While Minecraft Education multiplayer is typically done in a classroom across the same network, we've worked to make connecting across multiple connections possible. 

The How to Set up a Multiplayer Game article walks you through many aspects of multiplayer, such as how to host and join a game, as well as managing players permission inside a game.  Read on for additional information about hosting and joining Multiplayer games from different networks.

We know that remote learning happens in a variety of ways. Just the same, there are a variety of home networks and configurations. Depending on what router settings or parental controls are in place, you may need to do a little extra research to understand how the following steps apply to your particular setup. Our support team is limited in our ability to troubleshoot these unique network issues, but we are always happy to try to help.

You can also follow along with this video as part of our Learn to Play series on YouTube: 

Hosting a Multiplayer Game

To start a Multiplayer world, one player must host the world on their machine, and then invite other players to join.  If you want to host a game, follow these steps to get your device ready to host!

Get Setup to Host

Requirements

In order for players to host and join games together, they must meet the following conditions:

1. Players must be logged into the same Microsoft organization account.
2. All players, including the Host, must run the same Minecraft Education version.
3. (Optional) Allow list the website https://*.minecrafteduservices.com/ in your router, and any safety software such as your content filters, firewalls or anti-virus. This is normally not necessary unless your network has been specifically locked down for unauthorized sites. For some guidance on how to do it, you can consult this external website. 

You can find the version number on the lower right corner of the welcome screen, right under your character.  If the game versions of all devices joining the world don't match, update the devices that aren't running the latest version.

Host a Game Using Join Codes

1. Open Minecraft Education and then follow the instructions in the Multiplayer Guide to open a world and host it
2. Share the picture-based Join Code with other players, using email or another method to communicate. You can share the Multiplayer Guide with players that aren’t familiar with how to use Join Codes.
3. Check out the Multiplayer Guide to learn more about managing players in a hosted world, including assigning default permissions for players who join your world, and changing permissions once they are in your world.
4. Watch other players join and then enjoy the world together!

Troubleshooting

I was able to host a world and other players joined me, but then the next time I tried to host a world it didn't work.

• Have player(s) close Minecraft Education, then re-open it and join the world as the first action they take.
• If your network is set up to assign "dynamic" IP addresses, the IP address of your device could change each time you connect to the network.  In this case, you may want to investigate how to assign a static IP address to your device.

A player trying to join my world sees the error "Unable to connect to world" or "Unable to access the service you need right now"

• This error is normally seen when the player’s device isn’t able to connect to the Minecraft Education service, which routes traffic between the host and player devices. The player should check that any safety software, such as their firewall or anti-virus, isn’t blocking traffic for the Minecraft Education application or website: https://*.minecrafteduservices.com/. For some guidance on how to do this, you can consult this website.