Minecraft is most fun when played with friends. Almost every “lan party” I host (or go to) involves Minecraft. In some of these “parties”, we don’t In cases like these, it might be a bit confusing to get Minecraft to work in multiplayer. So the purpose of this post is to show you how to play Minecraft.
What's Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that makes short-range connections between devices (like your Mac, and a mouse or keyboard) at distances up to 10 meters (approximately 30 feet).
And with Bluetooth, your iPhone or iPad can create a 'Personal Hotspot' to provide Internet access for your Mac through your wireless service provider. Learn more about creating a Personal Hotspot with your iOS device.
Find out if your Mac has Bluetooth
Most Mac computers come with Bluetooth technology built-in. You can check to see if your computer supports Bluetooth:
![How To Play Minecraft Over Bluetooth For Mac How To Play Minecraft Over Bluetooth For Mac](https://files.shortcatapp.com/shortcat-screencast-network.gif)
- Look for the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar. If the Bluetooth icon is present, your computer has Bluetooth.
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click Bluetooth. If the Bluetooth preferences lists options for enabling Bluetooth and making your device discoverable, Bluetooth is installed.
- From theApplemenu, choose About this Mac, then click More Info. Select Bluetooth from the Hardware section. If the Hardware Setting section shows information, your system has Bluetooth installed.
About Bluetooth menu bar icons
The Bluetooth menu bar icon in the upper-right of your display gives you information about the status of Bluetooth and connected devices:
Bluetooth is on, but there are no devices connected to your Mac. If you expect a wireless device to be connected, make sure it's turned on.
Bluetooth is on and at least one wireless device is connected.
At least one wireless device has a low battery. Click the Bluetooth icon to identify the affected device, then replace its batteries.
Bluetooth is off. Click the Bluetooth icon using a wired mouse or trackpad or the built-in trackpad on your Mac notebook and select Turn Bluetooth On.
Mac computers without built-in trackpads won’t allow Bluetooth to be turned off unless a USB mouse is connected.
Mac computers without built-in trackpads won’t allow Bluetooth to be turned off unless a USB mouse is connected.
Bluetooth is offline and unavailable. Restart your Mac. If the Bluetooth status doesn’t change, disconnect all USB devices and restart your Mac again. If Bluetooth continues to show as unavailable, you might need to get your Mac serviced.
Pair your Mac with a Bluetooth device
Bluetooth wireless devices are associated with your computer through a process called pairing. After you pair a device, your Mac automatically connects to it anytime it's in range.
If your Mac came with a wireless keyboard, mouse, or trackpad, they were pre-paired at the factory. Turn on the devices and your Mac should automatically connect to them when your computer starts up.
If you purchased your Apple wireless devices separately, learn how to pair them with your Mac.
After you pair a Bluetooth device with your Mac, you should see it listed in Bluetooth preferences:
Remove a Bluetooth device from your Mac
If you want to remove (unpair) a Bluetooth device from your Mac's device list, follow these steps:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Bluetooth.
- Hover the pointer over the device you want to remove, then click the button that appears next to the device's name.
After you remove a Bluetooth device, you'll have to repeat the pairing process if you want to use it again.
Connect to Bluetooth devices after wake or startup
Bluetooth devices are usually available a few moments after your Mac completes its startup process. After waking from sleep, your Mac should find Apple wireless devices right away. Other wireless devices can take up to 5 seconds to be recognized. You might need to click a button on your wireless mouse to wake it up.
Some Bluetooth devices, such as audio headsets, might disconnect to conserve the device's battery power after no audio or data is present for a certain amount of time. When this happens, you might need to push a button on the device to make it active again. Check the documentation that came with your device for more information.
Wake your computer with Bluetooth devices
You can click your paired Bluetooth mouse or press a key on your paired Bluetooth keyboard to wake your Mac. You might need to press the space bar on the keyboard.
If clicking the mouse or pressing a key doesn't wake the computer, you might need to allow wireless devices to wake up your computer:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Bluetooth.
- Click Advanced.
- Select the checkbox next to Allow Bluetooth Devices to wake this computer.
Connect multiple Bluetooth devices to one computer
The official Bluetooth specifications say seven is the maximum number of Bluetooth devices that can be connected to your Mac at once.
However, three to four devices is a practical limit, depending on the types of devices used. Some devices require more Bluetooth data, so they're more demanding than other devices.t perform reliably, try turning off devices you aren't using or unpair them from your Mac.
