How to Join and Connect to Your Minecraft Java Server

To join a Minecraft Java server, add its address under Multiplayer > Add Server in Minecraft, then click Join Server. The address is your server’s subdomain (like yourname.playwn.co) or the IP and port of its Primary allocation.

Find your server address

1. Log in to the Game Control Panel and select your server
2. In the sidebar, click Management > Allocations
3. Copy the address of the allocation marked Primary. It looks like 123.45.67.89:25565: the IP, a colon, then the port

Share the address with the port included. A missing or wrong port is the most common reason players can’t join. For screenshots of where the address appears, see locating your IP address.

Want an easier address? The Domains tool gives you a free subdomain like yourname.playwn.co. Java players type it without a port, because the subdomain’s SRV record supplies the port for them. To use a domain you own, see connecting your domain.

Join from Minecraft Java

1. Open Minecraft Java Edition and click Multiplayer
2. If a multiplayer warning appears, click Proceed
3. Click Add Server
4. Enter any name in Server Name. It’s the label shown in your server list
5. Paste the address into Server Address
6. Click Done
7. Select the server in your list and click Join Server

The server appears in your list with its player count. If it shows as offline or won’t let you in, see connection troubleshooting. To join once without saving it, click Direct Connection instead of Add Server.

Let Bedrock players join with Geyser

Bedrock players (phones, tablets, Windows, and consoles) can join a Java server through Geyser, a plugin that translates between the two editions. Geyser has its own port, and Bedrock players need that port, not your Java port.

Find your Geyser port

• Geyser came preinstalled, or our team updated it for you: your Bedrock port is already set. In the Game Control Panel sidebar, click Server Options and find -DgeyserUdpPort= in the JVM Flags field. The number after it (for example 19134) is your Geyser port
• You installed Geyser yourself: it’s the port you set in Geyser’s config.yml, one of your unused ports from Management > Allocations. The Geyser setup guide walks through it

New Minecraft server hosting orders can come with Geyser and Floodgate preinstalled on Paper: click Preinstall Bedrock cross-play when you choose your version.

Sharing the Geyser address

Give Bedrock players two things:

• Server address: your IP, your subdomain, or your own domain
• Port: your Geyser port, for example 19134. Your Java port won’t work for Bedrock

Bedrock ignores SRV records, so a subdomain never fills in the port for Bedrock players. With a Dedicated IP, Geyser can run on 19132, Bedrock’s default port, so players can leave the port as it is.

Join from Bedrock

1. Open Minecraft Bedrock Edition and click Play
2. Open the Servers tab
3. Scroll below the featured servers and click Add Server
4. Fill in Server Name (any name), Server Address (your IP or subdomain), and Port (your Geyser port)
5. Click Save, then select the server to join

The first time players join, Bedrock shows a Trust on First Use? prompt. That’s expected. Players accept it once.

Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch have no Add Server button. Console players follow Connect Xbox and Consoles and enter your Geyser port when it asks for one.

Connection troubleshooting

Connection refused

If Minecraft shows Connection refused: no further information or Connection refused: getsockopt, the server is not accepting connections on the address you entered.

1. Open the Game Panel and check that your server’s status shows Online. If it is offline or still starting, wait for it to finish or click Start
2. Verify you are using the correct IP and port from Management > Allocations. The Primary allocation is the one players use to connect
3. Make sure you entered the port correctly. A missing or wrong port is the most common cause
4. If you recently changed the server-port value in server.properties, reset it to match your Primary allocation port and restart your server

Connection timed out

If Minecraft shows Connection timed out, the connection attempt could not reach the server at all.

1. Check that your server is Online in the Game Panel
2. Confirm you are using the correct IP and port
3. Try connecting with the raw IP:Port instead of a subdomain to rule out DNS issues
4. If the problem only affects some players, the issue is likely on their network. Ask them to try a different network or run a network test to check for packet loss between their location and the server

Internal Exception: DecoderException

If Minecraft disconnects you with Internal Exception: io.netty.handler.codec.DecoderException, your game received data from the server that it could not read. The text after it varies, for example java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 8 out of bounds for length 3.

Most likely cause: your client and the server don’t match. Usually that is a different Minecraft version, a different mod list, or different mod versions.

1. Find the server’s Minecraft version. See Checking Your Server Version
2. Launch Minecraft on that exact version. If the server uses ViaVersion, test with the server’s own version first
3. On a modded server, install the same mod loader and the same mods as the server, at the same versions. For a modpack, use the same pack version on your client
4. If you recently added or updated mods on the server, make the same change on every player’s client
5. Try joining again

If everything matches and the error continues, one mod’s networking code may be at fault. Update your mods, or remove recently added mods one at a time to find the one causing it.

Server not showing in server list

If you added the server but it shows as offline or doesn’t appear in your server list:

1. Confirm the server is Online in the Game Panel
2. Double-check the IP and port in your Minecraft server list entry
3. Click Refresh in the Minecraft multiplayer screen
4. If the server uses a non-default port, make sure you included it after the IP (e.g. 123.45.67.89:25565)

Bedrock can’t connect with my subdomain

If Java players can join with your subdomain but Bedrock players can’t, the port is almost always the cause. Bedrock ignores the SRV record that gives Java players the port.

1. In Bedrock, edit the server and check the Port field. It must be your Geyser port, not your Java port and not the default 19132 (unless you have a dedicated IP with Geyser on 19132)
2. If you don’t know your Geyser port, see Find your Geyser port
3. Try your raw IP with the Geyser port. If that works and the subdomain doesn’t, check the subdomain’s records with the steps in the Domains tool guide
4. If the raw IP fails too, make sure Geyser is version 2.12.1 or newer and set up for Bedrock 26.60. See updating Geyser for Bedrock 26.60

Still can’t connect?

If none of the above resolves the issue, contact our support team with:

• Your Server UUID
• The exact error message you see
• Whether the issue affects all players or only some