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The following method uses a Windows laptop connected to the same local network as a console running Minecraft, running a service which listens on UDP 19132 and forwards connection requests to a remote Minecraft Bedrock server over the internet.
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If we run a service on a host on the local network that listens on UDP 19132 and forwards any packets sent to it out over the internet to the real Minecraft Bedrock server, the console should believe it’s a local Minecraft server and list it in the Friends tab. I have not done packet capture analysis to validate this theory, but it would appear that Minecraft scans the local subnet, making connection attempts against all local hosts on UDP 19132, looking for valid responses. In order to get Minecraft on Xbox or other consoles on the local network to connect to a private Minecraft Bedrock server over the internet, we first need to understand how Minecraft discovers local servers.
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If you run this on a server at your house, be sure to review the Port Forwarding section to port-forward UDP:19132 to your internal Minecraft server. If interested, to learn how to set up your own Bedrock server on Ubuntu linux, check out Minecraft Bedrock Edition – Ubuntu Dedicated Server Guide. If you host your own Minecraft Bedrock server in your house and you have an Xbox or other console, it will show up for you in the Friends tab in Minecraft on the console, but friends using a console in their house will not be able to see it in their Friends tab, even if you are in the game and try to invite them.
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If you host a Minecraft Bedrock server through a hosting service, no one with an Xbox or other console (including you) can join it from the console and there is no ability to type in its IP address and connect manually. If you want to connect Minecraft on a console to a remote private Minecraft server, you need a method to fool it into thinking the remote server is actually local. Minecraft on Xbox and other Consoles only support connecting to local LAN private servers or official ones over the Internet.
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