Create a Minecraft PE Server

Minecraft PE recently introduced the Realms feature, which allows you to rent a private server for a few dollars a month. This server is available at all times to you and up to ten other friends. If you'd rather not pay but still want a persistent server, you can use PocketMine to turn a computer into a private server. PocketMine will take a fair amount of tinkering to get up and running, and requires that you use an older version of Minecraft PE.

Steps

Using Realms

  1. Update Minecraft PE in your app store. You'll need to be running the latest version of the Minecraft app in order to use the Realms feature. You can check for app updates in your device's app store.
  2. Start Minecraft PE and tap "Sign in." To create or play on Realms, you have to sign in with a free Xbox Live account. Tap "Sign In" to get started.
  3. Create an Xbox Live account if you don't have one. You'll need a free Xbox Live account to use Minecraft Realms, even on an Android or iOS device. Xbox Live has a free version and a paid "Gold" version, but you only need the free account to play Minecraft PE. Your Xbox account is linked with your Microsoft account.
    • When you create a new account, you'll have to make a "gamertag." This is the name that is displayed to other players in Realms, and cannot be the same as any other Xbox Live gamertag.
  4. Tap the "Play" button after signing in. This will display a list of your worlds.
  5. Tap the "Realms" tab. You'll see a quick description and some buttons at the bottom. Realms are private servers for you and your friends. Any of you can join leave the Realm at any time, and the world can be put into Survival and Creative modes.
    • Realms cost money each month to keep active. If you need a free option you can try setting up your own server with PocketMine, but be aware that mobs are not supported in PocketMine. See the next section for details.
  6. Tap the Envelope button to see your invites. There will be a number below the envelope icon indicating the number of invites you've received. It is free to join Realms created by other players when you are invited.
  7. Tap "New Realm" to create a Realm for your friends to join. The Realm will always be available for your friends to join, even when you're not playing. There are two different pricing options available:
    • 10 players, plus you, for $7.99 (USD) per month. The first month is free.
    • 2 players, plus you, for $3.99 (USD) per month. You'll be charged immediately for this tier.
  8. Tap the "I agree" box and tap "Create" to start your selected Realms plan. A pop-up from your app store will appear with the subscription details.
  9. Tap "Subscribe" in the store notification that appears. This will add the subscription to your app store account. If you selected the 10 player option, you won't be charged for 30 days and can cancel any time before that.
  10. Send out invites. After subscribing, you'll be taken to the "Add Realm Players" menu. Tap the "Add Friend" button and select the friends that you want to send invites to. They'll be able to join your game for free.
    • You can send out more invites later if you'd like from the Realms tab.
  11. Start your Realms server. Once you're finished adding friends, tap the "Done, Let's Play!" button to get started in your new Minecraft world. You'll be taken to your new world after it is created, which may take a few moments.
  12. Adjust your Realm's options. You can make a few adjustments to your Realm, but not from within the game:
    • Press the Back button to open the menu and select "Return to Title."
    • Tap the "Play" button and then tap the "Realms" tab.
    • Tap the Pencil button next to your Realm. This will open the Realm options, where you can switch from Survival to Creative mode, change the difficulty, reset your world, and invite more friends.
  13. Cancel your subscription. If you no longer want to pay for the Realms service, you can cancel your subscription. Your upcoming charges will be canceled, and your Realm will be available until your next billing date.
    • Open the "Realms" tab of the Play menu.
    • Tap the Pencil button next to your Realm.
    • Tap the "Subscription" option and then "Manage Subscription."
    • Follow the prompts to cancel your subscription through the Google Play Store or iOS App Store.