Fix interference from other household devices
Bluetooth shares the 2.4 GHz ISM band with other household devices such as cordless telephones, wireless networks, baby monitors, and microwave ovens. If you see issues with your Bluetooth devices that you suspect might be due to frequency congestion, see AirPort and Bluetooth: Potential sources of wireless interference for further information.
Press startup keys on a Bluetooth keyboard
You can press keys immediately after startup to have your Mac perform functions like selecting a startup disk, using the recovery partition, or resetting NVRAM.
Learn more at Startup key combinations for Mac.
When playing Minecraft, you can play a singleplayer or multiplayer game. If you'd like to play with other people, there are four options:
A player's game version must be the same as the server version to play on that server, whether it's LAN or hosted online. You can see your game version number at the bottom of your main menu.
For information about changing the game version for Minecraft: Java Edition, please look here.
For Minecraft on all other platforms, Minecraft can be updated by going to your device’s store.
Playing on a local area network (LAN)
You play by opening your home or local area network (LAN) to others who are also connected to that network.Minecraft: Java Edition
![How to play minecraft over lan How to play minecraft over lan](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126292234/146921051.jpg)
To play with someone on your network first, choose a host computer. This computer should be fast enough to play Minecraft, while running a server for other players as well. You then launch the game and click 'Single Player' and create a new world or open an existing one. Once inside that world, press the Esc key, then click the 'Open to LAN' button. Here, you can choose which game mode to set for the other players: survival is the default Minecraft, with life points and hunger, creative mode allows you to fly and place an infinite amount of blocks, and adventure mode is similar to survival, but players cannot place or destroy blocks. You can also choose whether or not to turn cheats (commands) off or on.
Once you have set these options, click Start LAN World, and you'll see a message that a local game has been hosted. Other players on the same network who wish to join can now start their game, select Multiplayer, and in a few moments, their computer should automatically detect the game.
Minecraft for Windows 10/Xbox/mobile devices
First, make sure every player that wants to join is connected to the same network, then choose a host device that will run the world, and make sure everyone joining is running the same version of the game as the host.
Start a LAN game:
1. Press Play
2. Create a new world or edit a current world by pressing the pen icon
3. Go to multiplayer and make sure that “Visible to LAN Players” is enabled
4. Start the world by choosing Create or Play
2. Create a new world or edit a current world by pressing the pen icon
3. Go to multiplayer and make sure that “Visible to LAN Players” is enabled
4. Start the world by choosing Create or Play
Join a LAN game:
1. Go to the Play menu
2. Click the Friends tab and look for available LAN Games
Playing on an online server
Minecraft: Java Edition
You play on an online server by locating and connecting to the IP address of a multiplayer server.
A multiplayer server allows two or more players to play Minecraft together. You can either download the server file needed to set up your own server from Minecraft.net or connect to another person’s server.
To connect to another player's server, log into Minecraft, select Multiplayer from the main menu, click the Add Server button, and enter the IP or web address of that server. If you don't know the IP of a server, thousands of public servers can be located by doing a web search for something that suits your style of play.
Note that to access a server you need to run the same version of Minecraft as the server. If you need help with this, you can learn more in our article on Changing game version.
For general information about servers, see the Minecraft Wiki's server page. For more detailed information on setting up your own server, check out the wiki's Server Tutorials.
Minecraft for Windows 10/Xbox/mobile devices
For Minecraft on these platforms there is three official servers available: Mineplex, InPvP and Lifeboat. You can join any of these three from the servers tab by pressing one of them.
It’s also possible to add an external server by pressing Add Server and then put in the necessary information. If you need help locating this information, please contact the server owner. Note: due to platform restrictions, this feature is not available on consoles. Playing on Minecraft Realms
Minecraft Realms is a multiplayer service developed by Mojang. Setup is quick and through the game client and allows for you and up to ten friends to play simultaneously.
Minecraft: Java Edition
You can learn more about Minecraft Realms for PC/Java Edition at Minecraft.net/realms, or browse through our Realms help section.
All other platforms:
Take a look at Minecraft Realms for Win10/Xbox/mobile devices or head over to Minecraft.net/realms.
Split screen
Split screen is not available for Minecraft: Java Edition as it is a console-exclusive feature; it can be played on all consoles (Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo Switch). Playing split screen allows up to four players to play on the same screen, at the same time. To play split screen, start the game and connect the controllers, this will automatically divide the monitor into player-specific screens (one for each player).