MineOpsServer operations

GUIDE

Why friends can't join your Minecraft server

Friends get “Connection timed out”? Check the address, version and whitelist, forward the port, open the firewall, and spot CGNAT or a second router. MineOps checks from outside and says what to fix.

You can join your own Minecraft server, but your friends get Connection timed out or Can't connect to server. Almost always it is one of the causes below. Work through them in order: the first ones take a minute, the last ones need your router or your internet provider.

1. They are using the right address

An address that starts with 192.168., 10. or 172.16. to 172.31. is the machine's address on your own network. It works for players on your Wi-Fi and nobody else. Friends elsewhere need your internet address, plus the port when it is not the default (25565 for Java, 19132 for Bedrock).

Testing your internet address from inside your own network can fail even when everything works: many routers can't send a connection from inside back in. Ask a friend to try, or test from a phone on mobile data.

2. The version and the whitelist match

  • Java and Bedrock are separate games: a Java server takes Java players, a Bedrock server takes Bedrock players.
  • The player's Minecraft version has to match the server's, unless the server runs a plugin that accepts other versions.
  • When the whitelist is on, add each friend's name before they join.

3. The port is forwarded to this machine

Your router drops connections from the internet unless you tell it where to send them. On the router's page, usually under Port forwarding, Virtual server or NAT, forward the server's port to the machine's network address: TCP 25565 for Java, UDP 19132 for Bedrock. Give the machine a fixed address on your network (a DHCP reservation), or the forward breaks the day it gets a new one.

If the port is forwarded to another machine, or another program on it, players reach that instead. Check the forward points at the machine the Minecraft server runs on.

4. The machine's firewall lets players in

  • Linux with ufw: sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp
  • Linux with firewalld: sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=25565/tcp, then sudo firewall-cmd --reload
  • macOS: if the firewall is on (System Settings → Network → Firewall), open Options and allow incoming connections for Java.

For Bedrock, allow UDP 19132 instead.

5. Your provider gives you your own internet address

Many providers, especially mobile, fibre and satellite ones, share one internet address among many customers (CGNAT). No port can be opened then, however the router is set up. Your router's status page shows its WAN (internet) address: if it is between 100.64.0.0 and 100.127.255.255, or differs from the address a “what is my IP” site shows, you are behind CGNAT. Your options:

6. There is only one router

If your router is plugged into another router, such as the provider's box, connections stop at the first one. Forward the port on both, or set the provider's box to bridge mode.

Let MineOps check it for you

MineOps does these checks from outside your network. Each server's page has How players join, on every plan, Free included:

  • The address for players on your network and the internet address MineOps saw your machine connect from, each with Copy.
  • While the server runs, MineOps joins from the internet as a player would and says whether players outside your network can join, with the server's version and players.
  • When they can't, it says why and what to do: a port to forward (with a link to your router's page), another program answering, CGNAT, or a router behind another router.
  • It reminds you of the version players need and, when the whitelist is on, to add their names.
  • Copy next to the title copies an invite with the address and version, ready to paste in Discord.

Java and Bedrock servers are checked; Hytale servers aren't yet. To get started, connect your machine with one command. MineOps also tells you in Discord when a server goes down, so you hear before your friends do.