How to Fix "Connection Refused" in Minecraft

Connection refused means your game reached the address you typed and was turned away, because nothing there was accepting connections on that port. It is one of the more specific errors Minecraft shows, so it is usually quick to fix. Start by checking the server below: it tells you whether the problem is the server or your side.

What "Connection refused" means

Joining a Java Edition server starts with a TCP connection to its address and port (25565 unless the address says otherwise). If a machine is reachable at that address but no program is listening on that port, its operating system turns the connection away at once. Minecraft shows this as Failed to connect to the server, with the reason underneath:

Connection refused: getsockopt
Connection refused: no further information
io.netty.channel.AbstractChannel$AnnotatedConnectException: Connection refused: no further information

These are all the same error. Older Java versions end the message with no further information; the newer Java that current Minecraft runs on ends it with getsockopt, which is the name of the system call that reported the refusal. Minecraft 1.16 and older also print the Java class name, io.netty.channel.AbstractChannel$AnnotatedConnectException, in front, and the game's log file always does. On macOS and Linux the wording can differ again, but any message with Connection refused in it means the same thing.

Why Minecraft says connection refused

• The server is not running. It is stopped, has crashed, or is in the middle of a restart. This is the most common cause, and nothing on your side can fix it.
• Wrong port. The server listens on a different port from the one you are using. An address like play.example.net:25570 needs the :25570; without a port, Java Edition uses 25565 unless the domain has an SRV record pointing elsewhere.
• An old or wrong address. The IP you have now belongs to a different machine. Home connections get a new public IP from time to time and hosts move servers between machines, so an address that worked last month may not work now.
• A Bedrock address in Java Edition. Bedrock servers use UDP port 19132. Java connects over TCP, and a Bedrock-only server has nothing listening for TCP there, so the connection is usually refused.
• Using localhost from another computer. localhost and 127.0.0.1 always mean "this computer", so they only work on the machine that runs the server.
• The server listens on one address only. When server-ip is set in server.properties, the server accepts connections to that address and refuses them on the machine's other addresses.
• A firewall set to reject. Most firewalls silently drop blocked connections, which gives a timeout instead, but some are set to reject them, which looks exactly like a refusal.

Fixes when you are joining someone else's server

1. Check the server first

   Enter the address in the check at the top of this page. If we are refused too, the problem is on the server's side: wait a few minutes, or let its owner know. Many servers post restarts and outages on their Discord.

2. Copy the address again, port included

   Take it from the server's website, Discord or listing rather than typing it. Keep anything after a colon: play.example.net and play.example.net:25570 can be two different servers.

3. Update the saved server

   An entry in your server list keeps whatever address it was saved with. Select it, choose Edit, and paste the current address.

   Edit

4. Flush your DNS

   If the server moved to a new IP, your computer may still be using the old one. On Windows, run ipconfig /flushdns in Command Prompt, then restart Minecraft.

5. Rule out VPNs and security software

   A VPN, proxy or security suite sits between the game and the internet. Turn it off briefly and try again, to rule it out.

6. Check the edition

   This message comes from Java Edition. If the server is Bedrock only, join it from Bedrock with its port: see how to join a server on Bedrock.

Fixes when it is your server

1. Make sure it has finished starting

   Watch the console. A Java server is ready once it prints a line like Done (12.345s)! For help, type "help". If it stopped instead, the end of logs/latest.log says why.

2. Check which port it listens on

   Early in the console output the server prints Starting Minecraft server on *:25565. That number is the port players need, set by server-port in server.properties. A * means it listens on every address.

3. Leave server-ip empty

   If that line shows an IP instead of *, server-ip is set, and the server refuses connections to any other address. Leave it blank unless you know you need it, then restart.

4. Test locally, then from outside

   On the server computer, join with localhost. If that works, put your public IP or domain into the check above, which connects from outside your network like your players do. Working locally but refused from outside means the router or a firewall is in the way.

5. Check the port forward

   For a server at home, the router rule must point at the server computer's current local IP, on the port it listens on, with protocol TCP. A rule pointing at an old local IP sends players to a device with no server on it. See how to port forward a Minecraft server.

6. Use the address your host gives you

   On a rented server, copy the IP and port from the host's control panel. Hosts often run several servers on one IP with different ports, so the port is part of the address.

Hosting through e4mc or a tunnel service? The address belongs to the relay, so work through the e4mc troubleshooting list or the tunnel and private network fixes. For every other error message, see Minecraft can't connect to server.