Playing Minecraft with friends can certainly enhance the experience, unless, of course, you are experiencing the Minecraft multiplayer is disabled error. If this is the case, then you'll just have to pretend you're playing with friends.
Luckily, we can give you the tools and the knowledge to make it through this test. You'll soon prevail over this challenge. Let battle commence.
How To Fix The Minecraft "Multiplayer is disabled" Error
Fixing your multiplayer issue is a relatively straightforward process. There tends to be a combination of three different factors at play. Once you resolve these issues, you'll almost certainly be sorted. Here's what you need to know.
Change Your Age to Over 18 On Your Microsoft Account
One of the most common reasons that you can't play multiplayer is because your account thinks you are under 18. And, for safety reasons, they prefer to restrict access to certain options. To change this:
- Go to your Microsoft account and sign in.
- Click on Your Info, foolowed by Edit account info.
- You may be prompted to verify your identity before you're allowed to make any changes. Assuming you can do this, you'll then be able to amend your personal information.
- Update your Birthdate to your correct age/an age that's over 18.
- Click on Save to save the changes.
Allow Multiplayer On Xbox
Similarly to the above, your Xbox settings may be rpeventing you from accessing multiplayer. To check this:
- Sign in to your Xbox account at https://www.xbox.com
- Once you're signed in, click on your profile picture to open up your profile.
- Click on Xbox Profile.
- Go to Privacy Settings.
- From here, select the tab labelled Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows 10 Devices Online Safety.
- You'll then need to allow a couple of different options: firstly, allow You can play with persons outside of Xbox Live. And secondly, allow You can join multiplayer games.
- Click Submit to save your changes.
Leave Your Family Group
Our final method applies if you are part of a family group that is restricting your access to multiplayer. Obviously, this only applies if you are in a family group.
- Start by signing in to your Microsoft account, using the link we posted earlier.
- Click on your profile image to open your profile.
- Go to My Microsoft Account.
- Select View your family.
- Click on Leave family group under the Family members heading.
If you've made it this far, and made all these changes, you should now be able to access multiplayer on Minecraft. But if you're still finding yourself bumping into this error, we'd advice you to contact Minecraft Customer Support for further advice and assistance.
What Is The Minecraft Multiplayer Disabled Error?
You'll recognise this error pretty easily. When it hits, you'll see the following message:
Multiplayer is disabled. Please check your Microsoft Account settings
It is, fortunately, a very clear error. It's most commonly caused by your privacy settings in your Xbox account, which prevent you, or your child, from accessing multiplayer.
Perhaps fairly obviously, this is a safety feature intended to prevent young people from coming into contact with strangers online. And we all know about Stranger Danger.
But if you aren't bothered about that, or are going to play with a specific group of known friends and associates, then this feature becomes more of a hindrance.
It is easily fixed, though. Just follow the guidance we've already provided, and multiplayer will soon be available to you.