper/xmls.py b/jellyfin_kodi/helper/xmls.py
index 0831514b5..0397c0f77 100644
--- a/jellyfin_kodi/helper/xmls.py
+++ b/jellyfin_kodi/helper/xmls.py
@@ -117,13 +117,18 @@ def verify_kodi_defaults():
 
         if xbmcvfs.exists(file_name):
             try:
-                tree = etree.parse(file_name)
+                f = xbmcvfs.File(file_name)
+                b = f.read()
+                f.close()
+                tree = etree.ElementTree(etree.fromstring(b))
             except etree.ParseError:
                 LOG.error("Unable to parse `{}`".format(file_name))
                 LOG.exception("We ensured the file was OK above, something is wrong!")
 
             tree.getroot().set('order', str(17 + index))
-            tree.write(file_name)
+            f = xbmcvfs.File(file_name)
+            f.write(etree.tostring(tree.getroot()))
+            f.close()
 
     playlist_path = translate_path("special://profile/playlists/video")