HomeTechnologyNewsHow to Join Any Minecraft Server on Nintendo Switch

How to Join Any Minecraft Server on Nintendo Switch

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Corbin Davenport / Instructional Geek

Nintendo switch works Minecraft Bedrock Edition, which has cross-play with other platforms. Due to platform restrictions, the Switch cannot normally access any private servers. However, with a few simple tweaks, you can play on any Minecraft server you want.

Bypass Minecraft for Switch restrictions

Minecraft for Nintendo Switch is a Bedrock Edition version that can be cross-played with PC, Xbox and PS4/PS5 users. However, you can only play on Minecraft Realms, Mojang’s paid hosting service, and some prominent public servers.

Unlike other platforms, there is no built-in option to simply enter an IP address and connect to any server you like. This is done in large part due to legal restrictions with console manufacturers and age ratings: only servers with enough chat moderation and trustworthy to be on the “featured” list are allowed.

Kingdoms are a great way to play with friends, but they cost money and come with a lot of restrictions. For example, they don’t support many plugins you want to install, and it’s much more cumbersome to manage worlds and data packs through the game interface. In addition to not being a great server host, Realms is often more expensive than running a server yourself.

To get around these restrictions, we will use a service called BedrockConnect. This is a proxy service, which means it tunnels your network connection much like a VPN does. It uses a custom DNS server to trick the game into thinking that you are connecting to an officially authorized server, when in fact you are connecting to the proxy. From there you can add any server with its address and connect to it.

Using BedrockConnect is pretty simple once it’s set up, so if you’re a parent wanting to set this up for a child, you shouldn’t have any problems connecting to custom servers on your own.

BedrockConnect can also be used with GeyserMC, which is a custom plugin for Minecraft Java Edition servers that allows Bedrock Edition players to connect to it. Using GeyserMC in conjunction with a BedrockConnect proxy (called GeyserConnect) will actually allow your Switch to use any server, including those that are not supported by Bedrock, such as Hypixel.

Change DNS Settings on the Switch

The first step to using BedrockConnect or GeyserConnect proxies is to change the DNS settings on your Nintendo Switch. DNS, or Domain Name System, is what computers use to translate human-readable addresses, like google.com, into computer-readable IP addresses. To do this, you need to access a DNS provider, which is usually something like your Internet provider, Google, or Internet service companies like CloudFlare.

However, you can easily set up a custom DNS server, which many people do for privacy reasons anyway. Setting your DNS to a BedrockConnect instance will redirect requests from featured Switch servers to BedrockConnect instead. Essentially, when your Switch asks, “how do I connect to Mineplex.com?”, BedrockConnect will lie and tell it to join its own server.

Changing DNS settings on Switch is easy. First, you will need to open System Settings from the home screen and go to “Internet Settings”.

select "Internet settings" on the Switch.

Select your home WiFi network from the list. Unfortunately, if you have multiple WiFi networks that you use, you’ll need to set the DNS settings for each one individually.

Scroll down to the “DNS Settings” option and change it from “Automatic” to “Manual”.

select "DNS settings".

Next, you will need to enter the DNS address. There are many different publicly available instances of BedrockConnect that run for free, although you can also run your own. If you want to play on Java Edition servers, you will need a GeyserConnect server.

Unless you want to connect to a different instance, enter the main BedrockConnect address:

104.238.130.180

Enter the IP address of the desired DNS server.

Once this is done, your configuration should look like this:

DNS settings after entering your new primary DNS server.

For secondary DNS, you can put any regular DNS provider in there, but 8.8.8.8 (Google DNS) will work. This is just a backup so your Nintendo Switch doesn’t lose internet access in case the BedrockConnect instance goes down or becomes inaccessible.

Connection to Bedrock Connect

Using BedrockConnect is very simple. Just join any of the featured servers in the multiplayer menu. You’ll know it’s working when the featured servers say “Join to open server list” as a prompt.

Third-party Minecraft servers on Nintendo Switch via BedrockConnect.

If it works, you’ll be taken to this menu screen, where you can join official servers, BedrockConnect featured servers, or any custom servers you’d like to add.

A menu screen that allows connection to unofficial Minecraft servers on Switch.

Sometimes the Switch can take a while to clear its DNS cache. If it doesn’t work on the first try, you may need to restart Minecraft, or restart Switch, or wait around 30 minutes. Connecting to a different network and reconnecting can also help.

Also, if your router has some form of parental controls that prevents the use of custom DNS services, you may need to disable them. This is not a common thing you get by accident, but it can interfere with BedrockConnect.

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