Using PocketMine

  1. Understand the limitations. The PocketMine program is the only available option for creating a free MCPE server from your computer, but it has some serious limitations. For one, there are no enemies in the PocketMine world, as there is no AI to control them. Also, as of this writing in October 2016, PocketMine only supports MCPE 0.14.0, which means you'll need to downgrade your app if you keep it up to date.
  2. Install PocketMine (Windows). PocketMine is a Minecraft PE dedicated server that you can run from Windows or macOS. PocketMine is not affiliated with Mojang. It doesn't support all features of Minecraft PE; most notably there is no enemy AI. Follow these instructions to install PocketMine on your Windows computer (see the next step for macOS):[1]
    • Download PocketMine from pocketmine.net by clicking the green "Get PocketMine-MP" button and selecting "Windows."
    • Run the installer after downloading it and follow the prompts. You can leave the installer settings at their defaults. Choose not to start your server when installation is finished.
  3. Install PocketMine (macOS). PocketMine is a Minecraft PE dedicated server that you can run from Windows or macOS. PocketMine is not affiliated with Mojang. It doesn't support all features of Minecraft PE; most notably there is no enemy AI. Follow these instructions to install PocketMine on your Mac computer:[2]
    • Create a folder anywhere on your computer for the PocketMine files. Name the folder "PocketMine-MP"
    • Click the Go menu from the desktop and select "Utilities." Open the Terminal from the Utilities folder.
    • Type cd and then drag the folder you created into the Terminal window. This will add the path of the folder after cd. Make sure there is a space between cd and the folder path.
    • Type curl -sL http://get.pocketmine.net/ | bash and press ⏎ Return. This will install PocketMine. Keep the Terminal open for now.
  4. Download the latest PHAR file. You'll need this file to support the most recent possible version of Minecraft PE. As of this writing in October 2016, PocketMine supports MCPE v.0.14.0.
    • Visit bintray.com/pocketmine/PocketMine/PocketMine-MP-phar/view#files
    • Download the last file in the list, which will be the newest one.
    • Rename the downloaded file to PocketMine-MP.phar and place it in the server folder. Confirm that you want to override the original.
  5. Download the PHP7 files needed for the latest version. You'll need to update the PHP files in the PocketMine folder to PHP7 so that the server can run properly.[3]
    • Download the PHP7 Windows files from https://bintray.com/pocketmine/PocketMine/Windows-PHP-Binaries#files
    • Download the PHP7 Mac files from https://bintray.com/pocketmine/PocketMine/Unix-PHP-Binaries#files
    • Extract the files using 7-Zip, which you can install from 7-zip.org
    • Replace the /PocketMine-MP/bin/php/ folder on your computer with the "php" folder from the extracted file.
  6. Start your server. Now that you have the latest PHAR and PHP files, you can start your server up for the first time.
    • Windows - Double-click the start.cmd file in the PocketMine-MP directory.
    • Mac - Type ./start.sh in the Terminal window.
  7. Select your language. Once the server starts for the first time, you'll be prompted to select the language you want to use for the server. Type the code for the language you want to use.
  8. Accept the license. You'll need to type y to accept the license for PocketMine.
  9. Skip the set-up wizard. Type y to skip the set-up wizard. You can go back and change your server settings later on, but for now you can just get the server up and running.
  10. Allow access if prompted by your operating system. Windows may prompt you to allow PocketMine through the firewall. Click "Allow access" so that others can connect to it.
  11. Determine your server's IP address on your network. You'll need this address to connect to the server from Android and iOS devices that are on the same network. You'll also need to know the IP if you decide to open ports and make the server accessible from the internet.
    • Windows - Press ⊞ Win+r and type cmd to launch the Command Prompt. Type ipconfig and press ↵ Enter. Find your active network connection and note the IPv4 Address.
    • Mac - Click the Apple menu and select "System Preferences." Click the "Network" option and then select your active connection. Find the "IP Address" line and note the address.
  12. Install the correct version of Minecraft PE on your device. You'll need to be running the same version of Minecraft PE on the device as the server. As of this writing in October 2016, the server only supports 0.14.0, while the app is on version 0.15.10. Downgrading on Android is fairly straightforward, but is not possible on an iOS device unless it is jailbroken.
    • Android - Uninstall the MCPE app on your device. Open the Settings app and select "Security" Tap "Unknown sources" and then enable it. Perform a web search for "mcpe 0.14.0 apk" and then find a trustworthy source to download the file. After downloading the APK file, run it from your Download folder to install the old version.
    • Jailbroken iOS - Open Cydia on your jailbroken iOS device. Search for "App Admin" in Cydia and install it. Open the Minecraft PE page in the Apple App Store after installing App Admin. Tap the Update/Open/Download button and then select "0.14.0" from the list of available versions.[4]
  13. Open Minecraft PE on a device on the same network. The Android or iOS device running Minecraft PE will need to be connected to the same wireless network as the computer running the server.
  14. Tap the "Play" button in MCPE. You'll see your new server appear automatically in the list. It will have a green dot next to it.
    • If you don't see your server, you're either not on the same network or not running the same version of MCPE as the server is.
  15. Open ports for your server computer if you want the server accessible online. In order for players not on your network to connect to your server, you'll need to forward a port on your router to allow outside connections to the server.
    • Open your router's configuration page and log in. The process for this will vary depending on your router. See Access a Router for details.
    • Open the Port Forwarding section of your router's configuration. Again, the location and wording will vary by router. See Set Up Port Forwarding on a Router for details.
    • Create a new rule forwarding TCP port 19132 for your server's local IP address. This will open the port that Minecraft PE uses to connect to the server.
  16. Determine your server's public IP address. This is the address for your network on the internet. You'll give this to players that you want to connect to your server. The quickest way to find the address is to perform a Google search for "my ip" on your server computer.
  17. Connect to the server over the internet. Now that you know the public IP address and your port is open, other players can connect to the server. Remember, they'll need to be running the same version of MCPE as the server (0.14.0 at the time of this writing in October 2016).
    • Start Minecraft PE and tap the "Play" button.
    • Tap "New" in the upper-right corner.
    • Tap the "+→" button in the upper-right corner.
    • Enter the public IP address from the previous step into the "IP/Address" field and give it any name.
    • Tap "Add Server" then select it from your list of worlds to start playing.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.howtogeek.com/202961/how-to-run-a-local-minecraft-pe-server-for-fun-and-persistent-world-building/
  2. ↑ http://pinoyitsolution.com/2014/05/28/how-to-create-your-own-minecraft-pocket-edition-server-on-mac-osx-using-pocketmine/
  3. ↑ https://forums.pocketmine.net/threads/pocketmine-1-6-php7-installer-windows.15493/
  4. ↑ http://www.redmondpie.com/downgrade-ios-apps-to-older-versions-from-app-store-the-easy-way-heres-how/
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