How to join your Minecraft server on any device

Java players join with only the address, like castle.play.wilderack.com, and no port. Bedrock players type the same address in the Server Address box and the port from your address card in the Port box. Both are on the address card on Overview, with copy buttons.

Your address

Open the panel and look at the address card on Overview.

The port in the examples is made up. Your server has its own port, picked for it, so always copy the one on your address card. It is not Bedrock’s usual 19132, unless you added a Dedicated IP.

Join on Java (Windows, Mac and Linux)

1. Open Minecraft Java Edition and pick the same game version as the server. The version is shown in Settings > Game version on the panel.
2. Click Multiplayer. The first time, the game shows a warning about third-party servers. Click Proceed.
3. Click Add Server.
4. Type a Server Name you’ll recognise, like Castle.
5. In Server Address, type castle.play.wilderack.com. Don’t add a port or a colon.
6. Click Done, select the server in the list and click Join Server.

To join once without saving it, use Direct Connection instead of Add Server.

If the server is asleep, the server list says so. Join anyway: that wakes it, and you’re in after a couple of seconds.

Modded servers: your game needs the same mod loader, the same mods and the same versions as the server. The easiest way is to install the same modpack in a launcher. See what friends install.

Join on Bedrock (phones, tablets and Windows)

1. Open Minecraft and tap Play.
2. Open the Servers tab.
3. Scroll down and tap Add Server.
4. Fill in the boxes:
   • Server Name: anything, like Castle
   • Server Address: castle.play.wilderack.com
   • Port: the port from your address card, like 30412
5. Tap Play to join now, or Save to keep it in your list. Next time, pick it from the list and tap Join Server.

The first time you join, the game may ask whether you trust this server. Check that the address is yours, then accept. In 2026, Bedrock moved to a newer way of connecting (called NetherNet), and this prompt is part of it.

Keep the game up to date. A Bedrock server only lets in players on the same version, and Bedrock updates often.

Join from Xbox, PlayStation or Switch

Minecraft on Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch has no Add Server button. The Servers tab only lists the game’s featured servers, and no setting on our side can change that.

Console players can still join with a community workaround. These tools are not made by Mojang or by us:

• A phone app on the same Wi-Fi. The BedrockConnect app holds your server’s address and makes it show up on the console as a LAN game. The console then joins it from the Friends or Worlds tab.
• A custom DNS setting. You change the console’s DNS in its network settings. Opening a featured server then opens a list where you can type any address and port.

Follow the tool’s own guide at wiki.bedrockconnect.app, because the steps differ per console and change after game updates. Each console also needs its online membership for multiplayer, where that console asks for one.

Joins through these tools may not pass through us first, so they may not wake a sleeping server. Send console friends your wake link, play.wilderack.com/w/castle. They open it in any browser, press the wake button, and join a few seconds later.

Bedrock players on a Java server

Turn on the Bedrock addition for your Java server. It installs Geyser and Floodgate and adds a Bedrock port to your address card. Bedrock players then follow the Bedrock steps above with that port, and console players use the workaround. What works and what doesn’t is in Bedrock crossplay.

Passwords and private servers

Minecraft servers don’t use a join password. To keep strangers out, use a list of allowed players:

• Java: the whitelist. On 26.3 and later it is on by default.
• Bedrock: the allowlist. It is on by default.

Add each friend by their exact player name, or they’ll be turned away. See ops, whitelist and bans.

Does it show in a server list?

No public list shows your server, so only people with your address can find it. It appears in each player’s own list once they add it, along with its message of the day and player count.

Can’t connect?

1. Check that the server is Running or Sleeping on Overview. A Stopped server doesn’t wake when someone joins. Press Start.
2. Check the address for typos. Java: no port. Bedrock: the port from your address card.
3. Check that your game version matches the server’s.
4. Check that you’re on the whitelist or allowlist.
5. Read the exact message on screen and look it up in common errors.