Minecraft is one of the unique games that allows you to create a personal server for multiplayer games. You can host a Minecraft server on Windows, Linux, and macOS, but it doesn’t support Android devices, which is a bummer. Having a portable server like an Android device would definitely make playing Minecraft a lot more fun. While searching for a solution, we discovered an interesting way that allows you to host a Minecraft server on an Android device. The process is a bit long and technical, but if you want to do it, you can definitely do it. Without further ado, let’s go ahead and learn how to host a Minecraft server on Android.
Host Minecraft Server on Android
Let me be clear, the process is somewhat complex and you will need some degree of technical knowledge when dealing with the command terminal. For my part, I tried to simplify the process as much as possible. Anyway, to give you a brief overview, We will install Ubuntu on top of Android. And from there we can set up a Minecraft server seamless. Now having said that, let’s start with the initial setup.
Note: We ran our test on the OnePlus 7 Pro. You can use another Android device preferably with higher RAM and sufficient processor.
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Install Ubuntu on Your Android Device
1. First of all, install AnLinux (Free) and Termux applications (Free) from the Google Play Store.
2. Now start AnLinux application and Tap the “Select” button and select “Ubuntu”. After that, tap on “Copy”.
3. Now open Termux app, paste the copied script and tap the “Enter” key. Termux will start downloading Ubuntu and it will take 2-3 minutes to install Ubuntu.
4. After the installation is complete, paste and run the following command to start Ubuntu. Now, you will see root@localhost In Termux. This means that Ubuntu is running successfully on your Android device.
./start-ubuntu.sh
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Install Java Development Kit on Ubuntu
1. Now that we have installed Ubuntu, let’s install some packages required to run the Minecraft server. First, we Install the JDK package on Ubuntu. Copy the command below and run it on Termux. Now wait for the installation to complete.
apt-get install software-properties-common
2. Then copy the commands below and run them one by one on Termux. Sometimes, Termux will ask for your confirmation before installation, so allow these requests. This whole process will take 3-4 minutes.
add-apt-repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa apt-get update apt-get install openjdk-8-jre
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Install Minecraft Server on Android
With Ubuntu and JDK installation, we have almost set up the base needed to run a personal server. Now we will finally install a Minecraft server on Android. Here are the steps to follow.
1. Open Minecraft Server page from this connection on your Android device. Here, Long tap on “minecraft-server.jar” and copy the download link.
2. Now go to Termux and paste the below mentioned command. make sure you change it. https link with download link copied above. In Termux it will look something like this. Now tap enter to run the command and it will start installing Minecraft Server on your Android device.
wget -O minecraft_server.jar https://launcher.mojang.com/v1/objects/3dc3d84a581f14691199cf6831b71ed1296a9fdf/server.jar
3. After the installation is complete, run the following command to change the file permission. This time, Termux will not prompt for anything, but the changes have been made. Now move on to the next section.
chmod +x minecraft_server.jar
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Run Minecraft Server on Android
1. You have successfully set up a Minecraft server on Android. Now we will try to start the server. Copy the command below and run it on Termux. write a note Fails on first run due to non-compliance with EULA agreement. Don’t worry, take the next step to fix it.
java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui
2. Run the following commands one by one. Gives you access to the EULA agreement and then you can make changes accordingly.
apt-get install nano nano eula.txt
3. In the nano text editor, Change “eula=false” to “eula=true”. It’s still difficult to edit the text file in the nano editor. You cannot navigate using the touch screen. So, press the “down” key three times to bring the cursor under the last text. After that, press backspace to go to the line above and then keep pressing backspace to delete. false. Now you can write TRUE.
4. After changing the EULA text, Tap “CTRL” then tap “x” key. It will ask you to change the file, press “y” and it will save the changes. Finally, tap the “Enter” key and you will be back in Termux.
5. Now, run the same command again as we did in the first step and this time Minecraft Server will run successfully on your Android phone. Here is the command if you need it again. The process will take no more than a minute.
java -Xmx1024M -Xms1024M -jar minecraft_server.jar nogui
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Tunneling Your Local Minecraft Server to the Internet
So far we have installed a Minecraft server on our Android device, but we need to bring the server online with a secure tunneling tool called Ngrok. Generates a secure public URL of your server for multiplayer Minecraft games that you can share with your friends. Here’s how to do it.
one. Ngrok download page and Long tap on “Linux (ARM64)”. Now copy the download link.
2. After that go back to Termux and paste the below command. make sure you change it. https link with Ngrok link copied from above step. Now tap the “Enter” key and it will start installing Ngrok on your Android device.
wget -O ngrok.zip https://bin.equinox.io/a/nmkK3DkqZEB/ngrok-2.2.8-linux-arm64.zip
3. After installation, run these commands one by one.
apt-get install zip unzip unzip ngrok.zip
4. After doing this, Sign up page Ngrok and create an account. Sign in now and will offer you an authentication token It’s under the “Link Your Account” section. Copy the authorization key.
5. Now run authtoken key in Termux. It will look something like this.
./ngrok authtoken 1QVNoeHerkYbSncmdjIj2yfaGNk_3Zt1hTF1nY9WyGY5BoSU2
6. After that, run the following command and Ngrok status window will open. If it shows the session status as “online”, you have successfully created your personal Minecraft server on Android. Your Minecraft server is live on the internet.
./ngrok tcp 25565
7. Now, Copy the “Forwarding” address which tcp starts with. The public URL for Minecraft multiplayer that you can share with your friends. It should look something like this.
0.tcp.ngrok.io:14970
8. If you want to exit the internet tunnelTap “CTRL” and “C” keys and your Minecraft server will be offline.
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Play Multiplayer Minecraft With Your Friends
Open Minecraft and log into your account. Go to the Multi-player menu and open “Direct Connect”. Here, Paste the Forwarding address copied from step 7 into the above section and hit the “Join Server” button. Voila, you are connected to your personal Minecraft server hosted on an Android device. Enjoy!
SEE ALSO: 15 Best Sandbox Games Like Minecraft You Should Play
Host Minecraft Server on Android and Enjoy Personal Play
That was our long guide on how to create a Minecraft server on Android smartphones. As we can see, the steps are quite technical and you need to set up a lot of things before creating an online server. Still, I tried to simplify the process as much as possible with common steps and screenshots. Anyway, it’s all by us. If you were able to create a Minecraft server on your Android device, share your forwarding address. We would love to play Minecraft with you.
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