Problem:

My daughter wanted to play Minecraft online with her cousins but it wouldn’t work. They kept receiving an “unable to connect” message when attempting to join a multiplayer world. It didn’t matter who created the world, no one could connect to a multiplayer world. I figured this was a networking issue and could be easily resolved but I was wrong. There are many different versions of Minecraft out there. When you search for “Minecraft server ports”, there are a slew of answers that are completely wrong, at least for my specific scenario. Port 25565 is not needed for this version of Minecraft. Yes, that is a true statement so erase it from your memory. I’m assuming its meant for the java version of Minecraft but that’s me assuming because no one on the internet spells this out.

Solution:

To host a multiplayer world on Minecraft for Windows 10 for online friends, do the following:

  1. Setup port forwarding for the Xbox Live ports on your home router
  2. Configure “allow” rules in your Windows 10 or 3rd party firewall for the Xbox Live ports
  3. If using a 3rd party security solution, ensure Teredo is enabled (use the Xbox Networking utility for troubleshooting)
  4. Ensure all participants have enabled online gaming on their Xbox live accounts

Explanation:

In the following paragraphs, I will explain my process in troubleshooting and fixing my issues with hosting a multiplayer world in Minecraft for Windows 10. This is the way I chose to solve the problem. There are other ways to open your network and manage your host firewall but I found the configurations I chose would give me the best security and game play.

First, I purchased a copy of Minecraft for Windows 10 so I could host the world on my laptop. This way I can moderate the world and provide a desirable gaming experience. What do I mean by that? Well, based on my previous experiences, playing Minecraft on my daughter’s Nintendo Switch with two people would crash frequently. My laptop has beefy specs and a wired connection, need I say more.

Second, I had to figure out which network ports were being used by Minecraft. Based on the documentation online, I was led to believe it was port 25565 and some other UDP ports. However, after turning on the game, opening my multiplayer world, and performing a “netstat”, my computer wasn’t listening on those ports. Eventually, I came to the realization that everyone is using Xbox accounts so this must be an Xbox Live thing. Xbox Live requires several open ports to host video games. There’s an Xbox Networking utility built into Windows 10. This utility will check to see if you have the proper network connectivity for online game play. Ideally, you want to have an “Open” NAT Type and “Connected” Server Connectivity, like this:

For the NAT Type, there’s a few ways to setup your router for the “Open” configuration:

  • UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)
  • DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)
  • Port Forwarding

I went with Port Forwarding since that leaves a smaller attack surface for unwanted guests. To enable Port Forwarding on your router, you will need to reference Xbox’s website for the specific ports. Don’t know how to configure it on your router? Type in your router model’s name with “port forwarding” in your internet browser’s search bar and you should be able to find a solution. I couldn’t find the “port forwarding” feature in my router’s GUI so I had to do the same.

Even after I configured my router, my NAT Type still wasn’t “Open”. It was my host firewall. Using the same ports and protocols used to configure my router, I created “allow” rules in my host firewall. This put me closer to finish line but I was still having issues.

Since I have the McAfee security suite installed on my laptop, I had one more issue. According to the Xbox Networking utility, Teredo was still not working correctly. With another internet search and some testing, I stumbled across this solution: “Teredo is unable to qualify” and McAfee Anti-virus : killerinstinct (reddit.com). The solution on the linked website solved my Teredo problem. Now that all my networking issues were resolved, I thought everyone would be able to join my multiplayer world in Minecraft. Nope, there’s one more configuration to consider.

Third, I stumbled across some information about Xbox Live account settings and playing Minecraft online. By default, when you create a child’s account in Xbox Live, gaming online is disabled. Using this website, I followed the steps to enable online gaming for my daughter’s account. To test my daughter’s Xbox Live account settings and the networking configuration performed in the previous steps, I connected my daughter’s Nintendo Switch to my cell phone hotspot. My Minecraft world was hosted on my laptop from my home network. I opened Minecraft on her Nintendo Switch and connected to the multiplayer world without any issues.

It was shocking to me that I couldn’t find a single blog article or any documentation that highlighted these necessary configuration steps for hosting a Minecraft multiplayer world. Hopefully this information will help someone else. Enjoy!