Let your phone friends join your Java server (Geyser crossplay)

The most common reason a friend can't join your server: they bought the wrong Minecraft. Java Edition (PC/Mac/Linux) and Bedrock Edition (phone, tablet, console, Windows app) are two separate games that cannot normally talk to each other. Same name, same blocks, incompatible network protocols. Your PC friends are on Java; the phone and console crowd are on Bedrock — and by default they can't share a world.

The good news: a proxy called Geyser bridges the gap, so everyone connects to one address and plays together. Here's how it actually works.

What Geyser and Floodgate do

Geyser is a translation proxy. It sits on your Java server and translates Bedrock's network packets into Java's, on the fly. A player on an iPhone, a Switch, or the Xbox app sees a normal Bedrock server in their list; Geyser makes your Java server look and behave like one. It runs as a plugin on Paper/Spigot (or standalone), so your world stays pure Java — no separate Bedrock world, no duplicated builds.

Floodgate is its companion. Without it, every Bedrock player would need to own a Java account to get past the login screen. Floodgate removes that requirement — it lets Bedrock players authenticate with their own Microsoft/Xbox account and join with no Java purchase. You almost always want both Geyser and Floodgate installed together.

On ChunkyHost it's already set up

If you host with us, Geyser and Floodgate are pre-installed and pre-configured on supported Paper-based servers. There's nothing to download, no ports to forward, no YAML to edit. Your single server address works for Java and Bedrock players alike — you just hand out the address and tell people which edition they're on. If you're rolling your own server, keep reading; the manual steps are below.

How Bedrock players connect

Once Geyser is running, a Bedrock player joins like this:

1. Open Minecraft (Bedrock) → Play → Servers tab → Add Server.
2. Server Name: anything they like.
3. Server Address: your server's address (the same one PC friends use).
4. Port: the Geyser port. By default Geyser listens on 19132 — Bedrock's standard port — which may differ from your Java port (25565). Use whatever port we show in your panel.
5. Save, then tap the server to join.

On consoles (Switch, PlayStation, Xbox) adding a custom server is fiddlier and sometimes needs a DNS workaround, because those platforms restrict the server list. Phone, tablet and Windows players have the easiest time.

Common gotchas

• Version match. Geyser must support your Java server's version, and the Bedrock client must be current. After a Minecraft update (e.g. a 1.21.x point release), Bedrock players on the new app sometimes can't join until Geyser ships an update. On a managed host this lands automatically; on your own box, update Geyser when you update the server.
• Account linking is optional but worth it. By default a Bedrock player shows up with a prefix on their name (often a dot, like .Steve) and is a separate identity from any Java account. They can link their Bedrock and Java accounts at link.geysermc.org so both versions share one in-game profile, inventory and permissions. Unlinked still works fine — linking is just tidier.
• Whitelists and bans. Manage Bedrock players by their Floodgate-prefixed name, not a Java username, or the whitelist won't match.

Honest limitations

Geyser is excellent, but it's a translation layer, not magic:

• Some Java plugins won't render right for Bedrock clients — custom GUIs, complex resource packs and certain redstone-driven menus can look off or not work.
• Inventory and crafting UIs differ between editions; Geyser smooths most of this, but edge cases exist.
• It's not zero-overhead. Translation adds a little CPU and latency. On a healthy server it's unnoticeable; on an already-struggling one it's one more thing to account for.
• Mods are a different story. Geyser bridges Java Bedrock crossplay, not Bedrock-to-Java modpacks. A Forge/Fabric modded server is still Java-only for the modded content.

For a casual friends-and-family server, none of this is a dealbreaker — most groups run Geyser for years without thinking about it.

Want it to just work?

Spin up a Paper server on ChunkyHost and Geyser plus Floodgate come configured out of the box — one address, Java and Bedrock friends together, nothing to install. If you're comparing options, our Realms alternative breakdown covers why crossplay on a real server beats Realms' closed Bedrock/Java split.