Minecraft is one of the most exciting and popular games that allow you to be creative by exploring and setting up new worlds.
You can play solo and enjoy the game across different platforms.
However, you may also want to enjoy the game with your friends and share your worlds or use their created worlds.
Although there’s always the option of playing Minecraft on split-screen, it’s not without limitations.
For example, you need to be in the same location and share one screen.
There are other ways to join your friend’s world over the internet, which are easy to set up and cater to different needs and technical skills.
1. Minecraft Servers
Another way of connecting to a friend’s world is to join them via their server.
It means the other person must set up the server and give you its IP address.
However, since setting up a personal server is challenging and requires specific technical know-how, you can use already established servers that are free and easy to use.
If you insist on having your own server, you can use third-party services that create your servers without requiring you to be involved in the process.
Whether the server is private or public, the process of joining it is the same.
When your friend gives you the server’s IP address, open your Minecraft client and go to the Multiplayer screen.
You should find either Direct Connection or Add Server and click on it.
Look for a Server Address box and paste the server’s IP address.
You may need to choose a name for the server, especially if you select the Add Server option.
Next, click Join Server to start playing with your friends.
The same option is available on the Bedrock Edition.
After opening Minecraft, click Play and go to the Servers tab.
You can see a list of servers from which you can choose one that seems attractive to you.
If your friend has given you the server’s IP address, you can copy and paste it into the Add Server box.
You may also need to enter the server’s name and port in addition to the IP address.
2. Minecraft Realms
Some users prefer Realms over servers, although they’re more limited and don’t have mods and plugins.
In addition, they’re not free, and you need to pay for a subscription, which can cost different amounts depending on the platform, the length of the subscription, and the number of players.
On the other hand, it’s easy to set up and safe.
The reason is that you can create your realm with one or two clicks, and friends can join the world only if they have an invitation.
Your friend can create a realm on both Java and Bedrock editions.
For Java, after opening Minecraft, you can see the option Minecraft Realms.
Click on Create and Configure Your Realm and enter your new or existing name.
For the Bedrock edition, the process is also straightforward.
After opening Minecraft, click on Play and go to Create New.
Click New Realm and enter the world’s name.
After selecting the realm size, click Create.
Note that you need to pay for the subscription, but you can also use a free 30-day trial.
If you want to start the paid subscription, click on the realm and select Buy Now.
Follow the on-screen instruction to finish the process.
If you want to join your friend’s realm, they need to send you an invitation.
After creating the realm, they need to click on Configure Realm > Players.
Here, they can add players by pressing the + sign and entering your username.
Select Invite Player.
After entering your username again, you’ll receive an invitation that you should click on to join their realm.
If you don’t receive an invitation, go to your Realms page and look for New Invitations on top.
You can see all the invitations to new realms by clicking on this icon.
Select the realm and click Play to join your friend’s world.
To invite you to the Bedrock edition, your friend should click on the pen icon next to their realm’s name and select Members.
Go to the Share tab to get an invite link, which they can send to you.
They also need to be on your Whitelist, so they should sign in to their Xbox Live account and add you to their list.
To see their invitation, you can also go to the Friends tab and click on the listing to join their realm.
3. Minecraft LAN
If you and your friend are in the same physical location and using the same internet connection, you can join their world via LAN.
At first, your friend should enable the connection, and then you can join them.
If you’re using the Java edition, launch the game to the Single Player mode and open the intended world, or create a new one.
Press Esc and click on the Open to LAN option.
You need to choose your desired game mode in the new window, namely Adventure, Creative, or Survival.
Depending on your preferences, you could choose “Allow cheats on” or turn it off.
Click on the Start LAN world button.
Now, on your device, you should open your Minecraft game and select the Multiplayer option.
As soon as your friend starts the LAN world, you can see an option as Lan World on the screen.
By clicking on this button, you can join your friend’s world.
If not, they may need to share the port number stated in the confirmation message with you.
It’s something along the lines of “Local game hosted on port #” with the # sign being replaced by a five-digit number.
You can enter this port number in the Server Address box found under Direct Connect.
You’ll also need to provide your friend’s IP address available through the command prompt “ipconfig” and under the IPv4 option.
The Bedrock edition always has LAN worlds on by default.
However, your friend needs to create a world and make it visible to other LAN members.
To do so, they should open Minecraft, Select Play and create a world.
Alternatively, they can edit their current world and enable Visible to LAN Players.
You can join the world by navigating to the Worlds tab and looking for available LAN games on your device.
However, if it’s not turned on for any reason, you can enable it in the world’s settings under the Multiplayer section.
Make sure to exit the world before changing this setting because you can’t make any changes while you’re in that world.
The Bedrock edition also allows you to choose the number of slots and set the max players up to 30.
Even if you’re not in the same location, you can join your friend’s world via a LAN connection.
Your friend needs to forward the game’s port, and you can connect to their server via their router IP (more on that later).
Hamachi
There’s another alternative if you want to join your friend’s LAN over the internet.
JoinMeIn Hamachi is a type of VPN application that connects you to your friends over the internet by emulating a LAN connection.
However, you can only add five people to this network.
In addition, some users have reported conflicts between Hamachi and some antiviruses, preventing the connection.
If you get an error message that says Hamachi was unable to connect, temporarily disable your antivirus and firewall to see if it works.
