Minecraft is a great game to play with your friends, but sometimes you may find that Minecraft multiplayer is not working.
Perhaps your Minecraft LAN is not showing up, or your friends simply don’t know how to play LAN Minecraft.
In any case, if Minecraft LAN is not working, you can find all the solutions you need in our article below. Be sure to read all the details below!
Table of Contents
What Is a LAN World in Minecraft?
First of all, what is a LAN world in Minecraft?
LAN stands for local area network, and thus, a Minecraft LAN world means that the world is hosted on your local area network.
Because of this, only players who are connected to the same LAN as you can join your Minecraft LAN world.
What Does It Mean When Minecraft LAN Is Not Working?
Sometimes, you may have trouble connecting to or getting others to connect to your Minecraft LAN world.
In this case, you need to make sure everyone knows how to play LAN Minecraft, because unfamiliarity may mean they’re connecting incorrectly.
If they do, then you need to start searching for the reason why Minecraft LAN isn’t working, which usually includes:
- Players aren’t using the same network
- Minecraft is being blocked by a firewall
- An antivirus is blocking Minecraft
- WiFi AP Isolation is blocking Minecraft
How to Fix Minecraft LAN
Now that we know what a LAN Minecraft world is and what it means when Minecraft LAN isn’t working, let’s take a look at how to fix Minecraft LAN.
We’ll be covering eight solutions:
- Make sure everyone is using the same network
- Check if everyone is on the same version of minecraft
- Use Direct Connect
- Disable any mods
- Turn off WiFi AP Isolation
- Allow Minecraft through Windows Firewall
- Disable antivirus software
- Update network drivers
Make Sure Everyone Is Using the Same Network
The first thing you need to make sure of is that everyone is using the same network.
Since a Minecraft LAN world is hosted on the local area network, players can’t join unless they’re connected to the LAN that the world uses.
Simply ask everyone to double check their internet connections.
Check If Everyone Is on the Same Version of Minecraft
If everyone is using the official Minecraft program, then it may be possible that Minecraft multiplayer isn’t working because someone is on a different version of Minecraft.
To check if everyone is on the same version of Minecraft, you will have to exit the game to go back to the Minecraft Launcher.
From there, choose Edit Profile.
You should then see a drop down menu that allows you to choose the version of Minecraft you’ll play with.
All you need to do is coordinate with your friends on which Minecraft version to use, then launch your game!
Use Direct Connect
Sometimes, a Minecraft LAN world won’t automatically show up on the Join World screen, even if everyone is connected to the same network.
However, it may still be possible to connect directly to the Minecraft LAN world using the IP address and game port.
To use Direct Connect, you can follow these steps on the host computer:
- Press the Windows key and R at the same time.
- Type cmd in the Run Command box. Press Enter.
- Type ipconfig in the Command box. Press Enter.
- Find the IPv4 Address and note it down.
- Then launch your Minecraft LAN game and note the Game Port number, which should flash across the bottom of the screen.
Tell your friends the IPv4 address and game port number, and have them click the Direct Connect button on their Join World screen. They can then enter the information and connect to your world.
Disable Any Mods
Sometimes, mods may get in the way of Minecraft LAN connections.
If anyone has mods installed, have them disable the mods before connecting to your Minecraft LAN world.
Turn Off WiFi AP Isolation
If your LAN is wireless, it may be the Access Point (AP) Isolation feature that is preventing your friends from connecting to your Minecraft LAN world.
AP Isolation prevents devices from communicating with each other. The method for turning it off will depend on your router, so be sure to check its manual for instructions.
Allow Minecraft through Windows Firewall
Windows Firewall may also be preventing Minecraft from connecting through LAN.
To allow Minecraft through Windows Firewall, you can follow these steps:
- Open the Control Panel.
- Select Windows Defender Firewall.
- Choose Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.
- Select Change Settings.
- Make sure the boxes for are checked for these programs:
- Javaw.exe
- Java (™) Platform SE binary
- Minecraft
- Click on OK.
Disable Antivirus Software
Another possibility is that antivirus software is blocking the Minecraft LAN connection.
If you have a third-party antivirus software, disabling it will depend on which program you have.
But if you have the Windows Defender antivirus, you can disable it by following these steps:
- Press Windows and I. This will open Windows Settings.
- Navigate to Update & Security.
- Choose Windows Security.
- Select Virus & Threat Protection.
- Turn off Real-Time Protection.
Update Network Drivers
Finally, the problem may be with the network drivers of one or more of the computers – whether they’re joining or hosting the Minecraft LAN world.
To update your network drivers, you can follow these steps:
- Open Device Manager.
- Click on Network Adapters.
- Right click the network driver installed on your computer.
- Select Update Driver.
- Click on Search automatically for updated driver software option.
From there, simply follow the instructions given. Once the updates are installed, restart your computer.
What Do I Do If Minecraft LAN Is Still Not Working?
If none of the solutions above worked for you, then it may be time to contact Minecraft’s support team for professional help.
To do this, you can go to their Help site and fill out the online form there. Try to include as much detail as possible and wait for their reply.
The downside to this is that it may take a while to get a reply from the Minecraft support team. But, if nothing else works, then you’ll just have to reschedule your Minecraft LAN party!
Conclusion
As you have seen above, there are many possible solutions you can use when Minecraft LAN is not showing up. At least one of these solutions should help you get your LAN world working, so you can play Minecraft with your friends.
However, if nothing seems to work and you’re sure everyone followed all of the steps, the issue may be more serious. In this case, it’s best to contact the Minecraft support team.
We hope this article helped you!