Play Bedrock on console (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

Xbox, PlayStation and Switch have no Add Server button, so console players join custom servers through a free workaround. Here are the ones that work.

4 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team

Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch have no Add Server button, so console players reach a custom server like yours through a free workaround. This guide covers the ones that work and is honest about their limits.

Who can add your server directly

On Windows 10/11, iPhone, iPad and Android, Minecraft Bedrock has an Add Server button on the Servers tab, so those players simply type in your IP and port. Our guide to joining your Bedrock server covers that.

On Xbox, PlayStation and Switch, the Servers tab only shows the featured partner servers. There is no built in way to type in a server address, and no setting on your server can change that, because the limit is in the console version of the game. Console players can still play on your server with everyone else. They just need one of the workarounds below to get there.

Before you start: get your server details

1. Sign in at customer.guavahost.com, open My servers and click Manage on your server.
2. At the top of the server page, next to Address, note your IP and port, for example 123.45.67.89:41000. Every method below needs both.

Option A: BedrockConnect (change your DNS)

BedrockConnect works by changing the DNS setting on your console's network. DNS is the system that turns names into addresses. By pointing it at the BedrockConnect service, one of the featured servers in Minecraft opens a menu where you can type in and save your own servers instead. It works on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch, and nobody else in your group has to set anything up.

1. On your console, go to your network settings and find the DNS options for your internet connection.
2. Set the primary DNS to a current BedrockConnect DNS address. The correct address is published on the BedrockConnect project page, so get it from there rather than an old forum post.
3. Save the settings and restart Minecraft.
4. Open the Servers tab in Minecraft and join one of the featured servers at the top. Instead of that server, you get the BedrockConnect menu.
5. Choose the option to add a server, then enter your IP and the port from the panel.
6. Save it, then pick your server from the list to join.

Leave the DNS setting in place for as long as you play this way. The featured server only turns into the BedrockConnect menu while your console uses that DNS, so you go through the menu each time you join. Set the DNS back to automatic when you no longer need it.

Option B: Join through a friend account (MCXboxBroadcast, FriendConnect)

These tools sign a spare Microsoft account in to Xbox Live and show your server as a joinable world on that account. Console players add the account as a friend and join from the Friends tab, the same way they would join a friend's world. There are no network settings to change on each console, which makes this the easiest option for a group.

MCXboxBroadcast is the most common one. On a Geyser (Java plus Bedrock) server it can run as a Geyser extension, a small add-on that goes in Geyser's extensions folder. On a plain Bedrock server there is nowhere to install it, so you run its standalone version on a computer that stays on. FriendConnect is an older standalone tool that works the same way.

1. Set up the tool with a spare Microsoft account, pointed at your IP and port, following the project's own instructions.
2. On your console, add that account's gamertag as a friend.
3. Open the Friends tab in Minecraft. The account shows as online with a joinable world.
4. Select that world to join your server.

Option C: BedrockTogether (a phone app on the same Wi-Fi)

BedrockTogether is a free phone app that makes your server appear as a LAN game (a game on your local network) to a console on the same Wi-Fi. It is handy for a single household, but it only works while the app is running and the phone and console are on the same network.

1. Install BedrockTogether on your phone and enter your IP and port.
2. Start it, and keep the phone on the same Wi-Fi as the console.
3. On the console, open the Friends tab and look under LAN games. Your server shows up there.

Running a Geyser server?

All three options work for a Geyser server too, because console players connect to it as Bedrock players. Point the tool at the address and port that Bedrock players use, which our Geyser guide explains.

The honest warning

BedrockConnect, MCXboxBroadcast, FriendConnect and BedrockTogether are all third party tools. They are not made by GuavaHost, and they are not made by Mojang or Microsoft. They rely on gaps in how consoles handle servers, so whenever Microsoft pushes a Minecraft or console update, any of them can stop working for a while until the projects catch up. If a method suddenly breaks after an update, that is usually why, and the fix is to wait for the tool to update or try another option, rather than to change anything on your server.

Troubleshooting

• Featured servers still look normal after the DNS change: double check you typed the DNS address exactly, then fully close and reopen Minecraft. Some consoles need a restart to pick up new DNS.
• The friend account never shows online: the broadcast tool is probably not running, or is pointed at the wrong IP or port. Re-check the address against the panel.
• Nothing appears under LAN games: make sure BedrockTogether is running and that the phone and console are on the same Wi-Fi network, not a guest network.
• It worked last week and now fails for everyone: a Microsoft update likely broke the workaround. Check the tool's project page for news or an update.

Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.

• bedrock
• console
• xbox
• playstation
• switch
• bedrockconnect
• mcxboxbroadcast

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