To join your friends via Hamachi, your friend, who hosts the LAN, needs to download the Hamachi app and create an account.
Then, go to the Network tab and create a new network.
Your friend should also create a LAN network (as described above) and share its port number with you.
After setting up the network, you should go to the Network tab of the Hamachi app on your device and click Join an existing network.
Enter the LAN’s port number and join your friend’s world.
What To Do If You Can’t Join Your Friend’s Worlds?
If you can’t join your friend’s world in Minecraft, you should check some subtle points you may have overlooked.
For example, you can’t join a Bedrock world if you’re using the Java edition.
Then, you should check if both of you are using the same version of the game.
If you use the LAN to join your friend’s world, make sure both of you are using the same connection.
The game must be multiplayer if you’re joining the world on a server or realm.
If it’s a single-player game, you can’t join it.
Another thing that you should consider, which may seem too obvious, is that the friend who has invited you or sent you the server’s IP should be currently on the world.
If they’re offline or in another world, you can’t join it.
Ask your friend if their world has password protection or whether they’ve accidentally blocked you.
You should also check the mods you and your friend are running and make sure they’re the same.
Finally, make sure you’re not using the beta version of Minecraft.
In that case, you can’t connect to your friend’s world.
If so, uninstall the beta version, unsubscribe, and install Minecraft again.
If you still can’t join your friend’s world after checking these points, you consider the following solutions:
1. Ask Your Friend To Add You Again
The error that prevents you from joining your friend’s world may be due to a temporary glitch that can go away with a quick reboot.
Ask your friend to close the game and reboot their computer.
After the PC comes back on, they should run the game again and remove you from the list.
Then, they should add you again and see if you can join this time.
2. Turn Off Windows Firewall
If you have a firewall running on Windows, it may be preventing you from joining your friend’s world.
However, before turning it off, check if Minecraft is allowed in it.
To do so, go to the Control Panel and locate Windows Defender Firewall.
Click on it and select Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall on the left pane.
Find javaw.exe on the list and make sure it’s checked.
If it’s not, check the box next to it and also the boxes under Private and Public.
This way, you don’t need to disable the firewall and avoid putting your system at risk.
However, if you have a third-party antimalware tool installed on your computer, you may want to disable it temporarily and activate it after joining the world.
3. Check For Network Issues
Since you and your friend are joining the same world via the internet, you must have a reliable network connection.
Make sure both of you are using a fast Wi-Fi connection.
If you’re using a VPN, it may also impose some restrictions, particularly on P2P connections.
Check your VPN settings for these permissions.
Next, you should check if you have the latest network drivers.
Go to Device Manager and click on Network adapters.
Select your network adapter, right-click on it, and select Update Driver > Search automatically for drivers.
Follow the on-screen prompts to finish the update.
You should also check your internet hardware and ensure it’s configured correctly.
Otherwise, you can’t use many functions, such as playing online, joining multiplayer groups, or voice chat.
Here’s how to configure your network to join someone’s world using a Windows PC:
Type cmd in Cortana’s search box to open the Command Prompt.
Type ipconfig/all in the command prompt’s window and press Enter.
Look for IPv4 Gateway or Default Gateway and copy the numbers in front of them.
Open a browser and paste these numbers into the search bar.
Enter your router’s password, which is typically “admin” if you haven’t changed it before.
Go to the UPnP section, which may be under Administration or Advanced setup, depending on your router.
Enable UPnP and save your changes.
This way, you’ll remove the restrictions that don’t allow you to join a friend’s world.
4. Reload Your Own Worlds
This solution has worked for many users.
There might be some glitches in your account that prevent the connection.
So, you could give it a try and see if it helps.
Open Minecraft and go to Play > Worlds.
Select one of your worlds and open the menu.
Select Quit and Save.
Now, go to the Friends tab and see if you can join your friend’s world.
5. Port Forward
If your friend has a server through which you want to join their world, their router may be blocking incoming connections.
As a result, you can’t join their world.
The solution is to forward their ports to you so that you can join their servers without restrictions.
Port forwarding requires knowing your router’s IPS address, your gaming device’s IP address, and TCP and UDP ports, which you can find here.
You should know your router’s IP address to enter its settings (through the same methods described for removing network issues above).
To get your machine’s IP, you can search “What’s my IP” in Google and get it instantly.
After entering your router’s settings, look for a section named port forwarding.
Enter your gaming machine’s IP address in the required box.
Then enter the game’s TCP and UDP ports in the boxes.
Reboot your router as much as required until port forwarding takes effect.
Check out this video to see how to do port forwarding correctly:
6. Resolve Account Issues
If you haven’t set up your account properly, you may encounter restrictions that don’t allow you to connect to your friend’s servers or join their worlds.
That’s particularly important for cross-play or multiplayer settings.
If you use an Xbox device or a Windows PC for gaming, you should ensure your Microsoft account has been set up correctly to allow for multiplayer access.
Although a Microsoft account supports multiplayer access by default, it imposes restrictions for users under 18.
PlayStation and Nintendo also have specific accounts that support multiplayer access.
Go over these settings to make sure there are no restrictions.
You should check these account restrictions for your and your friend’s accounts.
For example, if your friend uses an Xbox Live account, they should check their privacy settings on the Xbox official website under the online privacy tab.
Several privacy settings restrict your access if checked as Prevent.
Make sure all of these settings are checked as Allow, particularly the You can join multiplayer games option.