How to join a Minecraft server

To join a Minecraft server you need three things: its address, the right edition of the game, and a game version the server accepts. On Java Edition, click Multiplayer, then Add Server, and type the address. On Bedrock, open Play, then the Servers tab, then Add Server, and type the address and the port in separate fields. This guide shows how to join a Minecraft server on each device and how to fix the errors you are most likely to see.

What you need before you join

• The address. A hostname or an IP address, sometimes with a port number. Ask the server owner for it.
• The port, if it is not the default. The default is 25565 on Java and 19132 on Bedrock.
• The right edition. A Java player joins Java servers. A Bedrock player joins Bedrock servers, or Java servers with crossplay switched on.
• Your exact username, if the server has a whitelist. The owner has to add you first.

How to join a Minecraft server on Java Edition

1. Open Minecraft: Java Edition and click Multiplayer. The first time, a screen titled “Caution: Third-Party Online Play” appears. Click Proceed.
2. Click Add Server.
3. Type any name you like in Server Name.
4. Type the address in Server Address.
5. Click Done.
6. Select the server in the list and click Join Server.

The address is either the host alone or the host, a colon and the port:

play.example.net
play.example.net:25570

Leave the port off only when it is 25565, or when the owner tells you the short address works without one.

To join once without saving the server, click Direct Connection on the Multiplayer screen and type the same address. If the server runs on the computer you are playing on, the address is localhost.

How to join on Bedrock: Windows, Android and iPhone

1. Open Minecraft and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. Choose Play, then open the Servers tab.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the server list and choose Add Server.
4. Fill in Server Name with any name, Server Address with the address, and Port with the port number. The default port is 19132.
5. Choose Save to keep the server in your list, or Play to join now.

On Bedrock the port never goes in the address box. If the owner sends you play.example.net:19140, the part before the colon is the address and the number after it is the port.

Mojang’s own guide to playing on a Minecraft server also describes Add Server on the Servers tab.

Joining from Xbox, PlayStation and Switch

Consoles are the hard case, and we will only tell you what we could confirm.

• Geyser’s documentation says: “All consoles can join third-party servers … with workarounds.” It describes Xbox One, Switch and PS4 joining through a third-party DNS method called BedrockConnect, or through a LAN-proxy app. The steps are on Geyser’s console page.
• Mojang’s guide describes Add Server on the Servers tab without naming platforms. We could not confirm Mojang’s official position for each console on 12 October 2026, so we will not tell you that your console has that button.

Those workarounds are third-party tools. They are not made by Mojang or by us.

Why a Bedrock player needs crossplay to join a Java server

Java Edition and Bedrock Edition use different network protocols, so a Bedrock game cannot connect to a plain Java server. The server owner has to switch on crossplay. That means running Geyser, a proxy that translates Bedrock players into a Java server, usually with Floodgate, which lets them join with their Bedrock account alone.

With crossplay on:

• Java players join as usual, with the Java address.
• Bedrock players use the Bedrock steps above and the server’s Bedrock port. That is UDP 19132 by default. On hosts that give a server one port, it can be the same number as the Java port. Ask the owner.
• Bedrock players miss a few things. They cannot click links in chat or use tab-complete, for example.

On a whitelisted server, a Floodgate player’s name starts with a . and the owner adds it with fwhitelist add. The Java and Bedrock crossplay guide covers the owner’s side. Severoo hosts Java and Bedrock servers with crossplay: see free Minecraft Bedrock server hosting.

Match your game version to the server

Java Edition. Your game has to run a version the server accepts. As of October 2026 the current release is 26.3. Version numbers became year-based in 2026, so 26.3 is newer than 1.21.11. To play an older version, open the launcher’s Installations tab, click New installation and pick the version the server uses. Some servers run a plugin called ViaVersion, which lets newer games join an older server. On a modded server you also need the same mod loader and the mods the server requires.

Bedrock Edition. The game updates through your device’s store, so keep it current. As of October 2026 the current release is 26.52, and Geyser supports Bedrock 26.30 to 26.52. If your game is older, a crossplay server will turn you away.

Common join errors and the one-line fix

If the fix does not work, go through can’t connect to a Minecraft server step by step.

Staying safe on public servers

Public servers are run by other people, not by Mojang. The Java caution screen says so: you “may be exposed to unmoderated chat messages” there.

• Keep private things private. Do not share your real name, address, school or passwords in chat. No server needs your Microsoft password.
• Hide or report a player. In Java Edition, the Social Interactions screen lets you hide a player’s chat messages or report them, and the pause menu has Player Reporting.
• Turn chat down. In Java Edition, Options, then Chat Settings, lets you set chat to Commands Only or Hidden.
• Child accounts. A Microsoft account’s online safety settings decide whether multiplayer is allowed. A parent can change them. Start from the Minecraft help center, which aka.ms/MCMultiplayerHelp opens.
• Prefer a private server for friends. A server with a whitelist only admits the people you name. You can make a free Minecraft server and whitelist it for your own group.