Wispdock’s control panel isn’t built yet. Where a step says “in your control panel”, use whatever your host gives you for files, the console and start/stop. The Minecraft side works the same everywhere.
Confirm the edition before sharing an address: Java servers and Bedrock servers use different clients and connection details.
Find the address and port
If you run the server on a host, the address is in your control panel. If a friend runs it, ask them for it. It comes in one of these shapes:
- A hostname, such as
play.example.com. - An IP address, such as
203.0.113.10. - Either of those with a port after a colon, such as
203.0.113.10:25566.
Java servers listen on TCP port 25565 unless someone changed it, and Java leaves that port off. Bedrock servers listen on UDP port 19132, and Bedrock asks for the port in a separate field.
A hostname can carry its own port through a DNS SRV record (_minecraft._tcp). Java reads it, so play.example.com can lead to port 25566 without anyone typing it. Bedrock ignores SRV records, so Bedrock players always need the real port.
Running the server on your own PC? The address for friends outside your house is your public IP, and the setup for that is in how to make a Minecraft server. If you can’t or don’t want to forward ports, playing without port forwarding lists the other ways in.
Match the game version
Java clients and servers must run the same Minecraft version. Find out which one the server runs: it’s in your control panel, in the server’s startup line in the console, or in the multiplayer list once you’ve added it.
In the Minecraft Launcher, open the Installations tab and choose New installation.
Give it a name, pick the server’s exact version from the Version list and choose Create.
Back on the Play tab, select that installation next to the Play button and start the game.
A pinned installation also stops “Latest release” from moving you to a new version the day Mojang ships one, while the server is still on the old one.
Bedrock has no version picker. Phones, consoles and the Windows app update themselves, so the server has to keep up. If Bedrock players suddenly can’t join after an update, the server is usually a version behind. On a Java server with Geyser, updating Geyser is what fixes it.
Join from Minecraft Java
Start the game with the right installation and choose Multiplayer. The first time, the game shows a warning about third-party servers. Choose Proceed.
Choose Add Server. Give it any name, and paste the address into Server Address. If the port is 25565 you can leave it off.
Server Resource Packs decides what happens if the server offers a resource pack: Enabled, Disabled or Prompt. Leave it on Prompt if you’re not sure. Choose Done.
Select the server in the list and choose Join Server. A signal icon and a player count mean the server answered.
For a one-off visit, Direct Connection takes an address without saving it to the list.
If the game says multiplayer is disabled and points to your Microsoft account settings, that’s an account restriction, not the server. The FAQ below has the fix.
Join a modded server
A modded server needs the same mod loader and the same mods on your side, at the same versions. The plain launcher can’t do this on its own. Use a launcher that installs packs:
- the CurseForge app, for packs hosted on CurseForge
- Modrinth App, for packs hosted on Modrinth
- Prism Launcher or ATLauncher, which can import packs from both
Install the exact pack version the server runs, start the game from that profile, then add the server as above. If the game lists missing or mismatched mods when you join, compare the pack versions first. That’s nearly always it.
A Fabric server running only server-side mods, such as Lithium or a few admin tools, often lets plain clients join. Ask whoever runs it. Setting up the server side of a pack is covered in installing a modpack.
Join from Minecraft Bedrock
Find the address and the Bedrock port in your control panel. The default Bedrock port is 19132.
Open Play, go to the Servers tab, scroll to the bottom and choose Add Server.
Fill in Server Name, Server Address and Port, then save and join.
This works on Windows, Android and iOS. The same steps join a Java server running Geyser: use the Java server’s address with the Bedrock port Geyser listens on. The Geyser guide covers that setup and what Bedrock players can’t do there.
Join from Xbox, PlayStation or Switch
On consoles the Servers tab only lists Mojang’s featured servers, and there is no Add Server button. Joining your own server takes a workaround. The two common ones are third-party projects:
- BedrockConnect: you change the console’s DNS settings so that one of the featured servers opens a server list where you can type your own address.
- MCXboxBroadcast: an extension for Geyser that makes the server show up as a joinable game in the Friends tab, through an Xbox account the server signs in with.
Both depend on things Mojang and the console makers can change, and either can break after an update. Check with us before you plan around console players.
If it doesn’t connect
Right after a start or restart the server needs a moment. It’s ready when the console prints a line like Done (12.345s)! For help, type "help". Modpacks can take several minutes.
After that, the message tells you most of what you need:
- Connection refused: nothing is listening at that address and port. The server is off, still starting, or the port is wrong.
- Timed out: something between you and the server drops the traffic. A firewall, missing port forwarding, or the wrong IP.
- You are not white-listed on this server!: the whitelist is on and your name isn’t on it. The owner runs
/whitelist add YourName. See whitelist and ops. - A version shown in red in the server list: your game version doesn’t match the server’s. Go back to matching the version.
Timeouts, authentication errors and the rest are in fixing “Can’t connect to server”.
Frequently asked questions
What port does a Minecraft server use?
Java servers use TCP port 25565 by default and Bedrock servers use UDP port 19132. A host may give you a different port, and then you add it to the address after a colon on Java, or type it in the Port field on Bedrock.
Do I have to type the port?
On Java, only if it isn’t 25565 and the address has no SRV record pointing at the right port. On Bedrock the Port field is always there; leave it at 19132 unless you were given another number.
Can I join a Java server from Bedrock?
Only if the server runs Geyser. Then Bedrock players add the server with the address and the Bedrock port Geyser listens on, usually 19132. Without Geyser the two editions can’t see each other.
Why doesn’t the server show up under LAN worlds?
Dedicated servers don’t announce themselves on the local network the way Open to LAN worlds do. Add them with Add Server and the address, even when the server is on a PC in the same house.
It says multiplayer is disabled. What now?
That message comes from the Microsoft account, not the server. On child accounts, a parent has to allow joining multiplayer games in the Xbox privacy and online safety settings for that account.
Wispdock servers will come with a join address you can paste straight into Add Server. The draft plans are on the pricing page; ordering isn’t open yet.
Still stuck? Send us the details and your latest.log.