How to Fix Minecraft LAN Not Working

There is nothing new say about Minecraft as it’s one of the most popular open-world sandbox video games. Although each and every game does come with multiple bugs or errors, some of the issues are very much frustrating & ruins the gameplay to plenty of players. With the Minecraft game, plenty of players are encountering issues with the LAN feature. If you’re also one of the victims, you can check out this troubleshooting guide on How to Fix Minecraft LAN Not Working. This particular issue appears whenever players are trying to play with their friends locally.

1. Whitelist Minecraft in Firewall

Windows Defender Firewall protection always tries to prevent the unauthorized ongoing connection from your Windows system if not whitelisted or assumes malicious. So, it’s always a better idea to either disable the Firewall protection while playing any online game or whitelist the program. If you want to whitelist Minecraft, do the following steps:

Click on the Start Menu > Type Control Panel and click on it.
Go to System and Security > Click on Windows Defender Firewall.
Click on Allow an app feature through the Windows Defender Firewall Settings from the left pane.

3. Use the latest Minecraft Version

An outdated Minecraft game version can also cause several issues like LAN not working. We’ll recommend you keep updating your game to get all the latest features and bug fixes too. Additionally, you can change the Minecraft version manually by following the steps below:

Open the Minecraft Launcher > Log in to your account.
Click on ‘Edit profile’ at the bottom left corner and the profile editor window will open.

How to Fix Minecraft LAN Not Working — Image Credit: 10scopes

Now, select the latest Minecraft version from the Use Version drop-down menu.
Then click on Save Profile to apply changes > Try playing the game now.

If in case, the Minecraft LAN Not Working issue is still bothering you, make sure to follow the next method.

4. Disable Windows Security or Antivirus Program

Sometimes the chances are high enough that your Windows Security Program or any third-party antivirus program is blocking either the game files or connection ports to run properly. If you also feel the same, make sure to follow the steps below:

Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Now, click on Update & Security > Click on the Windows Security section from the left pane.

Go to Virus & threat protection by clicking on it > Turn Off the Real-time Protection toggle.
If prompted by UAC (User Account Control), click on Yes to confirm the task.
Finally, you can run the Minecraft game and check whether the LAN is working or not.

5. Update Networking Drivers

Needless to say that an outdated networking driver can also cause several issues with Minecraft just because it’s an online multiplayer game. To update it:

Right-click on the Start Menu and select Device Manager.
Double-click on Network Drivers (adapters) > Click to select the driver that you want to update.

Now, right-click on the driver and select Update driver.
Choose to Search automatically for updated drivers.
Wait for the process to complete > Once done, you’ll need to restart your computer.
Finally, check whether the Minecraft LAN Not Working issue has been fixed or not.

6. Enable Network Discovery

Click on the Start Menu > Type Control Panel and click on it.
Go to Network and Internet > Open Network and Sharing Center.
Now, click on Change advanced sharing settings from the left pane.

How to Fix Minecraft LAN Not Working

Here you can Turn On Network Discovery under the Guest or Public category.
Click on Save Changes and you’re good to go.

7. Use the Same Network

If it’s possible for you and your friends to connect to the same Wi-Fi network while playing Minecraft then we can assume that the LAN problem will be fixed. This is considered to be one of the major parts of playing the Minecraft multiplayer game with your friends locally. However, if this method doesn’t work for you, try the following method.

8. Disable Access Point Isolation

Access Point Isolation is one of the security measurements for some Wi-Fi routers. But if you think that somehow the Minecraft game is troubling you a lot while connecting to the server, you should disable the AP Isolation.

Click on the Start Menu > Type cmd and right-click on Command Prompt in the Windows search.
Now, select Run as administrator > If prompted by UAC, click on Yes.
Type ipconfig in the command prompt window and hit Enter.
Here you’ll need to manually enter ping [host player computer’s IP address] then press Enter. For example, if the IP address is 207.255.104.10 then you’ll have to put ping 207.255.104.10 to get a ping response for that IP address.
You can now see the IP Address of different computers.

9. Uninstall Minecraft Mods

As a Minecraft player, it’s quite fun to install and use third-party mods to craft your open-world game much better. However, if your Minecraft game is facing several issues with the server connectivity like LAN then we’ll recommend you to uninstall the mods completely and keep trying again.

10. Reinstall Minecraft

Sometimes it can possible that there is some issue within the game files such as missing or corrupted game files. Although the game launches and seems pretty well, the problem appears while trying to get into the gameplay or playing with your multiple friends. So, simply uninstalling the game and reinstalling it on your computer should resolve the Minecraft LAN not working issue most probably.

Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on Apps > Under the Apps & features category, search for Minecraft game.
Click on it to select > Choose to Uninstall.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstallation process.
Once done, restart your computer to apply changes.
Finally, head over to the Minecraft official website and download the latest version of the installer file > Install it on your computer using the admin access.
Enjoy!

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.

How to Fix Minecraft LAN Not Working