Minecraft on phone and PC: how to play on the same server

⚡ The short answer

Yes, you can. Phones run Minecraft Bedrock and PCs usually run Java: two separate editions that don't connect to each other out of the box. To bring everyone together you need a Java server running Geyser, a plugin that translates between the two editions. With its companion plugin Floodgate, mobile players join with their own Bedrock account, without buying Java Edition.

📱 Why it doesn't work directly

The game looks the same, but Java and Bedrock speak different protocols. That's why your friend on a phone can't see your PC world, and why Realms doesn't help either: a Java Realm only takes Java players, and a Bedrock Realm only takes Bedrock players.

Where they play	Edition	How they join the server
PC, Mac or Linux	Java	Multiplayer → Add Server
Android phone or iPhone	Bedrock	Play → Servers → Add Server
PC with Minecraft for Windows	Bedrock	Same as on a phone
Consoles	Bedrock	Need an extra step (see below)

🧩 What the server needs

• A Java server that takes plugins: Paper, Purpur or Spigot.
• Geyser in the plugins folder: it does the translating.
• Floodgate in the same folder: it lets players in with a Bedrock account. In Geyser's config (plugins/Geyser-Spigot/config.yml), auth-type must be set to floodgate.
• A UDP port for Bedrock: Java uses TCP and Bedrock uses UDP. The default Bedrock port is 19132, set in the bedrock section of that same file.

The server stays on online-mode=true: Java players log in with their usual account, and you don't have to open the server up to just anyone.

On ZentexNode you don't build this by hand: when you order, or later from the panel, pick the “Bedrock + Java (Geyser)” type, which is a Paper server with Geyser and Floodgate already installed and configured. Bedrock players can join with “Latest” and with any Minecraft version from 1.20.5 onwards; on an older one, only Java players can join. If you already have a Minecraft server of another type, you can switch from the panel; read how to change the server version without losing data first.

📲 How to join from a phone

• Open Minecraft and sign in with your Microsoft account.
• Go to Play → Servers and, at the bottom of the list, tap Add Server.
• Type any name, the server address (no colon, no port) and, in its own field, the Bedrock port.
• Save and join.

At ZentexNode the Bedrock port is the same as the Java port: one address and one port for the whole group. On other servers it can be a different number: check Geyser's config. In game, Bedrock players show up with a dot in front of their name (.Name): Floodgate adds it so they don't clash with Java usernames. If you run a whitelist, add those players with fwhitelist add Name.

On consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch) the game has no field for typing an address, so players need one of the workarounds described in the Geyser documentation.

⚠️ What Geyser doesn't do

• Client-side mods: if the server requires mods installed in the game (a Forge or Fabric modpack), Bedrock players can't join. Plugins do work, because they live on the server.
• Small differences: a few things look or behave differently on Bedrock; the Geyser documentation keeps the list.
• Versions: Minecraft on phones updates itself, and Geyser only supports recent Bedrock versions. If a phone stops connecting after an update, it's time to update Geyser and Floodgate.

🛠️ If the phone won't connect

• Wrong port: the most common mistake. Address in one field, Bedrock port in the other.
• UDP: on a home-hosted server, the Bedrock port has to be forwarded as UDP, not TCP.
• Outdated Geyser: stop the server, swap the Geyser .jar for the new one and start it again.
• Connection test: type geyser connectiontest <ip> <port> in the server console and it tells you what is failing.
• Restart the game on the phone: sometimes that's all it takes.

That's everything the whole group needs to share one world. If you don't have a server yet, how to create a Minecraft server to play with friends compares the options.